Analyze the Ways in Which Specific Intellectual and Scientific Developments of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Contributed to the Emergence of the Religious Outlook Known as “deism.”
Essay Preview: Analyze the Ways in Which Specific Intellectual and Scientific Developments of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Contributed to the Emergence of the Religious Outlook Known as “deism.”
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Deism itself is the belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe. Intellectuals, by saying that God is a part of the human mind, and scientific development, which stated that the galaxy is not perfect, contributed to the emergence of deism by arguing that God is, in fact, was not actually a part of the world that he had created.
Specific intellectual developments were made throughout this time period which led to the emergence of such a religion. An example of this is when Voltaire stated that God had no direct involvement in the world he had created. Another example could be John Lockes “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” or Roseaus “social contract” which tried to harmonize individual liberty with government authority. Diderots “Classified Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and trades” was meant to try and change the general way of thinking and attack religious superstition. DHolbachs “System of Nature” argued that everything in the universe consisted of matter in motion and that God was the product of the human mind and was unnecessary for leading a moral life. Developments and ideas like these, among others, were what helped to establish deism as a real and widely accepted religious outlook.
Though intellectual developments played a rather large role in the establishment of deism as a religion, scientific advancements did as well. Galileos “Starry Messenger” helped to describe the new universe. Copernicus “On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres” helped to facilitate the heliocentric theory. Brahe incorporated the belief that the sun revolves around the earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun. Finally, Harveys “On the Motion of the Heart and Blood” established the notion that the blood is pumped from the heart and not the liver. These all helped in increasing the acceptance of the belief of deism as a religion.
In conclusion, various developments and people helped with growing of deism. Examples of these are people like Brah, Voltaire, Copernicus, Roseau, Diderot, Galileo, Newton, etc. However, it took the combine developments of both intellectuals and scientists in order to firmly establish deism as a truly accepted and believable religion.