Sympathy in Harmony

Abstract

This is the first book dedicated to uncovering and assessing Margaret Cavendish’s philosophy of value. Is there such a thing as value? If so, is value a fundamental feature of reality or does it admit of explanation? Does the value something possesses depend in some way on the value we take it to possess? Is our taking something to possess value a matter of belief, say, or of feeling? Either way, is it an exercise of reason? Sympathy in Harmony demonstrates that Cavendish develops and defends original answers to these questions. In doing so, it shows Cavendish’s philosophy of value to be systematic and wide-ranging. Her reflections encompass the beauty of the natural world, the expressive qualities of music, the pedagogical role of literature, the free play of the imagination, the nature of virtue, the depth of moral disagreement, and the limits of moral theory. By exploring what Cavendish has to say on such varied topics, the book unearths a unified conception of value: To be valuable is to be in accordance with nature, and to appreciate what is of value is itself to be in accordance with nature. Along the way, Cavendish’s philosophy of value is revealed to be distinctive in relation to those of her peers, including René Descartes, Kenelm Digby, Thomas Hobbes, and Henry More, and indebted to ancient thought. At the same time, the book demonstrates the significance of Cavendish’s writings for contemporary aesthetics and ethics.