The Philosophy of Edward Stillingfleet: including his Replies to John Locke

by Edward Stillingfleet

'Edward Stillingfleet, besides being a formidable critic of Locke, was an important thinker in his own right, widely read and respected in the 17th century. John Rogers and Thoemmes Press are to be commended for making some of Stillingfleet's most significant works, which have long been out of print, available once again.'
- Professor Vere Chappell

The fame of Edward Stillingfleet (1635 - 99) in the history of philosophy rests on his important controversy with Locke. However, he was a significant and influential philosopher in his own right whose other works are often neglected. This collection gives the opportunity to assess all of Stillingfleet's major philosophical writings, as well as his important critique of Locke's philosophy.

Locke's long-awaited Essay concerning Human Understanding , published in March 1690, met with immediate success but also a flood of literature in opposition. Stillingfleet, then Bishop of Worcester, was the most famous of the critics. First in his Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity , and then in two further letters, he drew attention to the inconsistencies of Locke's argument and in particular the unsatisfactory explanation of the idea of substance. Locke replied at length and the published letters between them continued back and forth until the bishop's death in 1699.

In addition to these exchanges, this collection includes Stillingfleet's important writings on Church and State and the authority of the Bible. Added to these is a biography of Stillingfleet thought to have been written by Richard Bentley, who lived in Stillingfleet's house and was his chaplain. The texts are extremely scarce in their original editions, and until now largely unavailable to most scholars. The editor G. A. J. Rogers has selected the best editions of Stillingfleet's works and provides a new introduction to the collection.

—the first reprint of many of Stillingfleet's works since the 18th century
—extremely scarce texts, otherwise virtually impossible to access
—a major intellectual figure from a crucial point in English history
—essential for a proper understanding of Locke's masterpiece, An Essay concerning Human Understanding

2166 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 1999

About the author

Edward Stillingfleet was born in Cranborne, Dorset. He went at the age of thirteen to St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1652. He became vicar of Sutton, Bedfordshire in 1657.

In 1665, after he had made his name as a writer, he became vicar at St Andrew, Holborn. He preached at St Margaret, Westminster on 10 October 1666, the 'day of humiliation and fasting' after the Great Fire of London, with such an attendance that Samuel Pepys was turned away (recording that he visited the Dog Tavern to eat herrings instead; Pepys mentions Stillingfleet a few times in his diary, they were schoolmates at Cambridge).

Stillingfleet then held many preferments, including a Royal Chaplaincy, and the Deanery of St Paul's (1678), the latter involving him in work connected with the building of the new St Paul's Cathedral. He became Bishop of Worcester in 1689. He was a frequent speaker in the House of Lords, and had considerable influence as a churchman.

He supported Richard Bentley, who lived in his household as a tutor for a number of years, from shortly after his graduation in 1693. Bentley would later be his chaplain and biographer, and describe him as "one of the most universal scholars that ever lived."

In 1691, at his request, Queen Mary wrote to the magistrates of Middlesex, asking for stronger enforcement of the laws against vice. This was an early move in the campaign of the Society for the Reformation of Manners.

At his death Stillingfleet left a library of some 10,000 printed books, which were purchased by Narcissus Marsh and today are part of Marsh's Library in Dublin, Ireland. His manuscript collection was purchased by Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (1661-1724), and passed with the Harleian Manuscripts to the British Museum in 1753 as one of the foundation collections.