Glanvill was at first a Cartesian, but shifted his ground a little, engaging with scepticism and proposing a modification in Scepsis Scientifica (1665), a revision and expansion of The Vanity of Dogmatizing. It started with an explicit "Address to the Royal Society"; the Society responded by electing him as Fellow. He continued in a role of spokesman for his type of limited sceptical approach, and the Society's production of useful knowledge.Richard H. Popkin (editor), The Pimlico History of Western Philosophy (1999), pp. 360–2. As part of his programme, he argued for a plain use of language, undistorted as to definitions and reliance on metaphor.Jonathan Sawday, The Body Emblazoned: Dissection and the Human Body in Renaissance Culture (1996), p. 235. He also advocated with Essay Concerning Preaching (1678) simple speech, rather than bluntness, in preaching, as Robert South did, with hits at nonconformist sermons; he was quite aware that the term "plain" takes a great deal of unpacking.N. H. Keeble, The Literary Culture of Nonconformity in Later Seventeenth-century England (1987), p. 244 and p. 246.
Glanvill was at first a Cartesian, but shifted his ground a little, engaging with scepticism and proposing a modification in Sceps,is Scientifica (1665), a revision and expansion of The Vanity of Dogmatizing. It started with an explicit "Address to the Royal Society"; the Society responded by electing him as Fellow. He continued in a role of spokesman for his type of limited sceptical approach and the Society's production of useful knowledge.Richard H. Popkin (editor), The Pimlico History of Western Philosophy (1999), pp. 360–2 As part of his programme, he argued for a plain use of language, undistorted as to definitions and reliance on metaphor.Jonathan Sawday, The Body Emblazoned: Dissection and the Human Body in Renaissance Culture (1996), p. 235. He also advocated with Essay Concerning Preaching (1678) simple speech, rather than bluntness, in preaching, as Robert South did, with hits at nonconformist sermons; he was quite aware that the term "plain" takes a great deal of unpacking.N. .H. Keeble, The Literary Culture of Nonconformity in Later Seventeenth-century England (1987), p. 244 and p. 246.