ABSTRACT
Renaissance humanism had given a strong impetus to historical study. This had been reinforced by the comparative and inductive method advocated by Bodin and Bacon. History seemed set fair to continue its development within the new scientific movement. Between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, however, a new movement of thought intervened that was rationalist in character and fundamentally anti-historical in its thrust. Its representatives were, on the Continent, Descartes and Malebranche, and in England, Thomas Hobbes. While they succeeded in temporarily arresting the progress of historical thought, they nevertheless contributed to its revival in the Enlightenment: Descartes through his focus on individual consciousness; Malebranche through his influence on Voltaire’s scientific thought; and Hobbes through his influence on Locke.
