Henry More and the Scientific Revolution

ISBN-13: 9780521562232 / Angielski / Twarda / 1996 / 320 str.

A. Rupert Hall

Opis

Henry More (1614-87) was the greatest English metaphysical theologian and the most perplexing; he was also perhaps the most distinguished member of the group of divines known as the Cambridge Platonists. An admirer of Galileo, Descartes and Boyle, he rejected their detailed applications of mechanical philosophy to the explanation of natural phenomena. He was an experimenter, yet also a cabalist, and one of the few writers whom Newton acknowledged as having influenced his ideas. First published in 1990, this thorough and accessible biography is the first book-length treatment of this remarkable character. Hall illuminates More's important contributions to science, particularly his work on space and time which influenced Newton, and gives fascinating insights into his spiritual philosophy and his preoccupation with witchcraft. The depth of Professor Hall's scholarship makes the book an exceptional account of the turbulent world of the Scientific Revolution.

Spis treści

General editor's preface; Preface; Part I. Platonic and Personal Background: 1. Introduction; 2. Platonism; 3. Platonism and the Scientific Revolution; 4. The Cambridge Platonists; 5. Henry More, man of paradox; Part II. For and Against the Scientific Revolution: 6. Henry More's philosophy; 7. The spirit world; 8. More and Descartes; 9. More and the Royal Society; 10. More and Newton: space and time; 11. More and Newton: force; 12. Conclusion; Appendices; Notes; Bibliography; Index.