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The Religion of Nature Delineated

Downloads: 106
First published: 1722
Pages: 322

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About this book

William Wollaston's most influential work sets out an unusual foundation for morality: that right and wrong come down to truth and falsehood. To act wrongly, he argues, is to behave as if something were the case when it is not, so that every immoral act amounts to a lie told through conduct. From this single principle he builds an account of duty, happiness, reason, and the existence and attributes of God, all grounded in what he calls the religion of nature rather than revelation. Privately printed in 1722, the book became a bestseller of the English Enlightenment and drew replies from thinkers across the century, including a young Benjamin Franklin. This free PDF and EPUB edition returns a once famous work of moral philosophy to modern readers.

About the author

William Wollaston

William Wollaston (1659-1724) was an English philosopher and schoolmaster who lived quietly on an inherited fortune while devoting himself to study. A figure of the early Enlightenment, he is remembered almost entirely for his moral treatise on the religion of nature, published near the end of his life.

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