The Cambridge Platonists in Philosophical Context

The philosophy of the Cambridge Platonists in the mid-17th century constituted a unique return to many themes of classical Christian Platonism in epistemology and metaphysics. It did so at a time marked by great changes in the natural sciences and in philosophy under the impact of such figures as Galileo and Descartes and great religious and political turmoil in England associated with the Civil War. As well as examining central aspects of their thought and their political and religious implications, this text explores themes arising from that context and the relationship of key figures in the group with their contemporaries and successors. It consists of a series of papers written by scholars of the period from England, France and Australia. A particular feature is the links made with contemporary political debate, an aspect of their thought hardly touched on in any other publications on the school.