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Anne Finch: Viscountess Conway -- A philosophical education -- Religion and Anne Conway -- Anne Conway and Henry More -- John Finch, Thomas Hobbes and Margaret Cavendish -- Experimental physick: Boyle, Stubbe and Greatrakes -- Physic and philosophy: Van Helmont, father and son -- Kabbalistical dialogues -- Quakerism and George Keith -- Last years -- Legacy.

Henry More: a biographical essay -- Henry More and the limits of mechanism -- Henry More and the scientific revolution -- Henry More versus Robert Boyle: the spirit of nature and the nature of providence -- Leibniz and More's Cabbalistic circle -- The spiritualistic cosmologies of Henry More and Anne Conway -- Henry More and witchcraft -- Mysticism and enthusiasm in Henry More -- Henry More and Jacob Boehme -- Appendix: A commendatory poem by Henry More -- Henry More and the Jews -- More, Locke and the issue of liberty -- Reason and toleration: Henry More and Philip van Limborch -- A bibliography of Henry More compiled by Robert Crocker.

Examines the antideterministic philosophy of English apologist & Puritan Ralph Cudworth. While his epistemological & ontological rejection of atheism incorporates paradoxically deterministic terminology, his principle of self-determination focuses on the microcosmic, supporting religious tolerance & freedom of conscience. Drawing on the philosophy of Plotinus & influenced by Platonism & Stoicism, Cudworth equates liberty with the power to act, a notion that can inform current political thought. After presenting a biographical sketch, & a brief review of his works, his reworking of the Stoic term, hegemonikon, is discussed. A unifying & empowering principle, the hegemonikon enables the individual to act, combines the will & the intellect, & directs the soul toward the good. Cudworth's impact on contemporary liberal political philosophy & the similarities to John Locke's politics are also presented. J. Sadler