America's founders intended to liberate us not just from one king but from the ghostly tyranny of supernatural religion. Drawing deeply on the study of European philosophy, Matthew Stewart brilliantly tracks the ancient, pagan, and continental ideas from which America's revolutionaries drew their inspiration. In the writings of Spinoza, Lucretius, and other great philosophers, Stewart recovers the true meanings of "Nature's God," "the pursuit of happiness," and the radical political theory with which the American experiment in self-government began.
- ISBN10 0393351297
- ISBN13 9780393351293
- Publish Date 18 August 2015 (first published 1 July 2014)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 14 March 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint WW Norton & Co
- Format Paperback
- Pages 580
- Language English