Quaker Epistemology
By: by Laura Rediehs
Publisher: BRILL
Published: 2019
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 92
ISBN-13: 9789004419001
Subjects: Society of Friends; Theory of Knowledge
Description: Quakerism (the Religious Society of Friends) emerged in the seventeenth century, during a time when philosophical debates about the nature of knowledge led to the emergence of modern science. The Quakers, in conversation with early modern philosophers, developed a distinctive epistemology rooted in their concept of the Light Within: a special internal sense giving access to divine insight. The Light Within provided illumination both to properly understand the Bible and to 'read' the Book of Nature. In , L. Rediehs argues that Quaker epistemology can be thought of as an expanded experiential empiricism, integrating ethical and religious knowledge with scientific knowledge. This epistemology has carried through in Quaker thought to the present day and can help address today's epistemological crisis. This work will be of great interest to both philosophers interested in the epistemological implications of Quaker thought, and scholars of Quaker Studies interested in connecting Quaker thought to philosophical historical epistemology.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.