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Chapter 7 - The Text of Pitcairneana

Houghton Library, Harvard, MS Eng 1114*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2023

Michael Hunter
Michael Hunter
Affiliation:
Birkbeck College, University of London
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Summary

Chapter 7 publishes the text of Pitcairneana, MS Eng 1114 in the Houghton Library, Harvard. In it, a spokesman for atheism, ‘Incredulous’, argues against ‘Credulous’, a spokesman for Christian orthodoxy, and makes various points, notably concerning the relationship between spiritual and non-spiritual bodies and the issue of motion being intrinsic to matter; he also argues in favour of the world’s being eternal rather than the result of a divine act of creation and offers a cyclical rather than progressive view of human development. The authors referred to in the dialogue include Samuel Clarke, Henry More, John Toland and Robert Hooke, while the treatise ends by invoking ‘axioms’ in an essentially Newtonian mode.

Keywords

HarvardBoyle LecturesClarke (Samuel)More (Henry)Toland (John)Hooke (Robert)bigotryeternalismmatter theoryaxioms
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Chapter
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Atheists and Atheism before the Enlightenment
The English and Scottish Experience
 , pp. 144 - 157
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • The Text of Pitcairneana
  • Michael Hunter, Birkbeck College, University of London
  • Book: Atheists and Atheism before the Enlightenment
  • Online publication: 06 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009268790.007
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  • The Text of Pitcairneana
  • Michael Hunter, Birkbeck College, University of London
  • Book: Atheists and Atheism before the Enlightenment
  • Online publication: 06 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009268790.007
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Text of Pitcairneana
  • Michael Hunter, Birkbeck College, University of London
  • Book: Atheists and Atheism before the Enlightenment
  • Online publication: 06 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009268790.007
Available formats
×