Philosophical and Political Sources

Wesleyscholar provides both collected editions and early primary source materials to facilitate research on the Wesleys and early Methodism. This page offers the political and philosophical writings of John Wesley and those philosophical authors and works he engaged with during his career. The posted year in the title represents the year of publication. New materials are added on a regular basis. To receive periodic updates about recent or upcoming articles, and new materials being added, sign up for the wesleyscholar newsletter.

John Wesley   1703-1791
Wesley was an Anglican clergyman and an evangelical revivalist, not a philosopher by trade. Yet, Wesley engaged many current philosophical works throughout his long career, with the primary philosophers listed below. Wesley’s response is sprinkled throughout his writings but toward the end of his career he did produce works that directly addressed philosophical issues. Wesley’s biographer Henry Rack was correct to label him a “reasonable enthusiast.”

Wesley acknowledged his empiricist bent on numerous occasions, with a strong leaning toward the Aristotelian tradition on logic and epistemology. But as an empiricist he differed from John Locke by asserting the capacity of human knowledge of God through restored spiritual senses as a gift of grace. He opposed the Enlightenment assumption on the sufficiency of unaided human reason and instead stressed reliance on divine revelation. This meant he was a firm believer in the limits of human reason, yet he was charged by his critics with enthusiasm (religious fanaticism) for his idea of direct knowledge of God through the Spirit’s inspiration of faith, love, and assurance (i.e. Spirit’s direct witness). He defended freedom of the will as a gift of prevenient grace, while rejecting the idea of a natural, inherent free will (largely because of his belief in original sin). He refused to accept any concept that denied human dependence on the Creator for ethics or moral goodness. Wesley was a firm believer in God’s sovereignty and his role as supreme governor over human affairs and the created order.  In his later years Wesley produced a number of works that addressed several philosophers and philosophical issues. They are listed here in their chronological order:
Compendium of Logic 1753
Thoughts Upon Liberty 1772
Thoughts on Necessity 1774
Thoughts on Gods Sovereignty 1777
Gradual Improvement of Natural Philosophy 1777
Limits of Human Understanding 1777
Link: Compendium of Natural Philosophy, 5 vols. 1777 Edition
A Thought on Necessity 1780
Remarks on Locke’s Essay on Human Understanding 1781
Thoughts on Montesquieu’s Spirit of Laws 1781
Remarks on Buffon’s Natural History 1782
Extract Reflections Upon Conduct Human Life 2nd ed 1741
Extract Treatise on Christian Prudence 3rd ed 1749
Extract Treatise on Christian Prudence 4th ed 1784
The Imperfection of Human Knowledge 1788
On Eternity 1786
The Case of Reason Impartially Considered 1788
What is Man? 1788

Standard Resources on 18th Century British Philosophy:
Tulloch Rational Theology & Ch. Philosophy vol 1 1872
Tulloch Rational Theology & Ch. Philosophy vol 2 1874

Campagnac Cambridge Platonists 1901

L Stephen History English Thought 18th Century vol 1 1902
L Stephen History English Thought 18th Century vol 2 1902

Henry Aldrich 1647-1710
Aldrich served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and later as Rector of Wem in Shropshire. He was a man of unusual gifts, a classical scholar, is best known as the author of a book on logic, Artis Logicæ Compendium. The book was used by generations of students at Oxford, down to the 19th century. John Wesley was schooled in Aristotelian logic through his reading of Aldrich’s book. Therefore, Aldrich’s work is an important source for understanding Wesley’s understanding of logic and philosophy. Aldrich’s work was written in Latin. The edition below is the Oxford 1862 edition with notes by H. L. Mansel. As a help, John Huyshe’s Treatise on Logic is included since it was based on Aldrich’s work.
Aldrich Artis Logicae Compendium 1862 
Huyshe Treatise of Logic – Based on Aldrich 1833

Wesley’s work on logic:
Compendium of Logic 1753

Aristotle 384-322 BC
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He was the founder of the Lyceum and Peripatetic schools of philosophy and Aristotelian tradition. Aristotle and Plato are considered the fathers of Western Philosophy. John Wesley was schooled in the Aristotelian tradition of empiricism and logic at Oxford and held it in high esteem throughout his life. Timothy Crutcher correctly described Wesley an Aristotelian logician and noted that he agreed with Aristotle’s empiricism over Locke’s (The Crucible of Life). Aristotle’s work on logic is important to understand Wesley’s empiricism.
Treatises on Logic vol 1
Treatises on Logic vol 2 

