{"id":{"repo_id":"unt","oai_identifier":"info:ark/67531/metadc5134"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/unt/info:ark/67531/metadc5134","repository":{"repo_id":"unt","name":"University of North Texas","base_url":"https://digital.library.unt.edu/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Aliens and atheists: The Plurality of Worlds and Natural Theology in Seventeenth-Century England.","abstract":"The plurality of worlds has had a long history in England, which has not gone unnoticed by scholars. Historians have tended to view this English pluralist tradition as similar to those found on the continent, and in doing so have failed to fully understand the religious significance that the plurality of worlds had on English thought and society. This religious significance is discovered through a thorough investigation of plurality as presented by English natural philosophers and theologians, and in so doing reveals much about England in the seventeenth century. As natural philosophers incorporated plurality within the larger framework of natural theology, it became a weapon of science and reason to be used against the unreasonable atheists of late seventeenth-century England.","abstract_html":"The plurality of worlds has had a long history in England, which has not gone unnoticed by scholars. Historians have tended to view this English pluralist tradition as similar to those found on the continent, and in doing so have failed to fully understand the religious significance that the plurality of worlds had on English thought and society. This religious significance is discovered through a thorough investigation of plurality as presented by English natural philosophers and theologians, and in so doing reveals much about England in the seventeenth century. As natural philosophers incorporated plurality within the larger framework of natural theology, it became a weapon of science and reason to be used against the unreasonable atheists of late seventeenth-century England.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Oliver, Ryan"],"institution":"University of North Texas","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Morris, Marilyn","Stern, Laura","Golden, Richard M."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-12","date_published":"2007-12","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:35:09Z","subjects":["composites","England","plurality of worlds","philosophers","Philosophy, English -- 17th century.","Science -- England -- History -- 17th century.","Natural theology.","Plurality of worlds.","Athiests -- England -- History -- 17th century."],"languages":["English"],"rights":["Public","Copyright","Oliver, Ryan","Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oclc: 227164546","https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5134/","ark: ark:/67531/metadc5134"],"render_values":[{"text":"oclc: 227164546","href":null,"code":true},{"text":"https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5134/","href":"https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5134/","code":true},{"text":"ark: ark:/67531/metadc5134","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.12794/metadc5134","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Morris, Marilyn","Stern, Laura","Golden, Richard M."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Oliver, Ryan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2007-12"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of North Texas"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis or Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["composites","England","plurality of worlds","philosophers","Philosophy, English -- 17th century.","Science -- England -- History -- 17th century.","Natural theology.","Plurality of worlds.","Athiests -- England -- History -- 17th century."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Public","Copyright","Oliver, Ryan","Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. 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As natural philosophers incorporated plurality within the larger framework of natural theology, it became a weapon of science and reason to be used against the unreasonable atheists of late seventeenth-century England."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["Text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Aliens and atheists: The Plurality of Worlds and Natural Theology in Seventeenth-Century England."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Morris, Marilyn","Stern, Laura","Golden, Richard M."],"dc:creator":["Oliver, Ryan"],"dc:date":["2007-12"],"dc:description":["The plurality of worlds has had a long history in England, which has not gone unnoticed by scholars. Historians have tended to view this English pluralist tradition as similar to those found on the continent, and in doing so have failed to fully understand the religious significance that the plurality of worlds had on English thought and society. This religious significance is discovered through a thorough investigation of plurality as presented by English natural philosophers and theologians, and in so doing reveals much about England in the seventeenth century. As natural philosophers incorporated plurality within the larger framework of natural theology, it became a weapon of science and reason to be used against the unreasonable atheists of late seventeenth-century England."],"dc:format":["Text"],"dc:identifier":["oclc: 227164546","doi: 10.12794/metadc5134","https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5134/","ark: ark:/67531/metadc5134"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["University of North Texas"],"dc:rights":["Public","Copyright","Oliver, Ryan","Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved."],"dc:subject":["composites","England","plurality of worlds","philosophers","Philosophy, English -- 17th century.","Science -- England -- History -- 17th century.","Natural theology.","Plurality of worlds.","Athiests -- England -- History -- 17th century."],"dc:title":["Aliens and atheists: The Plurality of Worlds and Natural Theology in Seventeenth-Century England."],"dc:type":["Thesis or Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:35:09Z"}