97GLANVILL, JOSEPHGandhi believed that humans should
not use violence because of their limited
knowledge, and instead he encouraged
his followers to practice discipline and
love of adversaries in their movement of
non-cooperation. He called this approach
satyagraha (Sanskrit: satya, “truth,” and
agraha, “force”), which means holding
fast to the truth. His method was ahimsa,
non-violence, based on an ancient Indian
concept prohibiting violence, which
Gandhi expanded to include not belit-
tling or coercing others. He believed that
means and ends are necessarily related.
The moral principles of truth and nonvi-
olence guide all “true” religions, accord-
ing to Gandhi, who held that God is truth.
A life-long practicing Hindu, he was also
influenced by other religions, such as
Christianity, Jainism, and Islam. Gandhi
thought that the status of untouchables in
the caste system was the greatest problem
of Hinduism. Overall, Gandhi demon-
strated his beliefs through practice and
encouraged others to do the same, for
religion at its best was concerned with
human community and faith was inextri-
cably tied to social ethics.
GASSENDI, PIERRE (1592–1655). A
French philosopher and mathematician,
he is celebrated in the history of philoso-
phy as one of Descartes’ most perceptive
critics. Gassendi subscribed to atomism
and opposed Aristotelian treatments of
the natural world. While opposed to
Descartes’ arguments for God and the
soul, Gassendi did defend the existence
of the soul and natural theology. His
works include Exercises Against the
Aristotelians (1624), Disquisitio Meta-
physica (1644), Syntagma philosophicum
(1658), and Opera Omnia (1658).GILSON, ETIENNE HENRI (1884–
1978). The most important twentieth-
century intellectual historian of the
medieval era. Gilson developed a rigor-
ous articulation and defense of Thomas
of Aquinas for modern philosophers.
His works include Thomism (1920), The
Philosophy of Saint Bonaventure (1924),
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1927), Introduc-
tion to the Study of Saint Augustine
(1929), Studies of the Influence of Medi-
eval Thought on the Development of the
Cartesian System (1930), The Spirit of
Medieval Philosophy, 2 vols. (1932),
Christianity and Philosophy (1936), The
Unity of Philosophical Experience (1937),
Heloise and Abelard (1938), Dante (1939),
God and Philosophy (1941), The Christian
Philosophy of Saint Augustine (1947), Being
and Essence (1948), Being and Some Philos-
ophers (1949), John Duns Scotus: Introduc-
tion to his Fundamental Positions (1952),
History of Christian Philosophy in the
Middle Ages (1955), Painting and Reality
(1955), and The Spirit of Thomism (1964).GLANVILL, JOSEPH (1636–1680).
Glanvill was a Latitudinarian divine (priest)
and disciple of the Cambridge Platonist
Henry More. His early writing supported
many of the themes of the Cambridge