Anthony Collins - Wikipedia Anthony Collins From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search For other people named Anthony Collins, see Anthony Collins (disambiguation). Anthony Collins Born O.S. (1676-06-21)21 June 1676 Heston, near Hounslow, Middlesex, England Died O.S. 13 December 1729(1729-12-13) (aged 53) London, England Nationality English Spouse(s) Martha Child (married 1698–1703) Elizabeth Wrottesley (married 1724–1729) Era Modern philosophy Region Western Philosophy Main interests History, theology Influences John Locke Anthony Collins (21 June 1676 O.S. – 13 December 1729 O.S.) was an English philosopher, and a proponent of deism. Contents 1 Life and writings 2 Essay concerning the Use of Reason 3 A Discourse of Freethinking 4 Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion 5 Necessitarianism 6 Other works 7 Marriages and children 8 Notes 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Life and writings[edit] Collins was born in Heston, near Hounslow in Middlesex, England, the son of lawyer Henry Collins (1646/7–1705) and Mary (née Dineley).[1] He had two sisters: Anne Collins (born 1678), who married Henry Lovibond (born 1675), and Mary Collins (born 1680), who married Edward Lovibond (1675–1737), a merchant and Director of the East India Company. Mary and Edward's son was the poet Edward Lovibond. Collins was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, and studied law at the Middle Temple.[2] The most interesting episode of his life was his intimacy with John Locke, who in his letters speaks of him with affection and admiration. In 1715 he settled in Essex, where he held the offices of justice of the peace and deputy-lieutenant, which he had previously held in Middlesex. He died at his house in Harley Street, London. His writings gather together the results of previous English freethinkers. The imperturbable courtesy of his style is in striking contrast to the violence of his opponents; and, in spite of his unorthodoxy, he was not an atheist or even an agnostic. In his own words, "Ignorance is the foundation of atheism, and freethinking the cure of it" (Discourse of Freethinking, 105). Essay concerning the Use of Reason[edit] His first notable work was his Essay concerning the Use of Reason in Propositions the Evidence whereof depends on Human Testimony (1707), in which he rejected the distinction between "above reason" and "contrary to reason", and demanded that revelation should conform to man's natural ideas of God. Like all his works, it was published anonymously, although the identity of the author was never long concealed. A Discourse of Freethinking[edit] Six years later appeared his chief work, A Discourse of Freethinking, occasioned by the Rise and Growth of a Sect called Freethinkers (1713). Notwithstanding the ambiguity of its title, and the fact that it attacks the priests of all churches without moderation, it contends for the most part, at least explicitly, for no more than must be admitted by every Protestant. Freethinking is a right which cannot and must not be limited, for it is the only means of attaining a knowledge of truth, it essentially contributes to the well-being of society, and is not only permitted but enjoined by the Bible. In fact the first introduction of Christianity and the success of all missionary enterprise involve freethinking (in its etymological sense) on the part of those converted. In England this essay, which was regarded and treated as a plea for deism, caused a great sensation, eliciting several replies, from among others William Whiston, Bishop Hare, Bishop Benjamin Hoadly, and Richard Bentley, who, under the signature of "Phileleutherus Lipsiensis", roughly handles certain arguments carelessly expressed by Collins, but triumphs chiefly by an attack on the trivial points of scholarship, his own pamphlet being by no means faultless in this very respect. Jonathan Swift also, being satirically referred to in the book, made it the subject of a caricature. Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion[edit] In 1724 Collins published his Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion, with An Apology for Free Debate and Liberty of Writing prefixed. Ostensibly it is written in opposition to Whiston's attempt to show that the books of the Old Testament did originally contain prophecies of events in the New Testament story, but that these had been eliminated or corrupted by the Jews, and to prove that the fulfilment of prophecy by the events of Christ's life is all "secondary, secret, allegorical, and mystical," since the original and literal reference is always to some other fact. Since, further, according to him the fulfilment of prophecy is the only valid proof of Christianity, he thus secretly aims a blow at Christianity as a revelation. The canonicity of the New Testament he ventures openly to deny, on the ground that the canon could be fixed only by men who were inspired. No less than thirty-five answers were directed against this book, the most noteworthy of which were those of Bishop Edward Chandler, Arthur Sykes and Samuel Clarke. To these, but with special reference to the work of Chandler, which maintained that a number of prophecies were literally fulfilled by Christ, Collins replied with his Scheme of Literal Prophecy Considered (1727). An appendix contends against Whiston that the book of Daniel