Aids to reflection

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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361 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1825

About the author

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet, critic, and philosopher who was, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England and one of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, as well as his major prose work Biographia Literaria.

Reviews

[josh patch]

As a total work, kind of a mess. But Coleridge’s earnest tone and his will to bring cheerful war against all the pernicious philosophies of his time are compelling. If you care about Christian theological controversies, you’ll like it. He actually has good thoughts on minutiae like paedobaptism and English Arminianism.

The best insights for my money are 1) his famous distinction between reason and understanding, 2) his ideas on figuratively language in scripture, and 3) his unique take on original sin, which he sees as the basis of all religion.

Aids to Reflection deserves to be rediscovered as a work of Christian philosophy.

[Austin Hoffman]

I. I hate aphorisms.
II. The garnish is more than the dish.
III. Aphorisms are for the lazy who can’t supply a unifying thought.
IV. Always read the footnotes.
V. Want to hear something totally unrelated?
VI. I don’t think I will read this one again.