Exemplary+Post+3

Scientific discovery was increasing at a rapid pace in Europe during the 17th century, however one major issue that was developing was the coexistence of religion and science. This is still a hot button issue today, however at this time it was an even bigger issue because scientific discovery was such a new ideal. The world saw a blend in politics, religion and science and the way that played out is briefly chronicled below, however there is no real resolution to the story, because science and religion in my opinion will never see eye to eye in every respect.

The life and times of Isaac Newton, perhaps the greatest scientist ever, is quite interesting. Born and raised in adversity with his poor family, Newton was not an exceptional student while he attended his local public grammar school. As his life proceeded, he slowly came to realize his abilities with science and scientific research. He completed a lot of his work at Cambridge and eventually he became a professor there. He was elected countless times as President of the Royal Society of the day. In addition he is noted for his many works, namely the //Principia// and his invention of differential and integral calculus as well as “Newton’s Law’s” and laws concerning gravity. Though he suffered turmoil with other mathematicians and nervous breakdowns, Newton was a stable figure in his day who laid the foundation for the scientific world today. However, his life of science was cast in a shadow by the conflict between science and religion of the day. For example, when James I became the king of England he immediately attempted to mix science and religion, which upset Newton. He made an attempt to only appoint Catholics to the leadership of Cambridge University. However, Newton, a Protestant, fought this and became a leader of the university anyway. Luckily for England, James II was overturned by the Glorious Revolution which placed William and Mary as the new leaders of England.

Another groundbreaking scientist who helped change the world at this time was Robert Boyle, however today he has nowhere near the notoriety that Newton’s does. Nonetheless, Boyle did a lot of work with air pressure and the development of certain laws within chemistry. He attended Oxford and met with a group that foreshadowed the infamous Royal Society. However, what I find most interesting about Boyle is not his research, but the fact that he was such an ardent Catholic. Boyle wrote books concerning morality and he gave lectures concerning the defense of Christians against atheists. Lastly, Boyle seemed to use science as a way of proving rather than disproving God’s existence which I think is very interesting because this is separate from the ideals of most scientific thinkers of the day. The passage on Boyle related, “alchemy appeared to offer an empirical bridge between the natural and the supernatural realms which might provide irrefutable evidence of God’s existence.”

In “The Anglican Origins of Modern Science”, it is clear that Webster argues that religion motivated science when he said, “a major step in the development of English science occurred between 1640 and 1660, and the motivation for this science came essentially from Puritanism.” (252) This is a bold statement however it bears some truth when analyzed because Puritanism founded the corpuscular philosophy which was built on the idea of hard work and dedication toward scientific discovery. It was not based on miraculously obtaining wisdom. This ideal was later transferred into latitudinarianism, which was a new belief which helped to define God’s role in the universe and confirm the need for organized scientific inquiry at the same time. These ideas all try to integrate religion and science; however some radicals did just the opposite. These were men such as Hobbes and Stubbe who were essentially atheists. Eventually, the latitudinarians got absorbed by the church and the ideals of Newton and Boyle laid the foundation for the enlightenment. This would be a tine that would severely impact the world in a political sense, and make further reforms in the arena of science and religion. All in all, the relationship between religion and science is a difficult and at times polar relationship, but these ideals represent how it was dealt with at the inception of scientific discovery.