Henry More (1614-1687): A Conference to mark the fourth centenary of his birth

Date: Friday 5 December 2014

Place: The Warburg Institute

Organisers: Sarah Hutton and Guido Giglioni

Despite being one of the most important thinkers in seventeenth-century British philosophy, Henry More has been denied the status of proper philosopher that his contemporaries Hobbes and Locke have long enjoyed. More’s work deserves to be recognized as a significant contribution to early modern philosophy. He was a figure who relentlessly engaged with the most pressing issues of his time. He intervened in the debate about the new science of nature and medicine, contributed in an original way to the recovery of Platonism and various elements of the classical tradition, left a lasting impact on the literary scene, played a role in the contemporary religious controversies and, finally, demonstrated a remarkable ability in identifying and reacting to the major cultural trends of the period.

This conference will take advantage of More’s centenary to engage in a one-day reappraisal of his legacy. It will do so against the background of a more nuanced and historicized understanding of early modern philosophy, theology and science, which have resulted in a more positive consideration of Renaissance theories of universal animation, a reassessment of the meaning of early modern experimental knowledge, the acknowledgment of the productive interplay of philology and philosophy advocated by the humanist movement, and, finally, a more balanced attitude towards the role that religious and theological arguments play in shaping metaphysical and logical ideas.

Speakers include: Alan Gabbey (Barnard), Guido Giglioni (Warburg Institute), Douglas Hedley (Cambridge), Sarah Hutton (Aberystwyth), David Leech (Bristol), Cecilia Muratori (Warwick), Jasper Reid (KCL).

Programme:

10.00 Registration and coffee

10.45 Morning session - Chair: Stephen Clucas (Birkbeck, University of London)

Introduction: Sarah Hutton (University of Aberystwyth)

Jasper Reid (King’s College) - More's Place in Seventeenth-Century Thought

Guido Giglioni (Warburg Institute) - Henry More’s Psychozoia and the Epic of Emanation

Douglas Hedley (University of Cambridge) - Henry More and Nathaniel Ingelo: The Platonic Imagination in Cambridge?

12.30 Lunch

1.30 Afternoon session - Chair: Richard Serjeantson (University of Cambridge)

Cecilia Muratori (University of Warwick) - Henry More on Animals

Sarah Hutton (University of Aberystwyth) - Henry More and Renaissance Philosophy: More's Response to Girolamo Cardano in his Of the Immortality of the Soul

3.15 Tea

3.45

David Leech (University of Bristol) - Henry More on the ‘Boniform Faculty’

Alan Gabbey (Barnard College, Columbia University) - Philosophia Spinozana Destructa: Henry More (1671-1679)

5.30 Reception

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Registration Details

Conference fees
Conference fees (which include coffee/tea, and a sandwich lunch) are as follows:

Standard rate: £25

Concessionary rate: £12.50 (for full-time students/retired)

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