Conway reinterpreted death as a change of life, not annihilation.

Evidence

Death was not annihilation, but “a change from one kind of and degree of life to another.” Dead body could not receive goodness nor perfect itself in any way; changes in motion or shape would not help it to attain life or improve itself intrinsically. This idea was echoed in Leibniz’s statement that “Every possible thing has the right to aspire to existence in proportion to the amount of perfection it contains in germ.” — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 968

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Conway’s vitalism grew from her illness and Quaker refuge, not pure logic. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 973

Broader Connections

• Conway’s vitalism grew from her illness and Quaker refuge, not pure logic. #expands (0.85) — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 973