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According to most scholars, the Enlightenment was a rational awakening, a radical break from a past dominated by religion and superstition. But inLet There Be Enlightenment, Anton M. Matytsin, Dan Edelstein, and the contributors they have assembled deftly undermine this simplistic narrative. Emphasizing the ways in which religious beliefs and motivations shaped philosophical perspectives, essays in this book highlight figures and topics often overlooked in standard genealogies of the Enlightenment. The volume underscores the prominent role that religious discourses continued to play in major aspects of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century thought.The essays probe a wide range of subjects, from reformer Jan Amos Comenius's quest for universal enlightenment to the changing meanings of the light metaphor, Quaker influences on Baruch Spinoza's theology, and the unexpected persistence of Aristotle in the Enlightenment. Exploring the emergence of historical consciousness among Enlightenment thinkers while examining their repeated insistence on living in an enlightened age, the collection also investigates the origins and the long-term dynamics of the relationship between faith and reason.Providing an overview of the rich spectrum of eighteenth-century culture, the authors demonstrate that religion was central to Enlightenment thought. The term "enlightenment" itself had a deeply religious connotation. Rather than revisiting the celebrated breaks between the eighteenth century and the period that preceded it,Let There Be Enlightenmentreveals the unacknowledged continuities that connect the Enlightenment to its various antecedents.Contributors: Philippe Buc, William J. Bulman, Jeffrey D. Burson, Charly Coleman, Dan Edelstein, Matthew T. Gaetano, Howard Hotson, Anton M. Matytsin, Darrin M. McMahon, James Schmidt, C�line Spector, Jo Van Cauter
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LET THERE BE ENLIGHTENMENT This page intentionally left blank LET T HERE BE ENLIGHTENMENT The Religious and Mystical Sources of Rationality Edited by Anton M. Matytsin and Dan Edelstein JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS Baltimore © 2018 Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2018 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218 -4363 www .press .jhu .edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Matytsin, Anton M., 1985–editor. Title: Let t here be enlightenment : the religious and mystical sources of rationality / edited by Anton M. Matytsin and Dan Edelstein. Description: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017051885 | ISBN 9781421426013 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781421426020 (electronic) | ISBN 1421426013 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 1421426021 (electronic) Subjects: LCSH: Enlightenment. | Philosophy and religion. | Christ ianity—Influence. | Rationalism. Classification: LCC B802 .L445 2018 | DDC 190.9/033—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn .loc .gov /2017051885 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at 410-516-6936 or specialsales @press .jhu .edu. Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent post-consumer waste, whenever possible. contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Anton M. Matytsin and Dan Edelstein part one. Lux Via Lucis in tenebras: Comenius as Prophet of the Age of Light 23 Howard Hotson Whose Light Is It Anyway? The Strugg