Přirozené náboženství Josepha Priestleyho

• Authors: Peterková Eva

Title variants

EN

The Natural Religion of Joseph Priestley

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) was a thinker who was interested in many scientific disciplines of his time. In this regard, his reflections on natural philosophy and metaphysics are particularly interesting. He held the opinion that man is entirely material and all the components that we attribute to the immaterial principle in man – the soul – are a manifes tation of the material brain. Man, like all material things, must follow the laws of nature, and therefore we can explain his entire functioning on the basis of these laws – from physiological manifestations to his actions. This excludes, however, the possibility of free human will. Priestley was also a devout Christian throughout his life, even a minister, and tried to connect the scientific knowledge of the time with theology. In this article, we will demonstrate how he interpreted some fundamental Christian doctrines and dogmas to make them compatible with his materialism. We will look at the question that caused the greatest embarrassment in his system, namely, how to combine mechanical materialism with the possibility of eternal life and the doctrine of resurrection.

Keywords

EN

Joseph Priestley; Mechanical Materialism; Natural Philosophy; Theology; Doctrine of Resurrection; Trinity of God; Pre‑existence of Christ

• Publisher: Palacky University, Cyrill-Method Theological Faculty, Olomouc, Czech Republic
• Journal: Studia theologica
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 4
• Pages: 149-164

Contributors

author

Peterková Eva

Identifiers

DOI

10.5507/sth.2023.053