Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Cause
(1,824 words)

1. General considerations

Reflection on cause (Lat. causa, Fr. cause, G. Ursache) meant reflection on what holds the world together both internally and externally. Cause indicated the course of natural events, but also the possibilities of action in political and social contexts. Consideration of Aristotle’s two final causes, God and blessedness, was distinguished in the course of the early modern peri…

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Eckert, Georg, “Cause”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_029429>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160907



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