Controlling Nature: The Enlightenment, Newton, and the End-of-Life
Brian Engelhardt, BS Baylor University, Pre-Medical Student, Theology, Medicine, and Culture Fellowship at Duke Divinity School
Before the Scientific Revolution, the dominant method in natural philosophy generally consisted of an approach in which explanations of physical phenomena were deduced from a higher teleological order of first principles. Turning away from this traditional approach, philosophers throughout the 16th and 17th centuries began with experimentation and observation of physical phenomena, from which law-governed mechanisms were induced.
Residing in between the two worlds of 17th century natural philosophy and the evolving field of mechanics, Isaac Newton epitomized this inductive, bottom-up approach. While Newton is most widely recognized for developing the laws of motion and universal gravitation specifically within experimental philosophy, his method became known as a standard framework, fashioned directly by Newton’s works, but also through deistic interpretations of his approach.
Through a historical analysis, this paper will argue that “Newtonianism” was an instrumental factor in establishing a new perspective that nature was neutral in its end or purpose, rather than providentially ordered. Novel secular agendas exemplified in Jeremy Bentham and changing religious tides after the Protestant Reformation defined the alleviation of suffering as a moral good, which coincided with this new vision of nature, malleable in its disconnect from the supernatural.
Thus a new project emerged: nature is to be controlled and manipulated for the benefit of humans. The historical context of Newtonianism within the larger Enlightenment movement sheds light on the modern project of medicine and its foundation of mastery over nature, having implications for a variety of matters in medicine. One realm in particular involves the issues pertinent to the end-of-life, an environment often overshadowed by diminished capabilities to control the process of death. Returning to contexts within the Christian tradition before Newtonianism and further understanding the theological underpinnings in Newton’s work that were often misinterpreted may offer tools for re-enchantment rather than reductionism.
This historical approach is primarily inspired by and hopes to build upon the work of ethicist Gerald McKinney in the legacy of Descartes and Bacon regarding the modern project of medicine.
Before the Scientific Revolution, the dominant method in natural philosophy generally consisted of an approach in which explanations of physical phenomena were deduced from a higher teleological order of first principles. Turning away from this traditional approach, philosophers throughout the 16th and 17th centuries began with experimentation and observation of physical phenomena, from which law-governed mechanisms were induced.
Residing in between the two worlds of 17th century natural philosophy and the evolving field of mechanics, Isaac Newton epitomized this inductive, bottom-up approach. While Newton is most widely recognized for developing the laws of motion and universal gravitation specifically within experimental philosophy, his method became known as a standard framework, fashioned directly by Newton’s works, but also through deistic interpretations of his approach.
Through a historical analysis, this paper will argue that “Newtonianism” was an instrumental factor in establishing a new perspective that nature was neutral in its end or purpose, rather than providentially ordered. Novel secular agendas exemplified in Jeremy Bentham and changing religious tides after the Protestant Reformation defined the alleviation of suffering as a moral good, which coincided with this new vision of nature, malleable in its disconnect from the supernatural.
Thus a new project emerged: nature is to be controlled and manipulated for the benefit of humans. The historical context of Newtonianism within the larger Enlightenment movement sheds light on the modern project of medicine and its foundation of mastery over nature, having implications for a variety of matters in medicine. One realm in particular involves the issues pertinent to the end-of-life, an environment often overshadowed by diminished capabilities to control the process of death. Returning to contexts within the Christian tradition before Newtonianism and further understanding the theological underpinnings in Newton’s work that were often misinterpreted may offer tools for re-enchantment rather than reductionism.
This historical approach is primarily inspired by and hopes to build upon the work of ethicist Gerald McKinney in the legacy of Descartes and Bacon regarding the modern project of medicine.