1703 – 1758
Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) was an American Puritan theologian, philosopher, and revivalist preacher widely regarded as one of the most intellectually rigorous thinkers in colonial America. He synthesized Calvinist theology with Lockean empiricism and Newtonian science, producing a distinctive Reformed metaphysics. His work on free will, original sin, and religious affections remains influential in both theology and philosophy of religion.
Authored Freedom of the Will (1754), a landmark compatibilist defense of determinism against Arminian free will
Led the First Great Awakening in New England alongside George Whitefield
Developed a thoroughgoing idealist metaphysics influenced by Locke and Berkeley
Wrote Religious Affections (1746), a systematic account of genuine religious experience
Produced Original Sin (1758), a rigorous philosophical defense of inherited depravity