Justin E. H. Smith Books
Justin E. H.
Known for: Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason, The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning
Books by Justin E. H. Smith
Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason
In this wide-ranging intellectual history, philosopher Justin E. H. Smith explores how irrationality has shaped human thought and culture. He argues that reason and unreason are not opposites but inte...
The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning
In this thought-provoking work, philosopher Justin E. H. Smith explores the origins, nature, and consequences of the internet. He argues that the internet is not a neutral tool but a reflection of hum...
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Historical Framing: The Ancient Roots of Reason and Unreason
Our story begins in ancient Greece, where philosophy first sought to define what it means to be rational. Thinkers like Plato and Aristotle began carving distinctions between reason and madness, knowledge and myth. Yet even as they launched the project of rational inquiry, they were haunted by force...
From Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason
Medieval Synthesis: Theology and the Integration of Mystery
In moving to the medieval era, we find that the intellectual project of reason becomes inseparable from the religious and theological frameworks through which thought was expressed. The scholastic thinkers—Aquinas, Abelard, and their contemporaries—believed reason could be harmonized with divine tru...
From Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason
Historical Foundations
If we want to understand the Internet, we must begin long before the first computer or circuit board was ever imagined. Every significant innovation in communication—from the invention of writing to the printing press to the telegraph—transformed what it meant to be human. Writing allowed our though...
From The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning
Philosophical Roots
Behind every wire and pixel lies a philosophical genealogy. The Internet’s intellectual foundations reached maturity during the Enlightenment, when thinkers like Leibniz, Diderot, and Kant pursued universal systems of knowledge and reason. Leibniz dreamed of a ‘characteristica universalis,’ a langua...
From The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning
About Justin E. H. Smith
Justin E. H. Smith is a professor of history and philosophy of science at the Université Paris Cité. His research focuses on early modern philosophy, the history of science, and the intersection of technology and human thought. He is also the author of several books exploring the relationship betwee...
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Justin E. H. Smith is a professor of history and philosophy of science at the Université Paris Cité. His research focuses on early modern philosophy, the history of science, and the intersection of technology and human thought. He is also the author of several books exploring the relationship betwee...
Justin E. H. Smith is a professor of history and philosophy of science at the Université Paris Cité. His research focuses on early modern philosophy, the history of science, and the intersection of technology and human thought. He is also the author of several books exploring the relationship between philosophy, culture, and the natural world.
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Justin E. H.
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