エリザベス朝聖職者の思考様式 : ウィリアム・パーキンズの決疑論
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概要
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Many historians of seventeenth century England have talked of the "Puritan" and "Puritanism," and these terms are said to be key words in understanding that period. But there have always been serious disagreements on the characteristics of the "Puritan" and "Puritanism." One view says that the Puritans were enemies of the Church and that Puritanism was both the main ideology of the English Revolution and "the origin of radical politics" in the modern world. Another asserts that the Puritans were conservative members of the Church and that Puritanism was nothing more than traditional conservatism which defended the social order. If both interpretations are valid, is there any consistency in the concepts of the "Puritan" and "Puritanism"? We tend to think that "Puritanism" is a bad concept which should be abapdoned. Contemporaries, however, did use the word, so we have to consider these terms first of all. To avoid linguistic difficulties the author intends to explain "Puritanism" without using the concept of "Puritanism." How is it possible to explain "Puritanism" without using the concept of "Puritanism"? It is possible because the author thinks of "Puritanism" not as an independent idea but as a part of English Protestantism. Therefore, if one understands the intellectual climate of English Protestantism, one can understand the essence of "Puritanism" at the same time. In this article the author examines the casuistical works of William Perkins, one of the most influential Protestant divines in Elizabethan England, and investigates the inner logic of Protestant ethics in seventeenth century England. In consequence it can be said that the main logic in Perkins' thought comprised the concepts of "Public" and "Private" from which many important ethics were derived. And what is remarkable here is that there is a fundamental contradiction in his logic. Nevertheless, it is just this contradiction that gives his thought a dynamic possibility. From this contradiction he derived ambivalent conclusions, and because of their ambivalence his conclusions appeared real to contemporaries. If we understand the characteristics of English Protestantism in the above fashion, we can get another perspective on "Puritanism." It can be seen as one aspect of English Protestantism which contained a fundamental contradiction within itself. So it could be both the ideology of the English Revolution and a part of traditional conservatism. It was like a silhouette which Protestantism threw upon the intellectual climate of seventeenth century England. Therefore, it is no wonder that Puritanism disappeared out of sight when English Protestantism overcame its contradictions. Puritanism was a system of thought which could exist only in seventeenth century England.
- 財団法人史学会の論文
- 1980-03-20
著者
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- エリザベス朝聖職者の思考様式 : ウィリアム・パーキンズの決疑論