Judgment in early modern England, 1580-1615

Judgment in early modern England, 1580-1615 Public Deposited

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Creator

Patrick, Patricia Davis
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English and Comparative Literature

Abstract

My dissertation explores how Samuel Daniel, Robert Dallington, and George Chapman understand the notion of judgment. For early modern thinkers, both in England and on the Continent, a variety of terms – judgment, decorum, prudence, equity, and discretion – all denote a faculty that enables accommodation to circumstances while maintaining constancy. The dissertation examines how these authors synthesize ideas from art theory, poetics, and political theory to construct models of judgment that offer ethical and epistemological stability while enabling adaptation to variable circumstances and human fallibility. Samuel Daniel sees judgment as obfuscated to some degree by custom, but also sees divine grace as sustaining both custom and judgment. Robert Dallington offers his readers a winding, twisting path to prudence. George Chapman synthesizes ideas from art theory and religious ceremony to suggest a remedy for fallible moral judgment.

Date of publication