The Supernatural in Relation to the Natural (Cambridge Library Collection - Spiritualism and Esoteric Knowledge)
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Reprint, 6/14/2012
EAN 9781108044448, ISBN10: 1108044441
Paperback, 388 pages, 21.6 x 14 x 2.5 cm
Language: English
The supernatural was an intellectual preoccupation for Scottish philosopher, theologian and later President of Princeton University James McCosh (1811–94), who attacked John Stuart Mill's 1843 System of Logic (also reissued in this series) for not addressing the issue of the supernatural. In this work, published in 1862, McCosh gives his full attention to the question, saying his aim was to 'disentangle the confusion' about the relationship between the natural and supernatural. He defines the supernatural as anything acting outside the sphere of nature. The first part of the book examines the natural world's relationship to the supernatural through a discussion of the laws and principles that are thought to govern nature. The second part takes the opposite approach, considering the relationship of the supernatural to the natural by examining instances within Christian literature, such as prophecy and miracles, which are difficult to explain.
Preface
Book I. The Natural in Relation to the Supernatural
1. Man discovering the uniformity of nature
2. In what the natural system consists
3. Mental principles involved in our conviction as to the uniformity of nature
4. How much in contained in the natural
5. The natural a manifestation of the supernatural
Book II. The Supernatural in Relation to the Natural
1. General remarks on the supernatural
2. The system in the supernatural
3. The evidences of Christianity
4. Analogy between the natural and supernatural system
Appendix.