John Toland (1670 to 1722) was an Irish-born freethinker and political pamphleteer, one of the most controversial English-language philosophers of the early Enlightenment. Born at Ardagh in Donegal and raised a Catholic, he turned Protestant in his teens and studied at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leiden and Oxford. His Christianity Not Mysterious of 1696 argued that nothing in the Gospel is contrary to reason or above it, and the Irish Parliament had it burned by the common hangman. He wrote for religious tolerance and a free press, coined the words pantheist and freethinker, and in his late writings moved toward a Spinozistic view of God as the immanent cause of matter in motion. He lived by freelance writing and died poor at Putney.
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Source 1001 Philosophers: John Toland (1001 Philosophers)
Source 1001 Philosophers: John Toland (1001 Philosophers)
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Source 1001 Philosophers: John Toland (1001 Philosophers)
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Source 1001 Philosophers: John Toland (1001 Philosophers)
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Source John Toland (Wikipedia)
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Source 1001 Philosophers: John Toland (1001 Philosophers)Lead, nationalityQuote, Lead, nationality
was an Irish philosopher of the Modern era
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Source 1001 Philosophers: John Toland (1001 Philosophers)Life and works, birthQuote, Life and works, birth
John Toland was born at Ardagh on the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal in November 1670
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1. John Toland (Wikipedia)
Lead, nationality
was an Irish rationalist philosopher and freethinker
Influenced By: John Locke, Lead
was influenced by the philosophy of John Locke
View the Source2. 1001 Philosophers: John Toland (1001 Philosophers)
Lead, life dates
was born in 1670 and died in 1722
Life and works
called in his youth, by his own account, Janus Junius
Life and works, role in life
He spent the rest of his life as a freelance writer, pamphleteer, and diplomatic agent
Lead, tradition
one of the most controversial English-language philosophers of the early Enlightenment
Lead, nationality
was an Irish philosopher of the Modern era
Life and works, birth
John Toland was born at Ardagh on the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal in November 1670
In Branch: Philosophy of Religion, Lead, branch
argued that there is nothing in the Gospel contrary to reason or above it
Associated With: Empiricism, Lead, school
associated with Empiricism and Early Modern Philosophy
Associated With: Enlightenment Philosophy, Lead, school
one of the most controversial English-language philosophers of the early Enlightenment
Influenced By: Baruch Spinoza, Life and works, influences
in his late writings pushed toward a Spinozistic conception of God
In Group: Rationalist Empiricist And Idealist Philosophy Of Religion, Lead, placement
argued that there is nothing in the Gospel contrary to reason or above it
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