William Wollaston

William Wollaston (1659–1724) was an English philosopher and clergyman, educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He is chiefly remembered for his major work, "The Religion of Nature Delineated" (1722), which sought to reconcile reason with religious belief by arguing that moral truths could be derived from the nature of reality itself. The book went through multiple editions and was widely read in the 18th century, influencing later thinkers such as Samuel Johnson and Joseph Butler. Wollaston's central thesis—that actions are morally right when they conform to the truth of things—placed him within the tradition of rationalist ethics. Though his reputation faded after the Enlightenment, his work remains a significant example of early modern attempts to ground morality in natural law rather than divine revelation.