Joshua Avery
Biographic Data
| ID | 4891455 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Joshua Avery |
| GIVEN NAMES | Joshua |
| FAMILY NAME | Avery |
| SIGNATURE | AVERY J |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6945-2457 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1869 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The prison analogy in Thomas More's A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation
This essay argues for a particular purpose in the section of the Dialogue during which Anthony argues to Vincent that the world is, properly understood, a prison. Anthony, in the vein of Socrates, challenges Vincent by presenting questions and arguments—sometimes even deliberately simplified arguments—that force Vincent into a deeper engagement with the relevant issues, and hence to an improved clarity. Specifically, Anthony Socratically pushes V…
Agency and Intelligibility in The Merchant of Venice
This article argues that The Merchant of Venice’s dramatic action invites consideration of the philosophical questions of human agency and intelligibility. The play’s dialogue provokes the reader or auditor to consider what may obstruct or allow for both meaningful action in the world and a genuine understanding of that world. Since these issues were also a major sticking point in Catholic/Protestant controversies, the piece also argues that thes…
Nomos and Platonism in More's Utopia
This essay, following an existing train of scholarship working to make sense of the Platonic connection to Utopia, argues for nomos as a useful angle in furthering this understanding. Raphael's approach to politics combines with the Utopian social system to suggest a highly Platonic vision of nomos, whereby social norms are absorbed into an essentialized nature, stripped of all arbitrariness and therefore, ostensibly, perfectly rational. The resu…
The Failure of the Sacraments in Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner
This essay argues that Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner represents in its imagery a tension within Coleridge prior to his conversion to Anglicanism. Specifically, the poem’s treatment of institutional sacraments argues for their apparent inefficacy, at least from the Mariner’s vantage point. The sacramental idea upheld by a High Church view would suggest that particular earthly institutions, such as Holy Communion or matrimony, could funct…
Raphael Hythloday and Lucian's Cynic
This essay responds to an argument made by R. Bracht Branham, who has argued that More's Utopia privileges Raphael Hythloday's voice over Morus's. Branham contrasts this dynamic with Lucian's Cynicus, in which he contends that the dominant Cynic speaker is ironically undermined. For Branham, More's idealism moves him to privilege the idealistic Raphael over the pragmatic Morus. I argue, on the contrary, that Raphael is rather ironically undermine…
Soldierly Training in Two Merry Tales from More’s Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation
The essay below aims to add to an existing point of discussion in the critical literature on A Dialogue of Comfort, namely the soldierly nature of Vincent’s education. In my study, I hope to demonstrate, via close readings of the first two merry tales from Book Two, that these two narratives combine to encourage Vincent to reconsider his understanding of courage. The dialogue pushes Vincent to begin to see courage as a matter of self-governance, …
From “Obloquy” to “So Great Trust”: Broken Judgment in More’s and Shakespeare’s Richard III
This paper argues that the famous wooing scene of Anne by Richard in Shakespeare’s King Richard III offers an imaginative reply to a question posed, but not explicitly answered, by Thomas More’s History. How does a figure held in general “obloquy” suddenly fall into “so great trust”? I contend that Anne’s vulnerability to Richard’s tactics is largely a function of particular theological assumptions that Richard perceives and skillfully plays upon…
With What Persuasion: An Essay on Shakespeare and the Ethics of Rhetoric. Studies in Shakespeare
“Irony and Charity Are Met Together”: A Puzzle in Margaret Roper’s Letter to Alice Alington
This study draws upon the Platonic dialogue tradition as a background for interpreting the conversation between More and his daughter Margaret Roper, as depicted in Margaret’s letter to Alice Alington. With an eye to the famously ironic Socrates, this article will propose the interpretation of a puzzling statement regarding More’s apparent good faith in the sincerity of others who have reversed their positions regarding the problematic oath. Is M…
Racial Characteristics, as Related to Civilisation
Civilisation; with Especial Reference to the So-Called Celtic Inhabitants of Ireland
