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Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688) deserves recognition as one of the most important English seventeenth-century philosophers after Hobbes and Locke. In opposition to Hobbes, Cudworth proposes an innatist theory of knowledge which may be contrasted with the empirical position of his younger contemporary Locke, and in moral philosophy he anticipates the ethical rationalists of the eighteenth century. A Treatise Concerning Eternal and Immutable Morality is his most important work, and this volume makes it available, together with his shorter Treatise (...) of Freewill, in its first modern edition, with a historical introduction, a chronology of his life, and an essay on further reading. (shrink)

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Ralph Cudworths Predigt vor dem ehrwürdigen Unterhaus von 1647 enthält im Geiste des philosophischen Denkens des Origenes einen entschlossenen Appell zu doktrinärer Weite und religiöser Toleranz. Die Beiträge des vorliegenden Bandes interpretieren dieses wegweisende Dokument des Cambridger Origenismus im Kontext der politischen und kirchlichen Wirren des Englischen Bürgerkriegs. Neben dem behutsam modernisierten englischen Text und der ersten deutschen Übersetzung bietet der Band weitere Briefe und Gedichte des jungen Cudworth sowie eine Predigt aus dem Jahre 1664. Diese Texte sind (...) eindringliche Dokumente seiner platonisch-origeneischen "Philosophie der Religion" und des von ihm propagierten irenischen Christentums der Innerlichkeit in einem praktischen Ethos universaler Liebe. (shrink)

Ralph Cudworth's (1617-1688) True Intellectual System of the Universe is considered the high point of philosophical production by the Cambridge Platonists. In this work, Cudworth compresses all of his era's core problems in natural philosophy and theology and attempts to find a comprehensive solution to broadly explain how God acts in nature. For the first time, the present work presents the complete story of how Cudworth developed his Neoplatonic system using a compatible combination of text form (...) and content, and along the way, it also unfolds a panoramic view of ancient classical philosophy. (shrink)

The English Neoplatonic philosopher Ralph Cudworth introduced the term ‘consciousness’ into the English philosophical lexicon. Cudworth uses the term to define the form and structure of cognitive acts, including acts of freewill. In this article I highlight the important role of theological disputes over the place and extent of human freewill within an overarching system of providence. Cudworth’s intellectual development can be understood in the main as an increasingly detailed and nuanced reaction to the strict voluntarist (...) Calvinism that is typified in the thought of his near contemporary William Perkins. At the heart of Cudworth’s rejection of Calvinism is the dilemma over whether God is understood primarily in terms of will or justice. In this fleshing-out of the power of consciousness Cudworth moves from an instrumental account of the working of the human mind towards an account of human consciousness that is intrinsic to his definition of human agency. (shrink)

Ralph Cudworth (1617-88) was one of the Cambridge Platonists. His major work, The True Intellectual System of the Universe, was completed in 1671, a year after Spinoza published (anonymously) the Tractatus Logico-philosophicus. It was published a few years later, in 1678. Cudworth offers a spirited attack against the materialism and mechanism of Thomas Hobbes. His work is couched as a search for truth among the ancient philosophers, and this paper examines his use of the Presocratics as a (...) tool for discussing the issues of his day. (shrink)

Este trabajo reconstruye el sentido de hipótesis en la filosofía de Ralph Cudworth a través del análisis de sus bases platónicas, específicamente, la estipulación de los estratos del conocimiento expuestos en la Alegoría de la línea del libro VI de República y la distinción entre objetos y disciplinas del conocimiento establecidos en Timeo de Platón. De ese modo, considero que se pueden comprender dos sentidos de ‘hipótesis’ en Cudworth a partir de la delimitación de sus funciones como (...) 1) tipo de explicación en razón de su estatuto onto-epistemológico y 2) estrategia metodológica de indagación sobre el funcionamiento del mundo natural, sentidos que pueden colegirse de la influencia de lo que se denomina en este trabajo ‘conjetura verosímil’ para Platón, que además permite apreciar la relación existente entre la metafísica, la nueva ciencia y la moral en el siglo XVII. (shrink)

