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‘In human shape to become the very beast!’ – Henry More on animals
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Muratori, Cecilia (2017) ‘In human shape to become the very beast!’ – Henry More on animals. British Journal for the History of Philosophy . pp. 1-19. doi:10.1080/09608788.2017.1284648 ISSN 0960-8788.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2017.1284648
Abstract
Animals – both tame and wild, as metaphors and as real presences – populate many of More’s works. In this essay, I show that, from the early Psychodia Platonica to the Divine Dialogues, animals are at the core of key metaphysical issues that reverberate on the levels of psychology and ethics. In particular I discuss three main aspects: (1) the role of animals in More’s critique of atheism, both as safeguard for the body–soul interaction and as proofs of divine providence in nature; (2) the problem of evil in the universe, and how to justify the existence of ‘evil’ animals in particular; (3) the differentiation between animals and humans, especially on the basis of their respective possibility of attaining happiness. In all three cases, I argue that More attempts to ‘tame’ the nature of animals, and yet that he is aware that ‘animality’ remains partly untamed.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GR Folklore P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics Q Science > QL Zoology |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | More, Henry, 1614-1687, More, Henry, 1614-1687 -- Characters -- Animals, Cartesian linguistics, Animals -- Fiction, Animals -- Folklore , Animals -- Symbolic aspects , Human-animal relationships, Atheism, Good and evil, Happiness, Cambridge Platonists | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | British Journal for the History of Philosophy | ||||||||
Publisher: | Routledge | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0960-8788 | ||||||||
Official Date: | 16 March 2017 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Page Range: | pp. 1-19 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1080/09608788.2017.1284648 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 21 March 2017 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 16 October 2018 |
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