Anne Conway, Viscountess Conway
Encyclopedia
Anne Conway, Viscountess Conway (née
Finch) (14 December 1631 – 18 February 1679) was an English
philosopher whose work, in the tradition of the Cambridge Platonists
, was an influence on Leibniz
.
She was born to Sir Heneage Finch
(who had held the posts of the Recorder of London and Speaker of the House of Commons
under Charles I
) and his second wife, Elizabeth (daughter of William Cradock of Staffordshire). Her father died the week before her birth. Her early education was by tutors and included Latin
, to which she later added Greek
and Hebrew
. Her stepbrother, John Finch
, was educated at Cambridge, and Anne Finch (as she then was) came into contact with one of his tutors, the Platonist Henry More
. This led to a correspondence between them on the subject of Descartes' philosophy, in the course of which Anne grew from More's informal pupil to his intellectual equal. More said of her that he had "scarce ever met with any Person, Man or Woman, of better Natural parts than Lady Conway" (quoted in Richard Ward's The Life of Henry More (1710) p. 193).
In 1651 she married Edward Conway
, later 1st Earl of Conway
, and in the following year More dedicated his book Antidote against Atheism to her. Her husband was also interested in philosophy and had himself been tutored by More, but she went far beyond him in both the depth of her thought and the variety of her interests. She became interested in the Lurianic Kabbalah
, and then in Quakerism
, to which she converted in 1677. In England at that time the Quakers were generally disliked and feared, and suffered persecution and even imprisonment. Conway's decision to convert, to make her house a centre for Quaker activity, and to proselytise actively was thus particularly bold and courageous.
Her life from the age of twelve (when she suffered a period of fever) was marked by the recurrence of severe migraine
s. These meant that she was often incapacitated by pain, and she spent much time under medical supervision and trying various cures (at one point even having her jugular vein
s opened). She had medical consults from Dr. Thomas Willis
. None of the treatments had any effect. She died in 1679 at the age of forty-seven.
A picture that is regularly offered as representing Anne Conway is not in fact of her. The authority for this is the Mauritshuis in The Hague, which owns the picture and attributes this result to recent scholarship. There is, alas, no known picture of Anne Conway.
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Finch) (14 December 1631 – 18 February 1679) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
philosopher whose work, in the tradition of the Cambridge Platonists
Cambridge Platonists
The Cambridge Platonists were a group of philosophers at Cambridge University in the middle of the 17th century .- Programme :...
, was an influence on Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
.
She was born to Sir Heneage Finch
Heneage Finch (Speaker)
Sir Heneage Finch was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Commons in 1626....
(who had held the posts of the Recorder of London and Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
under Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
) and his second wife, Elizabeth (daughter of William Cradock of Staffordshire). Her father died the week before her birth. Her early education was by tutors and included Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, to which she later added Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. Her stepbrother, John Finch
John Finch (Ambassador)
Sir John Finch was ambassador of England to the Ottoman Empire.One of the Finches of Burley-on-the-Hill, John Finch was the younger brother of Lord Chancellor Sir Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham; their half-sister was the philosopher Lady Anne Conway of Ragley Hall. Anne and John Finch were...
, was educated at Cambridge, and Anne Finch (as she then was) came into contact with one of his tutors, the Platonist Henry More
Henry More
Henry More FRS was an English philosopher of the Cambridge Platonist school.-Biography:Henry was born at Grantham and was schooled at The King's School, Grantham and at Eton College...
. This led to a correspondence between them on the subject of Descartes' philosophy, in the course of which Anne grew from More's informal pupil to his intellectual equal. More said of her that he had "scarce ever met with any Person, Man or Woman, of better Natural parts than Lady Conway" (quoted in Richard Ward's The Life of Henry More (1710) p. 193).
In 1651 she married Edward Conway
Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway
Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway PC, FRS was an English peer and politician who served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department between 1681 and 1683.-Life:...
, later 1st Earl of Conway
Earl of Conway
Earl of Conway was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1679 for Edward Conway, 3rd Viscount Conway, subsequently Secretary of State for the Northern Department. The Conway family descended from Sir John Conway, Governor of Ostend. His son Edward Conway served as Secretary of State...
, and in the following year More dedicated his book Antidote against Atheism to her. Her husband was also interested in philosophy and had himself been tutored by More, but she went far beyond him in both the depth of her thought and the variety of her interests. She became interested in the Lurianic Kabbalah
Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...
, and then in Quakerism
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, to which she converted in 1677. In England at that time the Quakers were generally disliked and feared, and suffered persecution and even imprisonment. Conway's decision to convert, to make her house a centre for Quaker activity, and to proselytise actively was thus particularly bold and courageous.
Her life from the age of twelve (when she suffered a period of fever) was marked by the recurrence of severe migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
s. These meant that she was often incapacitated by pain, and she spent much time under medical supervision and trying various cures (at one point even having her jugular vein
Jugular vein
The jugular veins are veins that bring deoxygenated blood from the head back to the heart via the superior vena cava.-Internal and external:There are two sets of jugular veins: external and internal....
s opened). She had medical consults from Dr. Thomas Willis
Thomas Willis
Thomas Willis was an English doctor who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology and psychiatry. He was a founding member of the Royal Society.-Life:...
. None of the treatments had any effect. She died in 1679 at the age of forty-seven.
A picture that is regularly offered as representing Anne Conway is not in fact of her. The authority for this is the Mauritshuis in The Hague, which owns the picture and attributes this result to recent scholarship. There is, alas, no known picture of Anne Conway.
Primary Sources
- The principles of the most ancient and modern philosophy (London 1692) 168 pp. in 12°. — originally printed in Latin: Principia philosophiae antiquissimae et recentissimae de Deo, Christo & Creatura, Amsterdam: M. Brown 1690.
- Letters. The Correspondence of Anne, Viscountess Conway, Henry More and their friends, 1642–1684, ed. M. H. Nicolson (London 1930) 517 pp.
- she collaborated with Franciscus Mercurius van HelmontFranciscus Mercurius van HelmontFranciscus Mercurius van Helmont was a Flemish alchemist and writer, the son of Jan Baptist van Helmont...
(1614–1698) for- A Cabbalistical Dialogue (1682) (in Christian Knorr von Rosenroth, Kabbala denudata, 1677–1684)
- Two Hundred Quiries moderately propounded concerning the Doctrine of the Revolution of Humane Souls (1684).
Secondary Sources
- Lois Frankel, "Anne Finch, Viscountess Conway," Mary Ellen Waithe, ed., A History of Women Philosophers, Vol. 3, Kluwer, 1991, pp. 41–58.
- Alan Gabbey, "Anne Conway et Henry More: lettres sur Descartes" (Archives de Philosophie 40, pp 379–404)
- Peter J. King, One Hundred Philosophers (New York: Barron's, 2004) ISBN 0-7641-2791-8
- Carolyn MerchantCarolyn MerchantCarolyn Merchant is an American ecofeminist philosopher and historian of science most famous for her theory on 'The Death of Nature', whereby she identifies the Enlightenment as the period when science began to atomize, objectify and dissect nature, foretelling its eventual conception as inert...
, "The Vitalism of Anne Conway: its Impact on Leibniz's Concept of the Monad" (Journal of the History of Philosophy 17 (1979) pp 255–69)