Henry More
Henry More (1614-1687) was an influential English philosopher and a prominent member of the Cambridge Platonists, a group known for integrating Platonic thought with practical ethics and metaphysics during a tumultuous period in England, marked by the English Civil War and the rise of the Commonwealth. Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, More received his education at Eton and Christ's College, Cambridge, where he later became a fellow. Despite the civil unrest, he focused on his scholarly pursuits rather than church appointments. More is best known for his poetic work "Psychodia Platonica," which explores Platonic myths about the soul. He engaged in correspondence with René Descartes and authored several theological treatises, including "An Antidote Against Atheisme," which argued for the existence of God. His ideas sparked controversy, particularly accusations of latitudinarianism from critics concerned about his deviation from traditional Anglican doctrine. Elected to the Royal Society in 1664, More also explored topics such as Kabbalism and witchcraft in his later years. More's contributions to philosophy and theology continue to be of interest to scholars and historians today.
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Henry More
Philosopher
- Born: October 1, 1614
- Birthplace: Grantham, Lincolnshire, England
- Died: September 1, 1687
- Place of death: Cambridge, England
Biography
Henry More was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, in 1614, the son of an alderman and mayor of Grantham. More was educated at Eton, after which he attended Christ’s College, Cambridge University, and he was affiliated with the university for the rest of his life. He received his B.A. in 1636 and his M.A. in 1639. In 1641, he was elected a fellow of Christ’s College and also was ordained in the Anglican church. However, he refused offers of church appointments, preferring his university studies.
The English Civil War and the subsequent establishment of the Commonwealth were tumultuous times, particularly for Anglican clergy and supporters of the monarchy, but More’s career as a scholar seems to have left him untouched by the civil upheavals. His work established him as the leading voice of a group of philosophers called the Cambridge Platonists, who included Ralph Cudworth and John Worthington. The group’s work was marked by its use of vernacular English to express a mixture of Platonic philosophy, metaphysics, and practical ethics.
In the 1640’s, More tutored Anne Finch, the sister of a friend, in philosophy, encouraging her interest in the subject to the extent that she herself became a philosopher, a remarkable achievement for a seventeenth century woman. Their friendship continued after her marriage to Edward Conway, and More visited her on some of his few excursions away from Cambridge.
More’s major poetic achievement is Psychodia Platonica: Or, A Platonicall Song of the Soul, Consisting of Foure Severall Poems . . . , more than a thousand Spenserian stanzas examining Platonic myths concerning the soul published in 1642, with additional sections published in 1647. In 1648, More began a correspondence with the French philosopher René Descartes out of enthusiasm for Decartes’s work, although More’s theology later caused that enthusiasm to cool.
In the 1650’s, More began to write a series of theological and philosophical treatises. The first was An Antidote Against Atheisme: Or, An Appeal to the Natural Faculties of the Minde of Man, Whether There Be Not a God, in which More demonstrated the existence of God based on observations of nature. Two other books uncovered kabbalistic secrets which More believed he had found in the Bible; another dealt with religious zealotry; still another offered a fuller statement of More’s ideas about the immortality of the soul. An Explanation of the Grand Mystery of Godliness offers an explanation of his theology. The thesis is the basis for the accusation of latitudinarianism that was leveled against the Cambridge Platonists by those who felt the Platonists were too willing to ignore crucial details of church doctrine; these charges were made by many representatives of the Anglican church after the restoration of King Charles II in 1660.
More was elected to the Royal Society in 1664. He spent much of the 1670’s translating his works into Latin and pursuing his interests in the Kabbala, Quakerism, and witchcraft. He died in 1687.