The British Naturalist Tradition

This chapter argues that Newman draws upon the British Naturalist tradition in fresh ways, especially in his effort to take up the challenge of epistemological scepticism. It examines the scholarly literature that has drawn attention to how John Locke and David Hume feature as formative influences on Newman’s philosophical thought while providing a closer look at how Newman engages with and appropriates insights from the Naturalist tradition in his own context. This chapter also furnishes two examples (the trustworthiness of our cognitive faculties and conscience as a natural element of our mind) to illustrate the extent to which Newman is working within the Naturalist tradition. It concludes with two areas that deserve further reflection and development, namely, a more constructive understanding of the relationship between Newman’s naturalized epistemology and natural theology and a deeper analysis of how Newman appropriates and transforms the British Naturalist tradition.