Samuel Clarke was a theologian and philosopher during the 17th and 18th century. He was born on October 11th, 1675 in Norwich, England to Edward and Hannah Clarke. Clarke received his education at several prestigious schools, including Norwich Free Grammar School (1685-90), and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Clarke was famed for his “encyclopaedic knowledge” which he had begun to cultivate while studying at Cambridge. Clarke had a wide range of interests, excelled in many subjects, and had a curious nature that lent to his mastery of many of them. Clarke originally made his presence known in the area of natural philosophy. Clarke was able to defend a proposition in Newton’s Principia, which was understood by few. This incredible knowledge gained for him a fellowship at Caius, a position that he held from 1696 to 1700.1
While Clarke’s extensive knowledge was helping him gain footing in many academic areas, his interest in Newtonianism also helped him secure a long lasting friendship with another Cambridge graduate, William Whiston. Whiston introduced Clarke to many impressive people in the Newtonian circle, including Bishop Moore of Norwich, who would eventually bestow the rectorship of Drayton upon him. Clarke, shortly after, married Katherine Lockwood and began his devotion to his theological studies, with the use of Bishop Moore’s huge library. This early concentration on theology led to the publications of Three practical essays on baptism, confirmation, and repentance: containing full instructions to a holy life (1699), A Paraphrase on the Four Evangelists (1701-02), and Amyntor (1699), which was a response to John Toland’s critique of the New Testament canon. Clarke greatly opposed Calvinism and the Catholic Church’s preoccupation with religious ritual. Clarke did not see the need for religious rituals when compared to moral order. This theme appears in many of Clarke’s early works.
Leaving the early years of his education and research, one can begin to look at the middle years of Clarke’s work, which mark his most substantial contributions to philosophy, beginning with the Boyle lectures (1704-05). Robert Boyle promoted these lectures and the idea of natural religion based off of scientific developments. The first lecture was Clarke’s attempt to prove the existence of God and was titled A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God. His second, which was a continuation of the first, was meant to establish the moral truths and religious doctrine which was titled A discourse concerning the unchangeable obligations of natural religion, and the truth and certainty of the Christian revelation. These lectures were closely watched, and published extensively. Clarke instantly became one of the most well-known philosophers in England by the age of 31. In the same year, Clarke solidified his association with Newton by translating Opticks to Latin, and was introduced to Queen Anne, who made him one of her chaplains. Three years later, Clarke was elevated to the rectory of St. James Westminster. Clarke continued this momentum from his middle years, to the later years of his life. He published many popular works of theology, translations of Caesar, and produced a royally appointed translation of the Iliad.2
While Clarke was always interested in theology and philosophy, as stated in the short account of his life above, he was also incredibly interested in Newtonianism. His interests and beliefs are outlined in many current articles and can be viewed as an extension of his passion in this subject. In his Boyle lecture over the attributes of God, Clarke dismissed infinite materiality by demonstrating that it is possible for material to not be. With this statement, Clarke launched his argument that it is necessary for a universal and self-existent being to have the attributes of eternity, infinity, and unity. This view is closely tied to the Newtonian view of absolute space, which is founded upon immateriality. Clarke’s initial intention was to undermine the materialism that Toland supported which stated that both God and matter could be self-existent. While Clarke still supported the belief of the Trinity, his concerns were mostly metaphysical. He argued that the New Testament did not indicate whether the Son was created of necessity, or by the power of will of God. Taking note of this fact, he asserted that the eternal attributes of God were not those of the Son, whose attributes must then be relative. With these findings, Clarke believed he had established a difference between the absolute and relative in the Trinity.3 Within these differences, Clarke also believed that God’s will was unimpeded by anything or anyone and that God’s power was entirely unlimited.
In another Boyle lecture, Clark described the nature of the soul; he noted that material things can be innumerably divided into parts, but then stated that the soul is made up of one substance which is indivisible. For Clarke, the soul was the place of thinking, creativity, and consciousness. With Clarke’s previous statement about material substances, it becomes clear that the soul cannot be a material substance because the division of the soul would then result in “innumerable consciousnesses”. Staying true to his Newtonian beliefs, Clarke also believed that material substances were mortal, which cancels out the idea of a soul being a material substance. According to Clarke, the world is divided into two separate spheres, “Two great portions… of Light and Darkness… the one of these, is the Kingdom of God… the other is the Kingdom of Satan”. Those who lived rightly by the spirit would be rewarded with a life after their body’s death, and those who did not would be punished with the death of their soul, after their body’s death.4
Clarke also outlined his belief of four types deists, in his Boyle lectures for the promotion of Christianity. The first of Clarke’s types of deists is the “no-providence” deist, the second is the “physical-laws-providence” deist, the third is the “moral-but-no-afterlife” deist, and the fourth, and final, type is the “moral-and-afterlife” deist.5 While this quick overview of the Clarkean deists hardly does his extensive opinions on deism any justice, it does show that Clarke was an incredibly insightful man who was extensively attempting to classify and understand clearly the world in which he lived.
Footnotes
1 Gascoigne, John. “Clarke, Samuel (1675-1729)”. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.2004. 18 October Back to text.
2 Vailati, Ezio and Yenter, Timothy. “Samuel Clarke”. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Spring 2014 Edition. 18 October 2015. Back to text.
3 Stewart, Larry. “Samuel Clarke, Newtonianism, and the Factions of Post-RevolutionaryEngland”. Journal of the History of Ideas, 42 no. 1 (1981): 53-72. Back to text.
4 Wigelsworth, Jeffrey. “Samuel Clarke’s Newtonian Soul”. Journal of the History of Ideas, 70 no.1 (2009): 45-68. PDF Back to text.
5 Klintberg, Bo. “On Samuel Clarke’s Four Types of Deists”. Archiv fuer Geschichete derPhilosophie, 93 no. 1 (2011): 85-99. PDF. Back to text.
Heather Ross
Oklahoma State University