In this paper, I defend divine conceptualism against one prominent critique from William Lane Craig in his book God and Abstract Objects. Craig argues that the divine conceptualist’s only way out of the “bootstrapping objection” results in an unpalatable concession of defeat to the metaphysical anti-realist. Craig’s argument depends on an analysis whereby God is causally or logically prior to the divine concepts. As such, the conceptualist may resist it by adopting—following Ralph Cudworth—a version of divine conceptualism which (...) does not construe the relationship between God and His thoughts as one of either causal or logical priority. (shrink)

Originally published in 1951, this concise book presents an engaging study of the works and influence of the renowned English philosopher Ralph Cudworth, the leader of the Cambridge Platonists. A bibliography of writings by and about Cudworth is also included, together with an appendix section on his manuscripts. The text was an early work by Australian philosopher and historian of ideas John Passmore. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Cudworth, the (...) Cambridge Platonists and the historical development of philosophy. (shrink)

Ralph Cudworth deserves recognition as one of the most important English seventeenth-century philosophers after Hobbes and Locke. In opposition to Hobbes, Cudworth proposes an innatist theory of knowledge which may be contrasted with the empirical position of his younger contemporary Locke, and in moral philosophy he anticipates the ethical rationalists of the eighteenth century. A Treatise Concerning Eternal and Immutable Morality is his most important work, and this volume makes it available, together with his shorter Treatise of (...) Freewill, with a historical introduction, a chronology of his life, and an essay on further reading. (shrink)

En el presente trabajo se estudia el lugar que ocupa Ralph Cudworth en la historia de la filosofía. El objetivo es mostrar que este autor no es parte del canon de la filosofía del siglo XVII y que, sin embargo, es un representante del período moderno en las primeras historias de la filosofía. Para ello, primero se introduce al autor y luego se expone la presentación que se realiza del inglés en las obras de Jacob Brucker, Wilhelm Tennemann, (...) Taddä Rixner y Joseph Marie Degérando, para terminar en las Lecciones sobre historia de la filosofía de Georg Hegel. En un segundo momento se exponen algunas reflexiones en torno a Cudworth, que se originan a partir de la lectura de la bibliografía actualizada sobre dicho autor. Las conclusiones muestran la importancia de estudiar este tipo de pensadores, que no forman parte del canon de la filosofía pero son parte de la conformación del mismo. (shrink)

This book presents a contextual study of the life and work of the Cambridge Platonist Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688). Focusing on the theological basis of Cudworth's ethical philosophy, this book unlocks the hitherto ignored political aspect to Cudworth's ethical philosophy. Through a detailed examination of Cudworth's published works - particularly his voluminous "True intellectual system of the Universe" -, his posthumously published writings, and his 'freewill' manuscripts Benjamin Carter argues that the ethical and political arguments in (...) Cudworth's philosophy develop out of Cudworth's Trinitarian theology. Carter traces the link between Cudworth's trinitarianism and his ethical and political ideas by placing Cudworth's work in the turbulent religious and intellectual context of seventeenth-century England, and the University of Cambridge in particular. (shrink)

Moral rationalism is the view that morality originates in reason alone. It is often contrasted with moral sentimentalism, which is the view that the origin of morality lies at least partly in sentiment. The eighteenth century saw pitched philosophical battles between rationalists and sentimentalists, and the issue continues to fuel disputes among moral philosophers today.

En el presente artículo se analiza el lugar de la percepción sensible en la propuesta gnoseológica de Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688), principalmente en su Tratado sobre la eterna e inmutable moralidad. Si bien aquella no es considerada conocimiento verdadero, mostraré que aporta algún tipo de información sobre el mundo natural que nos rodea, por lo cual sostengo que produce algún tipo de “sabiduría” práctica para desenvolverse correctamente en el mundo en un nivel físico. Para esto presentaré de modo general (...) su metafísica dualista en The true intellectual system, y distinguiré las características propias de la sensación, por una parte, y del conocimiento intelectual, por otra, en el Tratado. (shrink)

Moral rationalism is the view that morality originates in reason alone. It is often contrasted with moral sentimentalism, which is the view that the origin of morality lies at least partly in (non-rational) sentiment. The eighteenth century saw pitched philosophical battles between rationalists and sentimentalists, and the issue continues to fuel disputes among moral philosophers today.