Peter Browne 1665-1735
Browne obtained a fellowship from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1692 and became Provost in 1699. The same year he published Letter in answer to a Book entitled “Christianity not Mysterious,” which was recognized as one of the best replies to John Toland. In it Browne begins to develop the ideas that would later form his theory of analogy. In 1710 he became bishop of Cork and Ross, which he held till his death in 1735. His two most important works were the Procedure, Extent, and Limits of the Human Understanding (1728), which was a critique of Locke’s essay on the same subject, and Things Divine and Supernatural conceived by Analogy with Things Natural and Human, more briefly referred to as the Divine Analogy (1733). John Wesley read Browne’s work on Human Understanding during his time at Oxford. In his journal for 6 December 1756, he noted, “I began reading to our preachers the late Bishop of Cork’s Treatise on Human Understanding, in most points far clearer and more judicious than Mr. Locke’s.” Browne is an important source for understanding Wesley’s empiricism and how his viewpoint differed from Locke’s:
Procedure Extent Limits of Human Understanding 2nd ed 1729

Wesley’s extract of Brown:
Limits of Human Understanding 1777

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon   1707-1788
Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedist. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent French scientists Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. He wrote the major work on natural history in the 18th century, called Histoire Naturelle. Buffon proposed that the origin of life on Earth was from natural causes, which angered religious leaders, and therefore some today see him as a fore-runner of the theory of evolution. John Wesley read Buffon’s work and wrote a response. In his response he mentioned other skeptical philosophers, like Voltaire and Hume.
Natural History 1797

Wesley’s response to Buffon:
Remarks on Buffon’s Natural History 1782

Jonathan Edwards   1703-1757
Edwards was a Congregationalist minister in New England and is famous for his participation in the Great Awakening. Edwards was also a philosopher who wrote a famous work on the freedom of the human will from a Calvinist perspective. Edwards advocated a compatibilist viewpoint, meaning that human free will is compatible with God’s sovereignty. He drew a distinction between moral and physical necessity. Wesley read Edwards work and responded to it in his Thoughts on Necessity (1774) and its sequel A Thought on Necessity (1780). Edwards’ most celebrated work is available in many editions, two of the earliest are below:
On Freedom of the Will 1762
On Freedom of the Will 1790

Wesley’s response to determinism:
Thoughts on Necessity 1774
A Thought on Necessity 1780

Richard Fiddes 1671-1725
Fiddes was educated at Oxford and served in several positions throughout his life. He served as the chaplain at Hull and for the earl of Oxford. After losing the Hull chaplaincy through a change of ministry in 1714, he devoted himself to writing. His works include the Life of Cardinal Wolsey (1724), the Prefatory Epistle for Homer’s Iliad (1714), and the Theologia speculative or Body of Divinity (1718), which earned him the degree of D.D. at Oxford. Fiddes was regarded as an author and a man of learning. John Wesley read Fiddes as a student at Oxford. It was Fiddes who convinced the young Wesley that faith was merely assent (Letter to Susanna Wesley, Nov. 22, 1725). Besides Fiddes book on divinity, his three-part work on morality is included.
Theologia Speculativa 1718
General Treatise of Morality Pt 1 1724
General Treatise of Morality Pt 2 1724
General Treatise of Morality Pt 3 1724

David Hartley   1705-1757
Hartley was an English philosopher and educated at Cambridge. He was an empiricist and a friend of Joseph Priestley. In his most famous work On the Observations of Man (1749), Hartley proposed that our sensations (five senses) are from vibrations in the brain which in turn influence a person’s thoughts and frame of mind. The vibration theory denied human free will. John Wesley opposed Hartley’s views in his 1780 work defending human liberty, A Thought on Necessity.
Observations on Man 6th ed 1834

Wesley on determinism & anthropology:
Thoughts on Necessity 1774
A Thought on Necessity 1780
What is Man? 1788

