Distinctions of Reason and Reasonable Distinctions

Jason M. Rampelt is a Fellow in Christianity and Science at the Greystone Theological Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He writes on early modern natural philosophy and theology and the intersecting domains of Christianity and the natural sciences.

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

Abbreviations



1 Introduction

 1 John Wallis’s “Mottled Soul”: The Interpretative Challenge

 2 The Salve of the “Town Doctor”: the Interpretive Approach



PART 1: John Wallis’s Academic Formation

Introduction to Part 1



2 John Wallis’s Autobiography: Text and Context

 1 John Wallis and Thomas Smith

 2 John Wallis’s Manuscript Copies of His Autobiography

 3 John Wallis, Anthony Wood, and the Memory of the Town Doctor



3 Early Life and Education

 1 At Home and at School, 1616–32

 2 Cambridge University, 1632–40



4 The Foundation of a Career

 1 Ecclesiastical Service, 1640–49

 2 Natural Philosophy in London, 1645–49

 3 Conclusion



Conclusion to Part 1



PART 2: John Wallis’s Academic Career

Introduction to Part 2



5 Mathematical Lecturer

 1 The Savilian Statutes

 2 Lectures on Arithmetic and Algebra

 3 Lectures on Geometry

 4 Conclusion



6 Doctor of Divinity

 1 Dogmatics and the Distinctions of Reason

 2 Reason and Revelation

 3 Conclusion: the Hermeneutic of Suspension



7 Pedagogue, Pastor, and Protector

 1 Geometry as Solidior Philosophia

 2 The Care of Scholars

 3 A University in Its Own Right

 4 Conclusion



Conclusion to Part 2



PART 3: John Wallis’s Philosophical Method

Introduction to Part 3



8 Mathematical Method

 1 Geometry, Algebra, and Arithmetic

 2 Arithmetica Infinitorum, 1656

 3 Hobbes and Wallis

 4 Imaginary Numbers

 5 The Angle of Contact

 6 Conclusion



9 The Languages of Philosophy

 1 Logic

 2 Language

 3 Conclusion



Conclusion to Part 3



10 Conclusion

Bibliography

Index