Joseph Priestley, “Aerial Philosopher”: Metaphysics and Methodology In Priestley's Chemical Thought, From 1762 to 1781 Part 1

Ambix

Volumn 25, Issue 1, 1978, Pages 1-55

  McEvoy, John G ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; HISTORY; HISTORY OF MEDICINE; RELIGION; UNITED KINGDOM;

BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; GREAT BRITAIN; HISTORY OF MEDICINE, MODERN; RELIGION AND MEDICINE;

EID: 0017941438     PISSN: 00026980     EISSN: 17458234     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1179/amb.1978.25.1.1     Document Type: Article

References (350)

1. For a helpful account of the logic and limitations of inductivist historigraphy see J. Agassi, Toward an Historiography of Science, The Hague, 1963.
2. See (i) R. M. Caven, Joseph Priestley, 1733-1804, London, 1833
3. (ii) F. Jeffrey, "Review of Memoirs of Joseph Priestley", Edinburgh Rev., 9, 137-161, 1807
4. (iii) Sir P. Hartog, "Joseph Priestley", D.N.B., 46, 357-76
5. (iv) A. N. Meldrum and Sir H. Hartley, "The Bicentenary of Joseph Priestley", J. Chem. Soc., 896-920, 1933
6. (v) A. N. Meldrum and Sir H. Hartley, "Joseph Priestley and his place in the History of Science", Proc. Roy. Inst. Gt. Brit., 26, 395-430, 1931
7. (vi) A. Holt., A Life of Joseph Priestley, London, 1938
8. (vii) O. Lodge, "Joseph Priestley", Nine Famous Birmingham Men, ed. N. Muirhead, Birmingham, 1909
9. (viii) J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, London, 1961-1970, vol. iii
10. (ix) Priestley's Writings on Philosophy, Science and Politics, ed. John A. Passmore, New York, 1963
11. (x) T. E. Thorpe, Joseph Priestley, London, 1906.
12. F. W. Gibbs, Joseph Priestley: Adventurer in Science and Champion of Truth, London, 1965.
13. See his (i) "Electrical Researches of Joseph Priestley", Arch. Int. d'Histoire des Sciences, 64, 277-86, 1963
14. (ii) "The Scientific Background of Joseph Priestley", Ann. Sei., 13, 148-63, 1957
15. (iii) A Scientific Autobiography of Joseph Priestley, 1733-1840
16. Selected Scientific Correspondence, with Commentary, M.I.T. Press, 1966.
17. See, in particular, (i) "Joseph Priestley, Natural Philosopher", Ambix 14, 1-15, 1967.
18. This view is further articulated in (ii) "Joseph Priestley, the Theory of Oxidation and the Nature of Matter", J. Hist. Ideas, 25, 285-94, 1964
19. (iii) "Boscovich and Priestley's Theory of Matter", Roger Joseph Boscovich S. J., F.R.S., 1711-1787, etc., ed. L. L. Whyte, London, 1961, 168-72.
20. For a criticism of. Schofield's views see J. G. McEvoy "Joseph Priestley, Natural Philosopher: Some Comments on Professor Schofield's Views", Ambix, 15, 115-23, 1968.
21. Stephen S. Toulmin, "Crucial Experiments: Priestley and Lavoisier", J. Hist. Ideas, 18, 205-20, 1957
22. reprinted in Roots of Scientific Thought: A Cultural Perspective, eds. P. E. Weiner and A. Noland, New York, 1957.
23. Memoirs of Dr. J. Priestley to the year 1795, written by himself, with a continuation to the time of his Decease, written by his son, London, 1805, 61.
24. (ii) Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air, London, 1774-1777, vol. ii, 29.
25. J. Priestley (7), 252-3.
26. See R. E. Schofield, (4, ii), 148.
27. See, e.g., A. N. Meldrum and Sir H. Hartley (2, iv), 899
28. R. M. Caven (2), 94 and 97
29. F. Jeffrey (2), 139.
30. (2), 108. This analogy was formulated by Priestley himself at (9, ii), xi.
31. T. E. Thorpe (2), 168.
32. H. Holt (2), 108.
33. F. Jeffrey (2), 137.
34. See T. R. Partington (2), 256-7 for a similar account of Priestley's method. This view will be refuted in the course of this study, which will reveal the "philosophy" in Priestley's science.
35. (2), 372.
36. (2), 23. These views are reiterated in F. W. Gibbs (3), 117 and 148.
37. (2), 137. This schizophrenic view of Priestley's intellectual life conceals the essential unity of his thought that will be revealed in this study. The same schizoid portrayal of Priestley's intellectual make-up is to be found in Basil Willey, The Eighteenth Century Background, London, 1965, 163.
