John Sergeant And His Circle: A Study Of Three Seventeenth-century English Aristotelians (brill's Studies In Intellectual History)

Edited with an Introduction by Beverley C. Southgate. This book presents an account of the essentially Aristotelian philosophy of John Sergeant (1623-1707) and his Blackloist colleagues, Kenelm Digby and Thomas White. Despite their notoriety as Catholic controversialists in the mid-seventeenth century, Sergeant and his circle have long suffered from historical neglect, and Professor Krook's work provides a useful corrective to conventional historiography. Digby, White and Sergeant were all concerned to present a coherent philosophical and theological framework, which would provide some certainty in the face of the contemporary sceptical challenge, and the author shows how their work was securely based on traditional Aristotelian foundations. Through a detailed discussion of Aristotelian methodology, she shows how, in the face of Protestant misunderstanding, they justified their own claims for certainty. This study restores Sergeant and his circle to their proper historical importance and provides an original and illuminating study of late seventeenth-century Aristotelian philosophy. Editor's introduction ix Acknowledgements xvii Preface xix Chapter One. Introduction: Career and Connections 1 Chapter Two. Aristotle: Master of Definitions and Notions 12 1. "Considerabilities" 16 2. The Principle of Identity 19 3. Dialectics and Didactics 22 Chapter Three. Kenelm Digby: "Two Incomparable Treatises" 25 1. The "design" 25 2. "Considerabilities" 28 3. The Principle of Identity 31 4. Language and Science: "Logical Nominalism" 32 5. Two Languages 39 Chapter Four. Thomas White: "A Second Aristotle" 41 1. What is Science? 41 2. Controversy-Logicke 49 3. Blacklo's Heresies: Positivism and Fideism 55 Chapter Five. Sergeant the Aristotelian (I) 67 1. Aristotelian realism 67 2. "Considerabilities" 69 3. The Principle of Identity 74 Chapter Six. Sergeant the Aristotelian (II): Theory of Science 84 1. "Necessary Connexion of Terms" 84 2. "Practical" and "Speculative Self-evidence" 89 3. Science and Experience 93 Chapter Seven. Sergeant on Locke: Ideism and Language 96 1. Ideism 96 2. Mixed Modes and Maxims 97 3. Real and Nominal Essence 100 4. Locke on Language 101 5. Sergeant on Ideism 102 6. Sergeant on Language 106 Chapter Eight. Sergeant and the Anglican Bishops 114 1. "Rules of Art" 116 2. Scripture no Rule of Faith 118 3. Crypto-Ideism 125 Epilogue 127 Appendix: John Sergeant and the Jesuits 128 Additional Note: Shaftesbury or Sunderland? 169 Bibliography 172 Index 175 An account of the essentially Aristotelian philosophy of John Sergeant (1623-1707) and his Blackloist colleagues, Kenelm Digby and Thomas White. Sergeant and his circle were concerned to present a theology and philosophy immune to sceptical doubts; and, though hitherto neglected, they exemplify an important aspect of seventeenth-century thought. By Dorothea Krook ; Edited With An Introduction By Beverley C. Southgate. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.