ML: Polish Brethrens’ Ideas Influence on the Philosophical Debate in 17th Century England

FI2_W02 FI2_W10 FI2_W11 FI2_U03 FI2_U06 FI2_U07 FI2_U08 FI2_U13 FI2_K08

The aim of the course is to show the reason and scope of Socinian’s influence on the seventeenth century philosophy primarily in England. Certain theological discussions contributed to shaping some intellectual developments of that time

The Socinians were the most significant and influential group of protestant reform’s rationalists, a group that began with the teachings of Laelius Socinus (+1562) and his nephew, Faustus Socinus (+1604). Faustus Socinus's fast-growing fame brought him to the attention of a like-minded group of reformers living in Raków, Poland, where he moved in 1579; hence the group was known as the "Polish Brethren”. They insisted that religion must be freely chosen if it were to be at all praiseworthy, and if religion had to be freely chosen then it could not be natural to man in any sense. They claimed however that men possessed a critical reasoning faculty which they must use to interpret revelation. That set of ideas proved to be influential in the XVIIth Century philosophical-theological debates. The lecture will focus especially on the important shift towards rationalization of religious beliefs which took place as a result of these debates.

1. P. Brock, Conscientious Objectors in the Polish Brethren Church, 1565-1605, The Slavonic and East European Review, 70(1992)4, pp. 670-687.

2. J. Edwards, The Socinian creed, or, A brief account of the professed tenents and doctrines of the foreign and English Socinians wherein is shew'd the tendency of them to irreligion and atheism, with proper antidotes against them, London 1697. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A38033.0001.001/1:5.6?rgn=div2;view=toc

3. S. Mortimer, Reason and Religion in the English Revolution. The Challenge of Socinianism, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2010.

4. J. Wojcik, Robert Boyle and the Limits od Reason, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1997, The Threat of Socinianism, s. 42-75.

Knowledge: Student knows and understands, in an extended way, the place and meaning of philosophy in relation to other sciences as well as subject and methodological specificity of philosophy; knows and understands the advanced terminology of the chosen philosophical subdiscipline in a selected foreign language; student knows and understands comprehensively and thoroughly the views of the chosen leading philosophical authors and the current state of research in selected philosophical issues

Skills: can creatively use philosophical and methodological knowledge in formulating hypotheses and constructing critical arguments; can determine the degree of relevance of theses for the problem or argument being investigated; can detect complex relationships between shaping philosophical ideas and social and cultural processes and define the relationship between these relationships; can identify typical argumentative strategies in oral and written statements; is able to translate a difficult philosophical text from a selected foreign language into Polish

Competences: is ready to constantly improve his language skills and use for this purpose sources available to him

Assessment criteria:

• Attending classes

• Taking part in the discussions

• Submitting one essay on a chosen topic concerning the Cabbala's influence on the modern philosophy (6-8 pages)