The 17th-century philosopher who championed both the scientific method and the reality of witches.

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Joseph Glanvill was a leading advocate for the Royal Society and empirical inquiry, yet he spent his final years documenting poltergeists and witchcraft. To Glanvill, these were not contradictory pursuits; he believed that proving the existence of the supernatural was essential to defending religion against the rising tide of atheism.

Born in 1636, Joseph Glanvill was a prominent English clergyman and philosopher who navigated the intellectual turbulence of the Restoration. As a Fellow of the Royal Society, he became a skillful apologist for the new experimental philosophy. In works like The Vanity of Dogmatizing (1661) and Scepsis Scientifica (1665), he championed a 'middle way'—a limited skepticism that rejected scholasticism and dogmatism while advocating for the plain use of language and the empirical investigation of the physical world.

Despite his commitment to scientific rigor, Glanvill was deeply concerned that the denial of spirits and demons would inevitably lead to atheism and social chaos. He argued that the supernatural could not be solved from first principles but required empirical evidence. Consequently, he applied his investigative methods to the paranormal, interviewing witnesses and examining sites of alleged activity. His most famous work in this vein, Saducismus Triumphatus (1681), served as a compendium of folklore and reports—including the notorious Drummer of Tedworth—intended to prove that witchcraft was a tangible reality.

Glanvill’s legacy is complex and often viewed as paradoxical. While his scientific advocacy influenced later thinkers, his defense of witchcraft trials had dark consequences; his writings were used to justify the Salem witch trials in 1693. By the 18th century, his work became a primary target for skeptics like Christian Thomasius, who attacked Glanvill’s belief in the occult. Today, he remains a fascinating figure who illustrates the fragile boundary between the emerging scientific revolution and the deeply held traditional beliefs of his era.

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