{"title":"The Impact of Thomas Stanley's History of Philosophy on Margaret Cavendish","authors":"A. Sherman","doi":"10.1353/sip.2023.0010","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:This essay argues that Thomas Stanley's magisterial History of Philosophy influenced the evolution of Margaret Cavendish's thought in ways that have not been previously recognized. While scholars have discussed Cavendish's evolving views of atomism and materialism, a comparison of her attitudes toward Pythagoras and toward skepticism before and after 1660 suggests that Cavendish adopted a more nuanced approach to skepticism—and to philosophical debate and dissent more generally—after encountering Stanley's work. Her reading of Sextus Empiricus's Outlines of Pyrrhonism in Stanley's 1660 volume may also have informed her vigorous epistolary exchanges with Joseph Glanvill on the subject of witchcraft.","PeriodicalId":45500,"journal":{"name":"STUDIES IN PHILOLOGY","volume":"120 1","pages":"315 - 339"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"STUDIES IN PHILOLOGY","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sip.2023.0010","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract:This essay argues that Thomas Stanley's magisterial History of Philosophy influenced the evolution of Margaret Cavendish's thought in ways that have not been previously recognized. While scholars have discussed Cavendish's evolving views of atomism and materialism, a comparison of her attitudes toward Pythagoras and toward skepticism before and after 1660 suggests that Cavendish adopted a more nuanced approach to skepticism—and to philosophical debate and dissent more generally—after encountering Stanley's work. Her reading of Sextus Empiricus's Outlines of Pyrrhonism in Stanley's 1660 volume may also have informed her vigorous epistolary exchanges with Joseph Glanvill on the subject of witchcraft.
期刊介绍:
Founded in 1903, Studies in Philology addresses scholars in a wide range of disciplines, though traditionally its strength has been English Medieval and Renaissance studies. SIP publishes articles on British literature before 1900 and on relations between British literature and works in the Classical, Romance, and Germanic Languages.