En este artículo me propongo mostrar que en el universo armónico que propone Ralph Cudworth, destacado miembro del grupo de los Platónicos de Cambridge del siglo XVII, la sustancia inmaterial cumple un rol fundamental. Ella no se halla separada de la sustancia material y recibe distintos nombres de acuerdo a las funciones que desarrolla, en tanto es la única fuerza vital en la creación, fundada en la naturaleza divina. Es decir, la naturaleza plástica y las almas no son (...) más que distintos nombres para esa única sustancia inmaterial en el universo creado. Esto refleja una concepción dualista diferente al dualismo cartesiano, que tendrá consecuencias a nivel físico. Por eso, en primer lugar, presentaré la metafísica de Cudworth, para luego detenerme en la sustancia inmaterial. Para esto utilizaré su obra principal The True Intellectual System of the Universe y sus dos escritos de publicación póstuma: Treatise concerning eternal and immutable Morality y Treatise on Freewill. (shrink)

The theory of action is a centerpiece of the philosophical thought of Ralph Cudworth. It is indeed in this theory that the fundamental, twofold operation of his thinking is played out: an overturning of necessitarian materialism and, correlatively, a reestablishment of the genuine idea of an intelligible system of the universe. The problem of action in Cudworth’s thought concerns his physical doctrine as much as his moral doctrine. It thus involves the theory of being and of value.

Resumen En el presente artículo estudio la asociación entre los conceptos de “materialismo” y “ateísmo” en The True Intellectual System of the Universe de Ralph Cudworth y las consecuencias metafísicas que el inglés encuentra en esas corrientes. El inglés ofrece una clasificación exhaustiva de los posibles ateísmos para mostrar sus errores y participar en la gestación de categorías que a la larga se considerarán historiográficas. En un segundo momento, presento el concepto de “naturaleza plástica” y el orden ontológico (...) que Cudworth ofrece como el correcto, en el cual se aprecia la influencia platónica y la subordinación de lo material a lo inmaterial. Así, en su metafísica, Cudworth sostiene un dualismo porque no rechaza la existencia de la materia, sino la utilización errónea que hacen de ella los ateos.In this paper I examine the association between the concepts of “materialism” and “atheism” in Ralph Cudworth’s The True Intellectual System of the Universe, and the metaphysical consequences that the Englishman establishes for those trends. Cudworth offers an exhaustive classification of possible atheisms in order to show their mistakes, and in this way he participates in the origination of categories which eventually will be considered as historiographical. I present then the concept of “Plastic Nature” and the ontological order that Cudworth thinks to be the correct one, and which exhibits the Platonic influence and the subordination of the material to the immaterial. Thus, in his metaphysics Cudworth maintains a dualism insofar as he does not reject the existence of matter but the wrong use that atheists make of it. (shrink)

The thorny issue of the created status of eternal verities, a hypothesis initially promulgated by Descartes in his 1630 correspondence with Mersenne, generated widespread debates across confessional lines in 17th century philosoph­ical and theological circles. At stake was not only the necessary or contingent status of these truths, and thus God’s relationship with creation, but also the very nature of the Deity. This was certainly the case for the Cambridge Platonists Henry More and Ralph Cudworth. Both were early (...) advocates of Descartes’ philosophy, while still critical of some of its assumptions. The doctrine of the creation of eternal truths represents such an instance, and it was a highly sensitive topic for both. I shall propose a scholastic context in which to situate some of their ideas in order to shed some light on how this issue was addressed in More and Cudworth. The position where eternal truths are arbitrarily instantiated by the mere fiat of God is avoided by the Cambridge Platonists in two ways. First, the immutable, necessary, and eternal status of these ideas is safeguarded by the premise that they are intrinsic to the divine essence insofar as it is intellectual. We shall see that this raises a question concerning their precise ontological status. Second, the function of these ideas as the framework of the created order is guaranteed by the perfec­tion of the divine will. This will require a clarification of the causal relationships existing between eternal truths, God, and the realm of creation. (shrink)