Springer The Metaphysics of Henry More: 207 (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées, 207)

More’s centrality in seventeenth-century metaphysics is undisputed. This sustained examination of More's own highly systematic philosophy offers readers a rounded assessment and provides fresh insights thus far missed in the secondary literature. Review “Reid’s book is the first comprehensive study of Henry More as a metaphysician, attentive to the broad picture as well as to fine details. As such, it is to be saluted as a great achievement in the field of the history of early modern philosophy … . Reid has also performed a great service to readers, for his book is written in a clear and compelling style … .” (Guido Giglioni, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Vol. 54 (3), July, 2016) From the Back Cover From his correspondence with Descartes in the 1640s to his discussions with Isaac Newton in the 1680s, Henry More (1614–1687) was a central figure in seventeenth-century philosophy. Notwithstanding his occasional portrayal as a rather eccentric anachronism, excessively wedded to the Neoplatonism of the past, the fact is that he was involved in some of the most cutting-edge debates of the day, and engaged with most of the giants of that great age of geniuses. The present work takes More seriously as a subtle and systematic early-modern metaphysician. It explores his ideas in relation to those of his contemporaries, both friends and foes, while also taking care not to neglect his Neoplatonic heritage; but it also reveals just how original a thinker he was in his own right. Topics include More’s evolving conception of Hyle (or first matter); his account of the physical world, a world of atoms without void; his theory of immaterial extension, and the divine real space that underlay this world; his attitude to mechanical explanations in physics, and his preferred theory of the Spirit of Nature; his developing attitude to the notion of living matter; and his views on the life of the human soul, before as well as after its union with the human body. About the Author Jasper Reid studied philosophy at Cambridge and Princeton, and is now a lecturer in philosophy at King's College London. His main area of research is in the history of philosophy of the early modern period, particularly on the metaphysical and epistemological side. He has written on a number of figures from that period, including Henry More, Descartes, Malebranche, Berkeley and Jonathan Edwards; and on a number of themes, including space, immaterialism, and early modern philosophy of mathematics.