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The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity Illustrated

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commented that "no writer has presented the necessity of acts of will so thoroughly and convincingly as Priestley ... If anyone is not convinced by this supremely clearly and accessibly written book, his understanding must really be paralysed by prejudices," and that the work contributed to
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because it relies on natural law. Isaac Kramnick points out the paradox of Priestley's positions: as a reformer, he argued that political change was essential to human happiness and urged his readers to participate, but he also claimed in works such as
93:: "all things, past, present, and to come, are precisely what the Author of nature really intended them to be, and has made provision for." He was the first to claim that what he called "philosophical necessity" (a position akin to 269:
The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity Illustrated; being an appendix to the Disquisitions relating to matter and spirit. To which is added an answer to the Letters on materialism, and on Hartley’s Theory of the
459: 179:". The narrator reads this philosophical treatise to get ideas on how to treat his obstinate employee Bartleby and to examine their relation to one another in God's larger plan. 97:) is consonant with Christianity. His philosophy was based on his theological interpretation of the natural world; like the rest of nature, man's mind is subject to the laws of 105:
created these laws, Priestley argued, the world and the men in it will eventually be perfected. He argued that the associations made in a person's mind were a
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believed that the work had so clearly refuted the notion of free will, that it is unnecessary to discuss the issue anymore. In a similar fashion,
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Kramnick, Isaac. "Eighteenth-Century Science and Radical Social Theory: The Case of Joseph Priestley's Scientific Liberalism."
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that "suggests that materialism and determinism are mutually supporting." Priestley explicitly stated that humans had no
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taking the complete necessity of acts of will as a settled matter to which no further doubt could pertain.
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product of their lived experience because Hartley's theory of associationism was analogous to
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philosophy even though such a position "entailed denial of free will and the soul."
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The Examination of Dr. Reid's Inquiry… Dr. Beattie's Essay… and Dr. Oswald's Appeal
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The Enlightened Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Work from 1773 to 1804
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Garrett, Clarke. "Joseph Priestley, the Millennium, and the French Revolution."
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Denken und Wirklichkeit. Versuch einer Erneuerung der kritischen Philosophie
381: 156: 64:, Priestley wrote a series of five major metaphysical works, arguing for a 21: 142: 94: 65: 42: 250:. Eds. Philip B. Dematteis and Peter S. Fosl. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002. 117:. Priestley contends that his necessarianism can be distinguished from 98: 90: 395: 118: 46: 559: 114: 460:
Essay on a Course of Liberal Education for Civil and Active Life
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Between 1774 and 1778, while serving as an assistant to
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Schofield, 77–91; Garrett, 55; Tapper, 319; Sheps, 138.
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Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air
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The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity Illustrated
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The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity Illustrated
353:. Trondheim: Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences. 346: 331:. Vol. 2. Leipzig: J. G. Findel. p. 162. 624: 340: 338: 532:An History of the Corruptions of Christianity 411: 468:The History and Present State of Electricity 344: 508:Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit 492:Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion 476:Essay on the First Principles of Government 335: 78:Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit 71:Continuing the arguments he had started in 418: 404: 229:Sheps, Arthur. "Joseph Priestley's Time 20: 326: 272:. London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1777. 175:mentions this book in the short story " 38:The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity 625: 540:Lectures on History and General Policy 524:Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever 399: 152:, who were drawn to its determinism. 