Glanvill, Joseph

Glanvill, Joseph

▪ British philosopher
Glanvill also spelled  Glanvil  
born 1636, Plymouth, Devon, Eng.
died Nov. 4, 1680, Bath, Somerset

      English self-styled Skeptic and apologist for the Royal Society who defended the reality of witchcraft and ghosts and the preexistence of the soul. Thereby, according to some, he initiated psychical research.

      Glanvill was educated at Exeter and Lincoln Colleges, Oxford, and served as rector of Frome Selwood and Streat before transferring (1666) to the Abbey Church, Bath. In 1678 he was installed prebendary of Worcester and acted as chaplain to Charles II from 1672.

      The Vanity of Dogmatizing, or Confidence in Opinions (1661) attacked scholastic dogmatism, to which Glanvill opposed the experimental method. He admitted that universal laws could not be established in this way, but for him a scientific approach was the best available method for gaining knowledge and control over nature. His Plus Ultra or the Progress and Advancement of Knowledge Since the Days of Aristotle (1668) defended the Royal Society's experimental method as religious in nature because it revealed the workings of God. Glanvill's effort to prove scientifically that witches and ghosts exist was viewed as a refutation of atheism. Essays on Several Important Subjects (1676) contains some of his more mature thinking on religion and reason.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Glanvill, Joseph — (1636–1680) English philosopher. An Oxford educated proponent of the Royal Society, Glanvill is principally remembered for The Vanity of Dogmatizing (1661; the work contains the story that inspired Matthew Arnold s poem, ‘The Scholar Gipsy’).… …   Philosophy dictionary

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  • Glanvill, Joseph — (1636 1680)    Controversialist and moral writer, b. at Plymouth, and ed. at Oxf., took orders, and held various benefices, including the Rectory of Bath Abbey and a prebend at Worcester. He came under the influence of the Camb. Platonists,… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

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  • Joseph Glanvill — La bruja de Endor: del frontispicio de Sadducismus Triumphatus de Glanvill. Joseph Glanvill (1636 4 de noviembre de 1680) fue un escritor, filósofo y clérigo inglés. Educado en la Universidad de Oxford (Bachelor of Arts por el Exeter College,… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Joseph Glanvill — en 1681. Gravure de William Faithorne. Joseph Glanvill, né en 1636 et mort en 1680, est un écrivain, philosophe et clergyman anglais. N étant pas scientifique, il est surnommé le « plus talentueux apologiste des virtuoses », ou, en d… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Joseph Glanvill — (1636 1680) was an English writer, philosopher, and clergyman. Educated at Oxford University (B.A. from Exeter College, M.A. from Lincoln College), Glanvill was made Vicar of Frome in 1662, rector of the Abbey Church at Bath in 1666, and… …   Wikipedia

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