Adulthood:

• Back in England, Boyle lived for a time with his sister Katherine Jones. She was thirteen years older than him and was a lady of some importance, married to Viscount Ranelagh. 
• Boyle had property in England, the manor of Stalbridge, which was left to him by his father. But, the situation in the country made things difficult. Note: England was in a chaos, the civil war which had began in 1642 was being fought between King Charles and the parliament. Charles had moved to Oxford while the parliament had formed a treaty with the Scots. In return for the Scots military support, they were promised the establishment of a Presbyterian church. Several battles in 1644 left both King and parliament somewhat in disarray. 
• After four months, he inspected his new home. After a long wait, in March 1946, he was able to move in.
• Although Boyle did not intend to spend long at Stalbridge, he remained there for around six years.
• • In a letter sent to his old tutor he admits: “As for my studies, I have had the opportunity to prosecute them but by fits and snatches, as my leisure and my occasions would give me leave. Divers little essays, both in verse and prose, I have taken pains to scribble upon several subjects. ... The other humane studies I apply myself to, are natural philosophy, the mechanics and husbandry, according to the principles of our new philosophical college ... “
  • This "new philosophical college" is also called by Boyle the "Invisible College" later in the letter. It is the society that would soon become the "Royal Society of London" and it provided Boyle's only contact with the world of science while he lived a somewhat lonely life at Stalbridge.
  • It was discussions in the Invisible College that led to Boyle reading Oughtred's Clavis Mathematica as well as the works of Mersenne and Gassendi.
  • From the time of his visit to Italy, Boyle favored the ideas of Copernicus and he now held these views deeply, together with a deep belief in the atomic theory of matter. In the Invisible College these views were considered to be those of the new natural philosophy.

• This period of time was difficult for Boyle for he tried hard not to be forced to take sides in the civil war. His loyalties were somewhat divided by his father having been a staunch Royalist and his sister Katherine a staunch Parliamentarian. Basically he had little sympathy with either side, but the final outcome of the civil war turned out to his advantage. Charles I was defeated and executed but, in 1650, Charles II landed in Scotland and tried to regain power. Cromwell, leading the parliamentary forces, defeated the Scots in 1650 and again in 1651. Also, the Irish were defeated by Cromwell in 1652.
• In 1652 Boyle went to Ireland to look after his estates there. He ended up a very rich man when Cromwell apportioned Irish lands to the English colonists. From that time on, he was able to devote himself entirely to science without the need to earn money. Boyle was also a very generous man with his money benefiting many around him through his generosity.
• From 1654 Boyle lived in Oxford, although he never held any university post.
• In 1668 Boyle left Oxford and went to live with his sister Lady Ranelagh in London. There he formed some common scientific interests with a neighbor, Thomas Sydenham, a physician.
• In 1669 his sister's husband died.
• In June 1670 Boyle had a stroke, which left him paralyzed. Slowly he recovered his health and continued his scientific researches, which he did with the help of many excellent assistants.
• In 1680 he declined the offer to serve as President of the Royal Society. He explained his reasons were religious in that he could not swear to necessary oaths.

Influences:

• While in Italy, Galileo died. Boyle was influenced by this event and carefully studied Galileo's works. It could be said that if any one event shaped Boyle's life and directed him towards science, then it was this.
  His Protestant background, with an ingrained fear of Jesuits, contributed to his sympathy for Galileo and his treatment by the Roman Catholic Church. Boyle became a supporter of Galileo's philosophy and believed strongly from this time in the new approach to studying the world through mathematics and mechanics.
• A Protestant, The religious side of Boyle was an important force in his life. To Boyle there was no conflict with religion and a mechanistic world. For him;
  “A God who could create a mechanical universe - who could create matter in motion, obeying certain laws out of which the universe as we know it could come into being in an orderly fashion - was far more to be admired and worshipped than a God who created a universe without scientific law.“

Key Relationships:

• John Wilkens, Boyle met Wilkins, the leader of the Invisible College, in London when he visited there in 1653. (At this time Wilkins had just been appointed as Warden of Wadham College in Oxford and he was planning to run the Invisible College from there. He strongly encouraged Boyle to join them in Oxford. Boyle decided to go to Oxford and continued to carry out his scientific experiments).
• At Oxford: 
• • John Wallis, Professor of Geometry
  • Seth Ward, Professor of Astronomy
  • Christopher Wren, successor to Seth Ward
• Thomas Sydenham, Physician
• Robert Hooke, assistant

	Enter your search terms  Submit search form
	Web  www.metaphysical-master-minds.com

<< Previous    1  [2]  3    Next >>