425: 13: 558: 240:Tapper, Alan. "Joseph Priestley." 14: 679: 371: 444:The Rudiments of English Grammar 243:Dictionary of Literary Biography 668:Modern philosophical literature 202:Journal of the History of Ideas 194: 130:that humans have no free will. 55: 320: 311: 302: 293: 284: 275: 261: 248:British Philosophers 1500–1799 45:works of 18th-century British 1: 345:Schopenhauer, Arthur (1839). 254: 85:(1777), an "appendix" to the 16:1777 book by Joseph Priestley 189:Libertarianism (metaphysics) 141:influenced the 19th-century 133: 81:(1777), Priestley published 7: 387:The second edition enlarged 299:Qtd. in Schofield, Vol. 79. 182: 41:(1777) is one of the major 10: 684: 349:On the Freedom of the Will 209:Journal of British Studies 663:Books by Joseph Priestley 569: 556: 433: 653:Books about Christianity 607:Joseph Priestley College 577:Priestley and education 177:Bartleby, the Scrivener 139:Philosophical Necessity 128:Philosophical Necessity 31:Philosophical Necessity 658:1777 non-fiction books 592:Joseph Priestley House 563: 548:Theological Repository 484:A New Chart of History 33: 638:Books about necessity 582:Priestley and Dissent 562: 214:Schofield, Robert E. 24: 452:A Chart of Biography 95:absolute determinism 267:Priestley, Joseph. 237:18 (1999): 135–154. 204:34.1 (1973): 51–66. 161:Arthur Schopenhauer 564: 551:(1770–73, 1784–88) 34: 648:Metaphysics books 620: 619: 602:Priestley College 378:The first edition 360:978-0-631-14552-3 675: 427:Joseph Priestley 420: 413: 406: 397: 396: 391:Internet Archive 365: 364: 352: 342: 333: 332: 327:A. Spir (1873). 324: 318: 315: 309: 306: 300: 297: 291: 288: 282: 279: 273: 265: 211:25 (1986): 1–30. 155:The philosopher 146:John Stuart Mill 101:, but because a 50:Joseph Priestley 27:Joseph Priestley 25:Title page from 683: 682: 678: 677: 676: 674: 673: 672: 623: 622: 621: 616: 597:Priestley Medal 587:Priestley Riots 565: 554: 429: 424: 374: 369: 368: 361: 343: 336: 325: 321: 316: 312: 307: 303: 298: 294: 289: 285: 280: 276: 266: 262: 257: 197: 185: 173:Herman Melville 150:Herbert Spencer 136: 58: 17: 12: 11: 5: 681: 671: 670: 665: 660: 655: 650: 645: 640: 635: 618: 617: 615: 614: 612:5577 Priestley 609: 604: 599: 594: 589: 584: 579: 573: 571: 567: 566: 557: 555: 553: 552: 544: 536: 528: 520: 512: 504: 496: 488: 480: 472: 464: 456: 448: 439: 437: 431: 430: 423: 422: 415: 408: 400: 394: 393: 384: 373: 372:External links 370: 367: 366: 359: 334: 319: 310: 301: 292: 283: 274: 259: 258: 256: 253: 252: 251: 238: 227: 212: 205: 196: 193: 192: 191: 184: 181: 135: 132: 123:predestination 103:benevolent God 62:Lord Shelburne 57: 54: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 680: 669: 666: 664: 661: 659: 656: 654: 651: 649: 646: 644: 641: 639: 636: 634: 631: 630: 628: 613: 610: 608: 605: 603: 600: 598: 595: 593: 590: 588: 585: 583: 580: 578: 575: 574: 572: 568: 561: 550: 549: 545: 542: 541: 537: 534: 533: 529: 526: 525: 521: 518: 517: 513: 510: 509: 505: 502: 501: 497: 494: 493: 489: 486: 485: 481: 478: 477: 473: 470: 469: 465: 462: 461: 457: 454: 453: 449: 446: 445: 441: 440: 438: 436: 432: 428: 421: 416: 414: 409: 407: 402: 401: 398: 392: 388: 385: 383: 379: 376: 375: 362: 356: 351: 350: 341: 339: 330: 323: 314: 308:Kramnick, 16. 305: 296: 287: 278: 271: 264: 260: 249: 245: 244: 239: 236: 232: 228: 225: 224:0-271-02459-3 221: 217: 213: 210: 206: 203: 199: 198: 190: 187: 186: 180: 178: 174: 169: 167: 162: 158: 153: 151: 147: 144: 140: 131: 129: 124: 120: 116: 112: 108: 104: 100: 96: 92: 88: 87:Disquisitions 84: 80: 79: 74: 69: 67: 63: 53: 51: 48: 44: 40: 39: 32: 28: 23: 19: 546: 538: 530: 522: 515: 514: 506: 498: 490: 482: 474: 466: 458: 450: 442: 382:Google Books 348: 328: 322: 313: 304: 295: 290:Tapper, 318. 286: 281:Tapper, 316. 277: 268: 263: 247: 241: 234: 230: 215: 208: 201: 195:Bibliography 170: 154: 143:utilitarians 138: 137: 127: 111:natural laws 106: 86: 82: 76: 72: 70: 59: 56:Introduction 43:metaphysical 37: 36: 35: 30: 18: 643:Materialism 633:Determinism 171:The writer 75:(1774) and 66:materialist 627:Categories 255:References 113:, such as 503:(1774–77) 495:(1772–74) 134:Reception 107:necessary 99:causation 91:free will 183:See also 119:fatalism 47:polymath 157:A. Spir 115:gravity 543:(1788) 535:(1782) 527:(1780) 519:(1777) 511:(1777) 487:(1769) 479:(1768) 471:(1767) 463:(1765) 455:(1765) 447:(1761) 357:  231:Charts 222:  570:Other 435:Works 246:252: 235:Lumen 355:ISBN 270:mind 220:ISBN 166:Kant 148:and 121:and 389:on 380:on 29:'s 629:: 337:^ 52:. 419:e 412:t 405:v 363:. 226:.

Index


Joseph Priestley
metaphysical
polymath
Joseph Priestley
Lord Shelburne
materialist
Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit
free will
absolute determinism
causation
benevolent God
natural laws
gravity
fatalism
predestination
utilitarians
John Stuart Mill
Herbert Spencer
A. Spir
Arthur Schopenhauer
Kant
Herman Melville
Bartleby, the Scrivener
Libertarianism (metaphysics)
ISBN
0-271-02459-3
Dictionary of Literary Biography

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