Thomas Hobbes 1588-1679
Hobbes was an English philosopher and is considered one of the founders of modern political philosophy. He is best remembered for his work, Leviathan (1651), which expounded an influential view of social contract theory. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, Hobbes lived through the tumultuous period of the English Civil War (1642-1651) where he served as a mathematical instructor for the young Prince of Wales. Hobbes embraced a mechanistic worldview that many interpreted as atheistic and believed in the necessity of a strong central authority to avoid the evils of discord and civil war. John Wesley, of course, opposed Hobbes mechanistic worldview and spoke of Hobbes final words in his sermon The Case of Reason Impartially Considered II.4. Hobbes is an important resource for understanding the political culture of Wesley’s day:
Leviathan 1904

Wesley’s sermon that remarks on Hobbes:
The Case of Reason Impartially Considered 1788

David Hume   1711-1776
Hume was a famous Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, economist, and writer. He is widely recognized for his influential system of philosophical empiricism and skepticism. John Wesley read several of Hume’s works and opposed his skeptical naturalistic philosophy. Wesley believed humanity was created with spiritual senses when awakened by grace enabled a person to know God and spiritual things in a manner similar to the physical senses. He also opposed Hume’s notions of moral necessity and affirmed a freedom of the will enabled by prevenient grace.
Essays on Several Subjects vol 1 1784
Essays on Several Subjects vol 2 1764
Enquiry Concerning Principles of Morals 1751
Treatise of Human Nature 1888

Wesley’s Christian anthropology:
What is Man? 1788

Samuel Johnson 1709-1784
Johnson was an influential English poet, playwright, essayist, biographer, and editor. Religiously, he was a devoted Anglican; politically a committed Tory. His English Dictionary became a standard for 150 years. John Wesley published an English Dictionary beginning in 1753 and would had relied on Johnson’s. In response to the American cause, he wrote the tract Taxation No Tyranny to rebut the popular argument of the colonists. John Wesley plagiarized Johnson’s tract in his Calm Address to Our American Colonies (see JW page):
Dictionary of the English Language 3rd ed 1768
English Dictionary with Additional Resources 1828
Taxation No Tyranny 1775
Taxation No Tyranny 4th ed 1775
Right of British Legislature to Tax 1774

Wesley’s abridgment of Johnson & his tract on political liberty:
Taxation No Tyranny 1775
Thoughts Upon Liberty 1772

Lord Kames   1696-1782
Henry Home, known as Lord Kames, was a writer, philosopher, and a central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. As a founding member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, he served as a patron to several influential thinkers, including Davide Hume and Adam Smith. John Wesley read Kames’ essays on moral necessity and freedom of the will. See Wesley’s response in his Thoughts on Necessity (1774) and A Thought on Necessity (1780).
Essays on Morality & Natural Religion 2nd ed 1758

Wesley’s response to determinism:
Thoughts on Necessity 1774
A Thought on Necessity 1780

John Locke 1632-1704
Locke was educated at Oxford and earned a degree in medicine. He later served in the British government. Locke is considered the “founder of modern empiricism” and he published works several subjects. His most influential work was the Essay on Human Understanding. Like Aristotle, he considered the mind a blank slate (tabula rasa) and all knowledge derived from the senses. Knowledge begins with simple ideas that come from sensations of the world and reflections on the workings of our minds. Our minds then connect these simple ideas into more complex ideas. Wesley read the Essay Concerning Human Understanding in 1725 in the period between his commencement as a Bachelor of Arts and his election to a Fellowship at Lincoln College, Oxford. And, in the eighties he published extracts from the Essay, books I and II, in the Arminian Magazine (volumes 5–7, 1782–1784). In 1781 Wesley published a short tract on Locke’s ideas, titled Remarks upon Mr. Locke’s “Essay on Human Understanding” (Works, Jackson, 13:455-64):
Essay Human Understanding vol 1 1894
Essay Human Understanding vol 2 1894
Reasonableness of Christianity 7th ed 1764
Reasonableness of Christianity 2nd ed 1796
Some Thoughts on Education 1693
Treatise of Two Governments 1821

Works of Locke vol 1 1823
Works of Locke vol 2 1823
Works of Locke vol 3 1823
Works of Locke vol 4 1823
Works of Locke vol 5 1823
Works of Locke vol 6 1823
Works of Locke vol 7 1823
Works of Locke vol 8 1823
Works of Locke vol 9 1823
Works of Locke vol 10 1823

Wesley’s response to Locke:
Remarks on Locke’s ‘Essay on Human Understanding’ 1781

