John Sergeant and his circle : : a study of three seventeenth-century English Aristotelians / / by Dorothea Krook ; edited with an introduction by Beverley C. Southgate.

• Superior document: Brill's studies in intellectual history, volume 39
• VerfasserIn: Krook-Gilead, Dorothea, 1920-1989,
• TeilnehmendeR: Southgate, Beverley C.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, New York : : E.J. Brill,, 1993.
• Year of Publication: 1993
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's studies in intellectual history ; v. 39.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (202 pages) :; portrait.

This book presents an account of the essentially Aristotelian philosophy of John Sergeant (1623-1707) and his Blackloist colleagues, Kenelm Digby and Thomas White. Despite their notoriety as Catholic controversialists in the mid-seventeenth century, Sergeant and his circle have long suffered from historical neglect, and Professor Krook's work provides a useful corrective to conventional historiography. Digby, White and Sergeant were all concerned to present a coherent philosophical and theological framework, which would provide some certainty in the face of the contemporary sceptical challenge, and the author shows how their work was securely based on traditional Aristotelian foundations. Through a detailed discussion of Aristotelian methodology, she shows how, in the face of Protestant misunderstanding, they justified their own claims for certainty. This study restores Sergeant and his circle to their proper historical importance and provides an original and illuminating study of late seventeenth-century Aristotelian philosophy.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION: CAREER AND CONNECTIONS -- CHAPTER TWO: ARISTOTLE: MASTER OF DEFINITIONS AND NOTIONS -- CHAPTER THREE: KENELM DIGBY: \'TWO INCOMPARABLE TREATISES\' -- CHAPTER FOUR: THOMAS WHITE: A \'SECOND ARISTOTLE\' -- CHAPTER FIVE: SERGEANT THE ARISTOTELIAN (I) -- CHAPTER SIX: SERGEANT THE ARISTOTELIAN (II): THEORY OF SCIENCE -- CHAPTER SEVEN: SERGEANT ON LOCKE: IDEISM AND LANGUAGE -- CHAPTER EIGHT: SERGEANT AND THE ANGLICAN BISHOPS -- EPILOGUE -- APPENDIX -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX OF NAMES.