Freemasonry and the Birth of Modern Science

by Lomas, Robert

• ISBN13: 9781592330119
• ISBN10: 1592330118
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-03-01
• Publisher: Fair Winds Pr

Summary

In 1660, within a few months of the restoration of Charles II, a group of twelve men, including Robert Boyle and Christopher Wren, met in London to set up a society to study the mechanisms of nature. At a time when superstition and magic governed reason, the repressive dogma of Christian belief silenced many, and where post-war loyalties ruined careers, these men forbade the discussion of religion and politics at their meetings. The Royal Society was born and with it modern, experimental science. This situation seems unlikely enough, but the fact that the founding members came from both sides of a brutal Civil War makes its origins all the more astonishing. Freemasonry and the Birth of Modern Science is a fascinating study of the turbulent political, economic, and religious background to the formation of the Royal Society -- an era of war against the Dutch, the Great Plague, and the Great Fire of London.

Author Biography

Robert Lomas lectures in Information Systems at Bradford University School of Management.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Prologue: A Cold Winter's Day in Late November	p. 1
A World before Science	p. 11
The Founders of the Royal Society	p. 25
Conflicting Stories	p. 51
The Patron Saint of Frozen Chickens	p. 71
An Alien Monarch	p. 81
The Life and Soul of the Royal Society	p. 103
Fellow Number Thirty-seven	p. 139
The Restoration	p. 165
The Royal Charters	p. 193
Early Works	p. 217
Gossips, Spies and French Mistresses	p. 247
A Legend of Gracious and Kindly Kings	p. 259
Sir Robert's Heritage	p. 287
Postscript: Life, the Universe and a Theory of Everything	p. 299
The Scientific Secrets of the Craft	p. 309
Endnotes	p. 323
Bibliography	p. 337
Timeline	p. 345
Index	p. 351
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