ケンブリッジ・プラトン主義者と理性の概念 (冨田恭彦教授 退職記念号)

Abstract

This paper concerns the concept of reason, how it originates from the Hellenistic tradition and was revived and transformed in the 17th century. In particular I will look at how reason was used by the Cambridge Platonists in response to Hobbes' materialism and mechanistic philosophy, and as an irenic response to the rise of enthusiasm and religious fragmentation in 17th century Europe. The aim of this paper is to highlight a conceptual continuum from antiquity to enlightenment in the understanding of reason. I argue that there was a shift in the 17th century from a classical and metaphysical understanding of the concept of reason, as the 'Logos' with divine characteristics, to a more mechanistic understanding which, in turn, yielded a view of human nature as contingent and materialistic and is most notably in the works of Thomas Hobbes. I argue that the Cambridge Platonists' critique of Hobbes gives a valuable insight into what I identify as the crucial conceptual shift.