Civilisation; with Especial Reference to the So-Called Celtic Inhabitants of Ireland
Racial Characteristics, as Related to Civilisation
“Irony and Charity Are Met Together”: A Puzzle in Margaret Roper’s Letter to Alice Alington
This study draws upon the Platonic dialogue tradition as a background for interpreting the conversation between More and his daughter Margaret Roper, as depicted in Margaret’s letter to Alice Alington. With an eye to the famously ironic Socrates, this article will propose the interpretation of a puzzling statement regarding More’s apparent good faith in the sincerity of others who have reversed their positions regarding the problematic oath. Is M…
From “Obloquy” to “So Great Trust”: Broken Judgment in More’s and Shakespeare’s Richard III
This paper argues that the famous wooing scene of Anne by Richard in Shakespeare’s King Richard III offers an imaginative reply to a question posed, but not explicitly answered, by Thomas More’s History. How does a figure held in general “obloquy” suddenly fall into “so great trust”? I contend that Anne’s vulnerability to Richard’s tactics is largely a function of particular theological assumptions that Richard perceives and skillfully plays upon…
With What Persuasion: An Essay on Shakespeare and the Ethics of Rhetoric. Studies in Shakespeare
Soldierly Training in Two Merry Tales from More’s Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation
The essay below aims to add to an existing point of discussion in the critical literature on A Dialogue of Comfort, namely the soldierly nature of Vincent’s education. In my study, I hope to demonstrate, via close readings of the first two merry tales from Book Two, that these two narratives combine to encourage Vincent to reconsider his understanding of courage. The dialogue pushes Vincent to begin to see courage as a matter of self-governance, …
Raphael Hythloday and Lucian's Cynic
This essay responds to an argument made by R. Bracht Branham, who has argued that More's Utopia privileges Raphael Hythloday's voice over Morus's. Branham contrasts this dynamic with Lucian's Cynicus, in which he contends that the dominant Cynic speaker is ironically undermined. For Branham, More's idealism moves him to privilege the idealistic Raphael over the pragmatic Morus. I argue, on the contrary, that Raphael is rather ironically undermine…
The Failure of the Sacraments in Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner
This essay argues that Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner represents in its imagery a tension within Coleridge prior to his conversion to Anglicanism. Specifically, the poem’s treatment of institutional sacraments argues for their apparent inefficacy, at least from the Mariner’s vantage point. The sacramental idea upheld by a High Church view would suggest that particular earthly institutions, such as Holy Communion or matrimony, could funct…
Nomos and Platonism in More's Utopia
This essay, following an existing train of scholarship working to make sense of the Platonic connection to Utopia, argues for nomos as a useful angle in furthering this understanding. Raphael's approach to politics combines with the Utopian social system to suggest a highly Platonic vision of nomos, whereby social norms are absorbed into an essentialized nature, stripped of all arbitrariness and therefore, ostensibly, perfectly rational. The resu…
Agency and Intelligibility in The Merchant of Venice
This article argues that The Merchant of Venice’s dramatic action invites consideration of the philosophical questions of human agency and intelligibility. The play’s dialogue provokes the reader or auditor to consider what may obstruct or allow for both meaningful action in the world and a genuine understanding of that world. Since these issues were also a major sticking point in Catholic/Protestant controversies, the piece also argues that thes…
The prison analogy in Thomas More's A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation
This essay argues for a particular purpose in the section of the Dialogue during which Anthony argues to Vincent that the world is, properly understood, a prison. Anthony, in the vein of Socrates, challenges Vincent by presenting questions and arguments—sometimes even deliberately simplified arguments—that force Vincent into a deeper engagement with the relevant issues, and hence to an improved clarity. Specifically, Anthony Socratically pushes V…
Philosophy (9 works) · Epistemology (8 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Art (5 works) · Literature (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Aesthetics (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Theology (4 works) · History (3 works)