Robert Boyle A Free Enquiry into the Vulgarly Received Notion of Nature [Paperback]

An important treatise by one of the leading mechanical philosophers of the seventeenth century.Published in 1686, this work attacked prevailing notions of the natural world that depicted Nature as a wise, benevolent and purposeful being. It represents one of the subtlest statements concerning the issues raised by the mechanical philosophy that emerged from the Scientific Revolution.Published in 1686, this work attacked prevailing notions of the natural world that depicted Nature as a wise, benevolent and purposeful being. It represents one of the subtlest statements concerning the issues raised by the mechanical philosophy that emerged from the Scientific Revolution.Published in 1686, this work attacked prevailing notions of the natural world that depicted Nature as a wise, benevolent and purposeful being. It represents one of the subtlest statements concerning the issues raised by the mechanical philosophy that emerged from the Scientific Revolution. This volume presents the first modern edition of the complete text, together with a historical introduction, a chronology of Boyle's life and notes on further reading.Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Chronology; A note on the text; A Free Enquiry into the Vulgarly Received Notion of Nature; The Preface; Section I; Section II; Section III; Section IV; Section V; Section VI; Section VII; Section VIII; Glossary; Index. This work, which admirably testifies to Boyle's equal concern for 'truth and philosophical freedom' and 'religion', deserves this new edition. And, as Davis and Hunter suggest at the end of their introduction, today an essay on the idea of nature can have more than a simple historical significance. Guido Giglioni, Isis