Touch’d with a coal from heav’n
Daniel Ritchie finds in the poetry of William Cowper (1731–1800) an anticipation of Michael Polanyi’s epistemology
How we know the world
Daniel Ritchie argues that poet and hymnodist William Cowper was ahead of his time in critiquing the Enlightenment's reductionist view of knowledge. (16 minutes)
William Cowper: Reconciling the Heart with the Head
Daniel E. Ritchie discusses the life and work of poet William Cowper (1731–1800), comparing his commitment to understanding reality through personal knowledge, intuition, and rigorous contemplation with the thought of Michael Polanyi. (43 minutes)
How hymnody produced an important English poet
Christopher N. Phillips on William Cowper’s suffering and (artistic) triumphs
From cities humming with a restless crowd
In a much-sung hymn and a little-known poem, William Cowper seeks retirement from worldliness