The 18th century was a tumultuous time to be a philosopher or a scientist, as the Enlightenment, a movement that celebrated the liberal use of reason, dominated all intellectual and philosophical thought during the period. It was characterized by an emphasis on the scientific method and reason based on observation, along with the increased questioning of religious orthodoxy in the judgement of truth. As such, many ideas held in high regard prior to and in the early stages of the Enlightenment stand in stark contrast to those afterwards, with thinking styles post-Enlightenment predictably bearing a closer resemblance to modern scientific thinking. These values are reflected in Robert Boyle, a prominent early Enlightenment figure highlighted …show more content…
Moreover, both men advocated for the notion of mechanical philosophy: the conception of nature as a great machine, an intelligently constructed system of unintelligent matter in motion rather than a living organism with a “soul” or “intelligence” of its own. Furthermore, both agreed that the explanation of natural occurrences should be solely in terms of particles of matter, their motion and interaction. Wrote Boyle, “it seems not absurd to conceive, that at the first production of mixt bodies, the universal matter whereof they among other parts of the universe consisted, was actually divided into little particles, of several sizes and shapes, variously moved…” Indeed, Boyle confirms the truths of modern science in its entirety: compounds (mixt bodies) are conceived of smaller particles (atoms) that take on various shapes and sizes, and are “the universal matter whereof they [compounds] among other parts of the universe consisted;” i.e. these particles are the basic components of all other particular