THE PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM AND LAW IN THE VIEWS OF NEW ENGLAND PURITAN THINKER NATHANIEL WARD
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24919/2522-4700.46.11Keywords:
history of American philosophy, early American philosophy, philosophy of Puritanism, Nathaniel Ward, freedom, law, Christianity.Abstract
Summary. The purpose of the article. The article aims to carry out a historical and philosophical study of the intellectual heritage of the New England Puritan thinker Nathaniel Ward, to reveal the features and specifics of the American philosopher’s understanding of the problems of freedom and law. Methodological principles. The means of achieving the set goals is the historical and philosophical reconstruction, with the help of which the reconstruction of the main philosophical views of the thinker is carried out. The author uses both general scientific methods and special ones, such as the hermeneutical method, which allows the revealing of the essence and meaning of the texts of the American thinker, as well as an appeal to «intellectual history». Scientific novelty. The article substantiates the idea that Nathaniel Ward, a New England Puritan thinker, despite the fact that he did not identify himself as a philosopher, made a significant contribution to the history of early American philosophy. Using the methodological approach of R. Rorty about “intellectual history”, a new and relevant view of the legacy of this thinker through the prism of the modern understanding of philosophy and philosophical reflection becomes possible. A new approach to the study of the texts of the thinker opens up new meanings, on the other hand, demonstrates a deep and fundamental analysis of the philosophical problems of the concepts of freedom and human rights. In the era of American Puritanism, with its characteristic features of rigorism, theocracy, and absolutization of vows, he tries to bring the ideas of freedom and human rights to the fore. Conclusions. An analysis of the intellectual heritage of the New England Puritan thinker Nathaniel Ward allows us to better understand the origins of American liberalism and the primacy of the law, which in turn complements the overall picture of the era of American Puritanism in America and the history of early American philosophical thought.
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