The Christian philosopher
By: Cotton Mather ; edited, with an introduction and notes, by Winton U. Solberg.
Contributors: Solberg, Winton U., 1922-
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Urbana
Language: eng
Number of pages: 488
Subjects: Natural theology -- Early works to 1800; Religion and science -- Early works to 1800; Science -- Early works to 1800
Genres: Early works to 1800.
Description: The prominent Puritan clergyman Cotton Mather published The Christian Philosopher in 1721, eight years after he had been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. The first comprehensive book on science written by an American, it was intended to demonstrate the harmony between science and religion. Mather surveyed all the known sciences from astronomy and physics to human anatomy. He presented evidence that both celestial and terrestrial phenomena imply an intelligent designer.

Winton Solberg's introduction places Mather's treatise in its widest historical context. In addition to tracing the origins and sources of Mather's work, Solberg analyzes the book's contents, its reception, and its significance in American intellectual and cultural history.

This edition returns Mather to his rightful place in American thought, as a deeply religious intellectual whose warm reception of the new science helped bridge the gap between the medieval worldview and the scientific revolution of Copernicus and Newton.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [319]-378) and index.