Visionary materialism in the early works of william blake : the intersection of enthusiasm ... and empiricism

This new study, explores the connection between religious enthusiasm and empirical science in Blake's early work and the eighteenth century. Green integrates three divergent strands of Blake scholarship: of Blake's relationship with empiricism, his affiliations with radical Protestantism and investigations into his artistic theories and practices. Green concludes his discussion by looking ahead to representations of Blake's thought in Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. Blake's Response To The Enlightenment And Relation To Alternative Religious Traditions Have Long Been Topics Of Fervent Scholarly Debate, Though They Are Rarely Considered Together. Drawing On The Most Recent Discoveries Concerning Blake's Family Heritage And Cultural Context, This Study Re-evaluates Blake's Response To The Enlightenment To Propose A Radical New Reading Of His Early Works. Whereas Traditionally Blake Has Been Thought To Reject Empiricism And Materialism Outright, This Book Argues Instead That His Hostility Towards Enlightenment Philosophy Stems From A Sense That It Does Not Go Far Enough. Through A Careful Analysis Of Key Figures From Both Sides Of The Enlightenment/counter-enlightenment Divide (including Boehme, Swedenborg, The Moravians, Lavater, Brothers, Erasmus Darwin, Priestley And Locke), And A Consideration Of Derrida's Recent Work On Friendship And Religion, The Discussion Traces An Alternative Tradition Of Spiritual Vision That Challenges Many Preconceived Assumptions About Blake's Religious And Philosophical Inheritance. This Visionary Materialism Provides A New Way Of Thinking Not Only About Blake, But Also About Key Aspects Of Society Today.--jacket. Introduction : Blake And His Traditions -- 1. Experiences Of Empiricism -- 2. The Tree Of Mystery -- 3. Right Reason And 'sense Supernaturall' -- 4. The Opening Eye -- 5. The Ark Of God -- 6. The Sublime Act. Matthew J.a. Green. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 191-209) And Index. Incorporating the most recent discoveries concerning Blake's heritage and cultural context, Visionary Materialism in the Early Works of William Blake: The Intersection of Enthusiasm and Empiricism proposes a radical new reading of his early works, that sees them taking enlightenment ideas to heights never dreamed of by Locke and Priestley. Drawing on a careful analysis of key figures from both sides of the enlightenment/counter-enlightenment divide (including Boehme, Swedenborg, the Moravians, Lavater, Brothers, Erasmus Darwin), the discussion traces an alternative tradition that disrupts previous assumptions about important aspects of Blake's thought. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: Blake and His Traditions....Pages 1-9 Experiences of Empiricism....Pages 10-40 The Tree of Mystery....Pages 41-70 Right Reason and ‘Sense Supernaturall’....Pages 71-99 The Opening Eye....Pages 100-130 The Ark of God....Pages 131-170 The Sublime Act....Pages 171-190 Back Matter....Pages 191-218