John Norris (priest)

John Norris (1657 – 1711) was an English clergyman, philosopher, and poet. He is primarily known for his advocacy of Platonism and, particularly, for introducing the philosophy of Nicolas Malebranche to England.

Norris was born in Collingbourne Kingston, Wiltshire. He studied at Winchester College and Exeter College, Oxford, where he was elected a Fellow in 1680. He took holy orders and served as rector of Newton St Loe, Somerset, and later as rector of Bemerton, near Salisbury, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Norris's philosophical work is largely concerned with defending a form of Christian Platonism. He was a strong critic of John Locke's empiricism, arguing that knowledge could not be derived solely from sensory experience. Instead, Norris maintained that humans have innate ideas, pre-existing knowledge implanted by God. He further argued for the possibility of divine illumination, the idea that God directly communicates knowledge and truth to the human mind.

His major works include The Theory and Regulation of Love (1688), Christian Blessedness (1690), Practical Discourses upon Several Divine Subjects (1691-1693), Letters Concerning the Love of God (1695), and An Essay towards the Theory of the Ideal or Intelligible World (1701-1704). Norris's writing style is characterized by its clarity and accessibility, which helped to make Malebranche's complex philosophy more understandable to an English audience. His poetry is generally considered to be of lesser importance than his philosophical works.

Norris's influence extended beyond his immediate contemporaries. His ideas were taken up by later thinkers, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who drew inspiration from Norris's concept of divine illumination. He remains a significant figure in the history of English philosophy and Christian thought.