The Procedure, Extent, And Limits Of Human Understanding - Softcover

Peter Browne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0371736994 ISBN 13: 9780371736999

Publisher: HardPress, 2021

Synopsis

The Procedure, Extent, And Limits Of Human Understanding by Peter Browne. This work surveys the boundaries of human knowledge and the method by which the mind attains it. Browne argues that knowledge begins with immediate sensible impressions and the imagination, but ascendancy to truth requires the operations of the pure intellect. He distinguishes original, simple, and immediate ideas from mediate ones, and contends that concepts of the divine are formed not by literal likeness but by analogy. The treatise carefully differentiates Divine Metaphor from Divine Analogy, warning against overreliance on figurative speech while defending a legitimate analogy that connects human understanding with heavenly realities. It rigorously analyzes various kinds of knowledge and evidence, from sense perception and memory to inference, moral certainty, and revealed religion, and defends the necessity of revelation against atheistic and Socinian objections. The work advances a framework for relating reason to religion, addressing topics such as the Trinity, the nature of God, and the relationship between Spirit, Soul, and Body, and culminates in a program for improving both knowledge and practical piety through natural and supernatural insight. 1737 edition context included.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371736994
• ISBN 13: 9780371736999
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 491