Henry More
and the Scientific Revolution

Thorough, accessible biography of the greatest English metaphysical theologian and peer of Newton.

A. Rupert Hall (Author), David Knight (Preface by)

9780521892643, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 30 April 2002

320 pages, 3 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

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 cabbalist and one of the few writers whom Newton acknowledged as having influenced his ideas. This thorough and accessible biography is the first book-length treatment of this remarkable character. More's important contributions to science are illuminated, particularly his work on space and time which influenced Newton, and the book 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.

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.

Subject Areas: Biography: historical, political & military [BGH]