Henry More and the development of absolute time |
| |
Authors: | Emily Thomas |
| |
Institution: | 1. Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science, Ghent University (UGent), Blandijnberg 2, B-9000 Gent, Belgium;2. Tilburg Center for Logic, Ethics, and Philosophy of Science, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands |
| |
Abstract: | This paper explores the nature, development and influence of the first English account of absolute time, put forward in the mid-seventeenth century by the ‘Cambridge Platonist’ Henry More. Against claims in the literature that More does not have an account of time, this paper sets out More's evolving account and shows that it reveals the lasting influence of Plotinus. Further, this paper argues that More developed his views on time in response to his adoption of Descartes' vortex cosmology and cosmogony, providing new evidence of More's wider project to absorb Cartesian natural philosophy into his Platonic metaphysics. Finally, this paper argues that More should be added to the list of sources that later English thinkers – including Newton and Samuel Clarke – drew on in constructing their absolute accounts of time. |
| |
Keywords: | Henry More Absolute time Absolute space Cartesianism Newton |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|