Introduction: The Cambridge Platonists and Philosophy of Religion

Summary

The introduction considers the place of the Cambridge Platonists in the history of philosophy, and particularly the development of contemporary philosophy of religion. Although often forgotten today, the Cambridge Platonists exerted a direct influence on many of the most important philosophers of early modernity, including Leibniz, Locke and Hume. While their Platonism can make them seem antiquated and out of step with philosophical currents that ultimately proved more influential to our own time, the Cambridge Platonists were recognised by their contemporaries as some of the most important philosophers of their age and still lay claim to our attention as some of the first modern philosophers of religion.