Montesquieu   1689-1755
Montesquieu was a French philosopher who advanced the concept of separation of powers which influenced the development of democratic constitutions around the world. His philosophy of history minimized the role of individuals and events. He published The Spirit of Laws anonymously in 1748. John Wesley read this work and responded in a tract (see above):
The Spirit of Laws vol 1 1900
The Spirit of Laws vol 2 1899

Wesley’s response to Montesquieu:
Thoughts on Montesquieu’s ‘Spirit of Laws’ 1781

John Norris 1657-1711
Norris was an Anglican clergyman who wrote on numerous topics, including politics, religion, philosophy and the Christian life. He also composed poetry. At the time he was one of the most prominent followers of Malebranche and as an exposition of that philosopher’s system wrote, An Essay towards the Theory of the Ideal or Intelligible World (1701-4). He was one of the earliest critics of Locke’s work on Human Understanding. His writings exhibit a decided Platonic influence. Among his many works are A Collection of Miscellanies (1687) and An Account of Reason and Faith (1697). John Wesley was an avid reader of Norris’s works, including the Miscellanies, treatises on Humility and Prudence, and Account of Reason and Faith. Norris was an early source for the Wesleys concept of three spiritual states – natural, legal, and evangelical (Charles Wesley sermon, 1 John 3:14), from Norris’s first volume of discourses on divine subjects (Beatitudes, Discourse 4). Given Norris’s reputation as a philosopher and clergyman, he exerted a definite influence on the Wesleys and early Methodists:
Account of Reason & Faith 12th ed 1724
Reason & Religion 7th ed 1724
Christian Blessedness 10th ed. 1724
Treatise on Humility 1707
Collection of Miscellanies 9th ed 1730
Treatise Concerning Christian Prudence 1710
Practical Discourses on Several Divine Subjects Vol. I
Practical Discourses on Several Divine Subjects Vol. II

Wesley’s abridgments of Norris:
Extract Reflections Upon Conduct Human Life 2nd ed 1741
Extract Treatise on Christian Prudence 2nd ed 1742
Extract Treatise on Christian Prudence 3rd ed 1749
Extract Treatise on Christian Prudence 4th ed 1784

Joseph Priestley   1733-1804
Priestley was an English chemist, natural philosopher, political theorist, grammarian, and unitarian minister. He is famous for his discovery of oxygen and other gases. He invented carbonated water and the rubber eraser. He also published an important study on electricity. Philosophically, Priestley was a materialist on human nature and held firmly to determinism in regard to the human will. His four principles were determinism, materialism, causation, and necessitarianism. His writings promoting Socinianism or better known as Unitarianism were considered such a threat to the truth of Christ’s divinity that Wesley encouraged John Fletcher, and after his death Joseph Benson, to publish a full response (see Early Methodist page). John Wesley once referred to Priestley as “one of the most dangerous enemies of Christianity” (Telford, Letters of J. Wesley, 7:265). Wesley, of course, opposed Priestley’s materialism and determinism. The following volumes contains Priestley’s philosophy on materialism and determinism:
Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity 1777
Disquisitions on Matter & Spirit vol 1 1782
Disquisitions on Matter & Spirit vol 2 1782
Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever vol 1 1786
Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever vol 2 1787

Wesley’s response to determinism & his Christian anthropology:
Thoughts on Necessity 1774
A Thought on Necessity 1780
What is Man? 1788

The Cambridge Platonists
The 17th century saw a revival of Platonic philosophy at Cambridge by a group of philosophers who sought to revive religion by recovering the ancient Christian tradition. Religion and reason were seen to be in harmony, and reality was understood to be known not by physical sensation alone – in contrast to the empiricists – but by intuition of the intelligible forms that exist behind the material world of everyday perception. The Cambridge Platonists were deeply interested in morality and virtue, and promoted a more moderate latitudinarian view of the Christian faith. John Wesley read the Cambridge Platonists and included several of their writings in the Christian Library (see John Wesley page) published in the early 1750s.

Benjamin Whichcote, John Smith, Nathanael Culverwel 1901

Ralph Cudworth Works Vol I 1829
Ralph Cudworth Works Vol II 1829
Ralph Cudworth Works Vol III 1829
Ralph Cudworth Works Vol IV 1829

Henry More An Antidote Against Atheism 1655
Henry More An Account of Virtue 1701
Henry More Divine Dialogues on God’s Attributes & Providence 1743

John Smith Select Discourses 1859

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