Kaleidoscopic Natural Theology
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Kaleidoscopic Natural Theology The Dynamics of Natural Theological Discourse in Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth-Century England Larissa Kate Johnson A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of New South Wales, Australia 2009 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. Signed ................................................................. Date .................................................................. i COPYRIGHT STATEMENT I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation. Signed ................................................................. Date .................................................................. AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format. Signed ................................................................. Date .................................................................. ii ABSTRACT In the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, there was a close connection between natural philosophy and theology. However, this connection was neither essential nor intrinsic, but was open to discussion and negotiation, and natural theology played an important role in these negotiations. While there is already a great deal of literature concerned with natural theology from two distinct academic disciplines—history of science and history of religion—neither set of literature has adequately grasped the nature of the tradition, leading to conflicting claims about its historical origin. In addition, the close connection between natural and revealed theology evident in the works of orthodox Christians in early modern England has been frequently overlooked. This thesis, then, is a contribution to discussions of the relations between theology and natural philosophy in early modern England. Its main purpose is to develop and test a theoretical model of natural theology, designed to overcome some of the limitations of existing approaches. According to this model, a tradition of natural theology only emerged in England in the seventeenth century, due to the theological and natural philosophical turmoil of the Protestant Reformation and the Scientific Revolution, although it was not without precedents. This tradition of natural theology was apologetically focused, providing arguments in favour of religious doctrines originally derived from revelation. Natural theology was a dynamic discourse, which may be represented by the metaphor of a kaleidoscope, in which resources chosen from natural philosophy and theology were combined and refracted according to the pre-existing views of the practitioner as well as the contextual challenges to which he was responding. By employing a variety of resources from both natural philosophy and theology, natural theology could function as a kind of mediator between these two neighbouring traditions. This model will be tested against a range of historical case studies that represent the moments in the historical trajectory of natural theology at which output of the discourse became more concentrated, due to renewed upheaval within and between theology and natural philosophy. iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 - HISTORIOGRAPHY OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION ........................... 7 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 7 2. Science and Religion: Conflict, Separation or Harmony?................................................... 8 3. From “Science and Religion” to “Natural Philosophy and Theology” .............................. 22 4. Natural Philosophy and Theology: Negotiations and Articulations ................................. 35 5. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 2 - HISTORIES OF NATURAL THEOLOGY ..........................................40 1. Introduction........................................................................................................................40 2. History and Philosophy of Religion................................................................................... 42 3. History of Science............................................................................................................... 58 4. Problems With These Accounts ......................................................................................... 66 5. Conclusion: Moving Forward............................................................................................. 72 CHAPTER 3 - KALEIDOSCOPIC NATURAL THEOLOGY ...................................... 74 1. Introduction........................................................................................................................ 74 2. Terminology ........................................................................................................................77 3. Theoretical Dimension: Modelling Natural Theology....................................................... 83 4. Historical Dimension ......................................................................................................... 96 5. Natural Theology in Practice.............................................................................................. 99 6. Natural Theology, Reason and Revelation ...................................................................... 105 7. Conclusion .........................................................................................................................107 FIRST HISTORICAL INTERLUDE - RICHARD HOOKER (1553/4-1600)............. 109 1. Introduction...................................................................................................................... 109 2. Richard Hooker and Natural Theology .............................................................................111 3. Richard Hooker on Reason, Revelation and Authority.................................................... 112 4. Conclusion.........................................................................................................................123 CHAPTER 4 - THE CAMBRIDGE PLATONISTS .................................................. 124 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................124 2. Historical Dimension ....................................................................................................... 128 3. What Natural Theology Was............................................................................................. 131 4. The Purpose of Natural Theological Arguments ..............................................................146 5. The Purpose of Natural Theology as a Discourse .............................................................163 6. Natural Theology, Reason and Revelation .......................................................................167 7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 183 SECOND HISTORICAL INTERLUDE - WALTER CHARLETON (1620-1707)........ 185 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................185 2. Charleton’s Natural Theology .......................................................................................... 189 3. Articulating Natural Philosophy and Theology................................................................196 4. Conclusion........................................................................................................................200