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person1618-1652

John Smith

Disciplines:
theology

Summary

English Cambridge Platonist philosopher who died at 34, known for his Select Discourses which develop a Neoplatonic account of mystical knowledge and virtue.

Core Contribution

True philosophy is spiritual preparation: the mind must be purified and virtuous before it can know God; theoretical knowledge without moral transformation is worthless.

Notable Works & Achievements

Select Discourses

Historical Influences

Plotinus Benjamin Whichcote

Intellectual Lineage

Cambridge Platonism Neoplatonism

Contemporaries & Peers

Benjamin Whichcote Ralph Cudworth Henry More

Minds Influenced

No recorded minds influenced.

Intellectual Posterity

Cambridge Platonism

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