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Emmanuel College and the Origins of Cambridge Platonism ‘A Moral Divinitie’: Emmanuel College and the Origins of Cambridge Platonism Samuel Kaldas University of Sydney Submitted to the Department of Philosophy within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 1 Abstract: This thesis attempts to shed light on the origins of the movement known as 'Cambridge Platonism' through a close philosophical and historical analysis of three key figures belonging to Emmanuel College (referred to as the Emmanuel Three): Benjamin Whichcote (1609– 1683), Ralph Cudworth (1617–1688) and John Smith (1618?–1652). In particular, it focuses on the common Platonic outlook which the Emmanuel Three deployed against key tenets of the Calvinist theology of their Puritan colleagues at the university. It is argued that the Smith and Cudworth played a central role in the religious controversy that culminated in a tense correspondence between Whichcote and the Puritan theologian Anthony Tuckney in 1651. Part I of the thesis situates this analysis of the Emmanuel Three within the historiographical controversy around Cambridge Platonism. Part II gives an overview of the Emmanuel Three's intellectual context, with a particular focus on a Platonic current centred at Emmanuel College in the late 1630s. Part III turns on to the 1640s and identifies three key areas in which the Emmanuel Three present strikingly similar critiques of important Calvinist doctrines, with a secondary focus on the ways (often recognised by their opponents) in which these critiques reveal the influence of Platonism. Finally, Part IV explores the 'philosophical core' of the Emmanuel Three's philosophical outlook, providing a detailed analysis of their participatory religious epistemology and their conceptions of divine and human freedom. In sum, the thesis uses the historical problem of the origins of Cambridge Platonism to bring out the distinctive philosophical contribution of the often neglected Emmanuel Three to central and formative debates in philosophy of religion. I hereby certify that to the best of my knowledge the content of this thesis is my own work and that all assistance received in preparing it and sources have been duly acknowledged. This thesis has not been submitted for any other purposes or degrees. __________________________ Samuel Kaldas 2 Contents Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ 6 Notes on Referencing ......................................................................................................... 8 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 9 I - Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 10 (1) The Curious Case of the Learned and Ingenious Men .............................................. 10 1.1 A Controversy in Eight Letters .................................................................................. 10 1.2 The Emmanuel Three ................................................................................................. 15 (2) The (Non-)Existence of Cambridge Platonism ........................................................... 26 2.1 The Cambridge Platonists .......................................................................................... 26 2.2 Recent Challenges ...................................................................................................... 28 2.3 A Smaller Target: The Emmanuel Three ................................................................... 35 II - Puritans and Platonists in England ............................................................................... 45 (3) Puritanism and Predestination .................................................................................... 45 3.1 The Rise of English Puritanism, 1600–1640 ............................................................. 45 3.2 Emmanuel College: The Cradle of Puritanism .......................................................... 61 (4) Emmanuel Puritans and Emmanuel Platonists .......................................................... 69 4.1 The Emmanuel Puritans ............................................................................................. 70 4.2 The Origins of Cambridge Platonism ........................................................................ 74 4.3 Whichcote, Cudworth and Smith ............................................................................... 92 III: Rival Conceptions of God and Goodness ..................................................................... 98 (5) Metaethics: The Ground of the Good ........................................................................ 101 5.1 Metaethical Voluntarism in Puritan Theology ......................................................... 104 3 5.2 Cudworth’s Metaethical Naturalism ........................................................................ 120 5.3 Smith’s Naturalism: ‘Unchangeable Rules of Goodness’ ....................................... 127 5.4 Whichcote’s Naturalism: God Under the Power of Goodness ................................ 131 5.5 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 137 (6) Is God a Tyrant? Reprobation and God’s Goodness ............................................... 139 6.1 The Double Decree and Tyranny ............................................................................. 144 6.2 Voluntarist Defences of Reprobation ....................................................................... 157 6.3 The Emmanuel Three’s Critique of the Voluntarist Defence .................................. 163 6.4 Crypto-Naturalist Defences of Reprobation ............................................................ 176 6.5 Divine Communicative Intent .................................................................................. 191 6.6 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 204 (7) Reconciliation and Imputed Righteousness .............................................................. 206 7.1 Imputed Righteousness in Reformed Thought ........................................................ 207 7.2 Imputation and Voluntarism .................................................................................... 219 7.3 ‘A Platonique Faith Unites to God’ ......................................................................... 223 7.4 ‘The Prejudice of Imputed Righteousness’ .............................................................. 241 7.5 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 260 IV: The Philosophical Core of Cambridge Platonism ..................................................... 262 (8) Participatory Epistemology: Knowing the Good by Acquaintance ........................ 264 8.1 Perceiving God Through Reason ............................................................................. 268 8.2 Acquaintance, not Description ................................................................................. 296 8.3 Misperceiving God ................................................................................................... 319 8.4 Reason Bridging the Divine and the Human ........................................................... 340 (9) Liberty, Violence and Practical Reason .................................................................... 343 9.1 Divine Reason and Divine Liberty .......................................................................... 344 4 9.2 Human Liberty ......................................................................................................... 348 9.3 Seeing with One’s Own Eyes .................................................................................. 358 9.4 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 360 (10) Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 362 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 366 5 Abbreviations Aph = Whichcote, Benjamin 1753, Moral and Religious Aphorisms, ed. Jeffrey Whichcote & Samuel Salter, Printed for J. Payne, London. BO = Bellarmine, Robert 1870–74, Opera Omnia, ed. J Fèvre, 12 vols., Paris. BW = Luther, Martin 1525, The Bondage of the Will, H Cole (trans.), Digital edn, Christian Classics Ethereal Library, <https://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/bondage.html>. Commons = Cudworth, Ralph 1647, A Sermon preached before the Honourable House of Commons at Westminster, March 31, 1647, Printed by Rober Daniel, Cambridge. Diary = Crossely, J (ed) 1857– 86, The Diary and Correspondence of Dr. John Worthington, 3 vols, Charles Simms & Co., Manchester. De Princ. = Origen of Alexandria 2013, On First Principles, trans. GW Butterworth, Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame IN. EL = Eight Letters of Dr. Antony Tuckney and Dr. Benjamin Whichcote, appended to Whichcote 1753, Moral and Religious Aphorisms (= Aph). Enn. = Plotinus 2017, The Enneads, ed. LP Gerson, trans. LP Gerson, G Boys-Stones, JM Dillon, RAH King, A Smith & J Wilderbing, Cambridge University Press. 6 FW = Ralph Cudworth’s Treatise
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