was forged in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. Necessitarianism[edit] In philosophy, Collins takes a foremost place as a defender of necessitarianism. His brief Inquiry Concerning Human Liberty (1717) has not been excelled, at all events in its main outlines, as a statement of the determinist standpoint. He was attacked in an elaborate treatise by Samuel Clarke, in whose system the freedom of will is made essential to religion and morality. During Clarke's lifetime, fearing perhaps being branded as an enemy of religion and morality, Collins made no reply, but in 1729 he published an answer, entitled Liberty and Necessity. Other works[edit] Besides these works he wrote A Letter to Mr Dodwell, arguing that the soul may be material, and, secondly, that if the soul be immaterial it does not follow, as Clarke had contended, that it is immortal. Vindication of the Divine Attributes (1710) Priestcraft in Perfection (1709), in which he asserts that the clause "the Church ... Faith" in the twentieth of the Thirty-nine Articles was inserted by fraud. Collins became known as one of the best read men in England. He was a bibliophile who amassed one of the largest private libraries of the time, consisting of some 6,906 books on all subjects, but particularly favoring works on history, theology, and philosophy. It has been argued (see Jacobson, "The England Libertarian Heritage") that Collins was the unknown author of ten of "The Independent Whig" essays. Marriages and children[edit] Collins married first Martha Child (1677–1703) a daughter of Sir Francis Child MP (1642–1713) and Elizabeth, née Wheeler (1652–1720). They had two sons both of whom died young, the eldest in infancy, the second was Anthony Collins (c. 1701 – 1723); and two daughters: Elizabeth Collins (born c. 1700) who, in 1738, married Walter Cary; and Martha Collins (c. 1700 – 1744) who, in 1741, married Robert Fairfax, 7th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1706–1793). His second marriage was to Elizabeth Wrottesley (born c. 1680), a daughter of Walter Wrottesley, 3rd Baronet Wrottesley (1659–1712) and Eleanora, née Archer (1661–1692). Notes[edit] ^ https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-5933 ^ "Collins, Anthony (CLNS693A)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge. References[edit] Uzgalis, William. "Anthony Collins". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Collins, Anthony". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 691–692. Further reading[edit] See Collins' library catalogue (ed. by Giovanni Tarantino): http://picus.unica.it/index.php?page=Filosofo&id=97&lang=en Tarantino G. 'The books and times of Anthony Collins, free-thinker, radical reader and Independent Whig', in Varieties of Seventeenth- and Early Eighteenth-Century English Radicalism in Context, ed. by Ariel Hessayon and David Finnegan (Ashgate, 2011), 221–240 Tarantino G., Lo scrittoio di Anthony Collins (1676–1729): i libri e i tempi di un libero pensatore (Milan: FrancoAngeli, 2007) External links[edit] Wikisource has the text of the 1885–1900 Dictionary of National Biography's article about Collins, Anthony. Works written by or about Anthony Collins at Wikisource Works by Anthony Collins at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Anthony Collins at Internet Archive A discourse of free-thinking, 1713 Priestcraft in Perfection, 1710 A philosophical inquiry concerning human liberty, 1717 The scheme of literal prophecy considered, 1727 A discourse of the grounds and reasons of the Christian religion, 1737 Authority control BIBSYS: 8023994 BNE: XX1625047 BNF: cb11897356p (data) CiNii: DA05716167 GND: 118521578 ICCU: IT\ICCU\UFIV\038997 ISNI: 0000 0001 1648 2604 LCCN: n50026834 LNB: 000069775 NKC: ola2002158995 NLA: 35029808 NLI: 000033575 NTA: 069899908 RERO: 02-A003116889 SELIBR: 182859 SNAC: w61v5csh SUDOC: 026795221 Trove: 802996 VcBA: 495/180092 VIAF: 56607641 WorldCat Identities: lccn-n50026834 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anthony_Collins&oldid=987521000" Categories: 1676 births 1729 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge British deists Deist philosophers English philosophers Freethought writers People educated at Eton College People from Heston English book and manuscript collectors Hidden categories: Use dmy dates from October 2020 Articles with hCards Pages using infobox philosopher with unknown parameters Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica Articles with Project Gutenberg links Articles with Internet Archive links Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with CINII identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ICCU identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with LNB identifiers Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLI identifiers Wikipedia articles with NTA identifiers Wikipedia articles with RERO identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers Wikipedia articles with VcBA identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Place of death missing Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikisource Languages Dansk Deutsch Eesti Français 한국어 Italiano Nederlands Norsk bokmål Polski Русский Slovenčina Slovenščina Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 7 November 2020, at 16:07 (UTC). 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