John Locke: The Philosopher as Christian Virtuoso

276 Pages·2017·1.606 MB·English

by  Victor Nuovo

OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 07/24/2017, SPi
John Locke
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 07/24/2017, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 07/24/2017, SPi
John Locke
The Philosopher as Christian
Virtuoso
Victor Nuovo
CLARENDON PRESS ∙ OXFORD
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 07/24/2017, SPi
3
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© Victor Nuovo 2017
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First Edition published in 2017
Impression: 1
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OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 07/24/2017, SPi
To Betty
‘Not for a year,
But ever and a day’
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 07/24/2017, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 07/24/2017, SPi
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
Part I. The Christian Virtuoso and His Atheist Shadow
1. Francis Bacon and the Origins of Christian Virtuosity 9
2. Robert Boyle, Christian Virtuoso 35
3. Epicurus, Lucretius, and the Crisis of Atheism 59
Part II. The Philosophy of a Christian Virtuoso
4. The Origin of Locke’s Essay 89
5. The Philosophy of a Christian Virtuoso i: The New Countenance of Logic 121
6. The Philosophy of a Christian Virtuoso ii: Physics 150
7. The Philosophy of a Christian Virtuoso iii: Ethics 182
8. The Theology of a Christian Virtuoso 214
Conclusion 247
Bibliography 253
Index 261
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 07/24/2017, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 07/24/2017, SPi
Acknowledgments
The idea for this book first occurred to me about two decades ago as I was trying
to imagine how the same author could have written An Essay concerning Human
Understanding and The Reasonableness of Christianity not by mere circumstance but
by design, or how these works could be united in a single intellectual program. Not
long after that I discovered Robert Boyle’s The Christian Virtuoso, and the idea received
a name and grew into a theme, which has been developed in this book.
But the book would not have been written without a great deal of help. It was my good
fortune to meet Michael Ayers, who enlisted me to be an editor of The Clarendon Locke.
This appointment gave me access to all the Locke manuscripts in the Bodleian Library.
It also brought me into contact with the General Editors of the series, M. A. Stewart
and John Milton, who taught me much not only about the art of critical editing, but also
about John Locke and his contexts. It brought me new friends, scholars who came to be
a constant and reliable source of wisdom and knowledge: Peter Anstey, Bruce Eichinger,
Eric Eve, Mark Goldie, Sarah Hutton, Antonia LoLordo, John Price, John Rogers, Paul
Schuurman, Luisa Simonetti, Tim Stanton, Christopher Star, John Stephens†, Jonathan
Walmsley, John Walsh, Maurice Wiles†, and Richard Yeo.
Two institutions provided me with a place to work. Middlebury College assigned me
a study in its library where I go to think and write, where I can collect books and papers,
and occasionally also my thoughts. Harris Manchester College has done much the
same during my many trips to Oxford. It has been my home away from home. The
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation granted me an Emeritus Fellowship, which financed
these trips.
Peter Momtchiloff also deserves special mention. As philosophy editor of Oxford
University Press, he has been constant in his encouragement, patient, and always ready
with good advice. I am grateful also to two anonymous readers who provided useful
comments and criticism, which guided me in making final revisions. One of my readers
provided me with a splendid summary of the whole work that enabled me to clarify
my original intentions—a nice piece of evidence of the objectivity of thinking. I am
grateful also to Kim Richardson for sensitive and scrupulous copyediting.
Finally, I owe more than I can say to my wife, the honorable Betty Nuovo, who for
over three score years has been my dearest friend, my confidant, and my inspiration.
She willed this work to be, and so it is properly dedicated to her.
For any who do not recognize them, the words in my dedication are lyrics from a
venerable Gershwin song.