Platonism at the Origins of Modernity: Studies on Platonism and Early Modern Philosophy (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives ... internationales d'histoire des idées)

This collection of essays offers an overview of the range and breadth of Platonic philosophy in the early modern period, examining both the philosophers of Platonic tradition (e.g. Cusanus, Ficino, and Cudworth), and the impact of Platonism on major philosophers of the period (especially Descartes, Leibniz, Locke, Shaftesbury and Berkeley). By demonstrating the vitality of the Platonic tradition in the period this collection challenges the received view that Platonism made little or no contribution in the emergence of modern philosophy. Introduction / Sarah Hutton -- Nicholas Of Cusa (1401-1464): Platonism At The Dawn Of Modernity / Dermot Moran -- At Variance: Marsilio Ficino, Platonism And Heresy / Michael J.b. Allen -- Going Naked Into The Shrine: Herbert, Plotinus And The Constructive Metaphor / Stephen R.l. Clark -- Comenius, Light Metaphysics And Educational Reform / Jan Rohls (translated By Alexandra Wörn And David Leech) -- Robert Fludd's Kabbalistic Cosmos / Wilhelm Schmidt-biggemann (translated By Geoff Dumbreck And Douglas Hedley) -- Reconciling Theory And And Fact: The Problem Of Other Faiths In Lord Herbert And The Cambridge Platonists / David Pailin -- Trinity, Community And Love: Cudworth's Platonism And The Idea Of God / Leslie Armour -- Chaos And Order In Cudworth's Thought / Jean-louis Breteau -- Cudworth, Prior And Passmore On The Autonomy Of Ethics / Robin Attfield -- Substituting Aristotle: Platonic Themes In Dutch Cartesianism / Han Van Ruler -- Soul, Body And World: Plato's Timaeus And Descartes' Meditations / Catherine Wilson -- Locke, Plato And Platonism / G.a.j. Rogers -- Reflections On Locke's Platonism / Victor Nuovo -- The Platonism At The Core Of Leibniz's Philosophy / Christia Mercer -- Leibniz And Berkeley: Platonic Metaphysics And The Mechanical Philosophy / Stuart Brown -- Which Platonism For Which Modernity? A Note On Shaftesbury's Socratic Sea-cards / Laurent Jaffro -- Platonism, Aesthetics And The Sublime At The Origins Of Modernity / Douglas Hedley. Edited By Douglas Hedley And Sarah Hutton. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Two Of The Essays Were Translated From The German. commentary, but by selection and accretion. Those inspired by Plato form as intrinsic a part of Platonism as Plato himself—these are the so-called Neo-P- tonists (a divisive latter-day term which implies discontinuity between Plato and 6 his later followers to the disadvantage of the latter). In the process of its long course of development, Platonism has gathered a long tradition of interpr- ers, whose contributions have been enriched by other philosophical strands—for example Stoicism, which is an important element in the philosophy of Plotinus. To this it must be added that so much of the impact of Platonism is indirect. The Platonism of many thinkers, especially in medieval times, was more often than not implicit, rather than conscious borrowing. It derived not from the Platonic corpus (most of which was unknown at that time), but indirectly through Philo, and theologians like Augustine and Origen. The combined effect of these factors is that the legacy of Platonism is rich, varied and extensive, but eludes the scope of focused enquiry. A further factor complicating assessments of Platonism in the modern era, is polarisation in the historiography itself. Historians of modern philosophy—at least in the anglophone world—readily adopt a model which counterposes ancient and modern. Drawing on a division, which the early modern philosophers themselves invoked, they employ an ‘ancient- 7 modern distinction'as a principle for organising the history of philosophy.