38. (2), 168
39. See also J. R. Partington (2), 246 for a repetition of these sentiments.
40. (3), 145. The presence of such contradictory positions among Priestley's commentators is symptomatic of their partial and inadequate understanding of his work. Their inconsistencies will be overcome in the "consistent representation" offered in this study.
41. (2), 20-21.
42. This view is also part of Schofield's Boscovichian interpretation of Priestley's natural philosophy as shown, for example, at (5, i), 12.
43. For a criticism of this position see J. G. McEvoy (5), 122-123.
44. (2, v), 902.
45. See (4. ii), 148-63.
46. Relevant studies of eighteenth-century science education include H. McLachlan, English Education Under the Test Acts, Manchester, 1931
47. J. Parker, Dissenting Academies in England, Cambridge, 1914
48. J. W. Ashley Smith, The Birth of Modern Education, London, 1954
49. D. M. Turner, History of Science Teaching in England, London, 1927.
50. London, 1765
51. republished in his Miscellaneous Observations relating to Education, London, 1778. References will be made to this edition.
52. See H. Gow, The Unitarians, London, 1928, for an account of the political plight of non-conformists engendered by their religious dissent.
53. (7), 9. The full titles of these works are as follows: W. S'Gravesende, Mathematical Elements of Natural Philosophy Confirmed by Experiment, or an Introduction to Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy, trans. J. T. Desagulier, six editions between 1720 and 1747
54. J. Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 2 vols. London, 1748
55. I. Watts, Logick, or the Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, London, 1775.
56. See also, R. E. Schofield (4, ii), 150-1.
57. (7), 178-84.
58. See also R. E. Schofield (4, ii), 150-1. The titles of these works are as follows: J. Rowning, A Compendious System of Natural Philosophy, seven editions between 1735 and 1772
59. C. Maclaurin, A Treatise of Algebra, London, 1748
60. E. Chambers, Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts, four editions between 1728 and 1746
61. H. Boerhaave, New Method of Chemistry, including the History, Theory and Practice of the Art, trans. P. Shaw, London, 1727.
62. See (7), 180 where he mentions reading "Hartley on Man, vol. 2" in 1755.
63. See (7), 47.
64. These works were available in the Academy Library or in the Warrington Circulating Library (see R. E. Schofield, (4, ii), 151-3). The full titles are as follows: P. J. Macquer, Elements of the Theory and Practice of Chemistry, trans. A. Reid, 2 vols., London, 1758
65. W. Lewis, Commercium Philosophico-Technitum or the Philosophical Commerce of Arts, London, 1763-1765
66. The Philosophical Works of the Honourable Robert Boyle, Exq, etc., Ed. P. Shaw, 3 vols, London, 1725.
67. See R. E. Schofield, (4, ii), 160-3.
68. (9, ii), vol. i, title page.
69. For the present, the interested reader is referred to J. G. McEvoy, Joseph Priestley: Philosopher, Scientist and Divine, University of Pittsburgh Ph.D. dissertation, 1976.
70. In accord with the objectives outlined in the text, and in the interests of convenience, efficiency and accessibility use will here be made of The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley, ed. J. T. Rutt, 25 vols. London, 1817-32 as the main primary source in the first five sections.
71. See B. Willey (21), 174-85 for a brief outline of Priestley's religious outlook.
72. See also n. 56 below.
73. J. Priestley, Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion, etc. 2 vols., 2nd. ed., Birmingham, 1782, in J. Priestley (41), vol ii, xv.
74. Priestley's dominant religious interest was in Revealed Christianity as opposed to Natural Religion. Thus, he addressed his rational defence of Christianity not only to Athiests but to Deists as well. He regarded his task as to persuade the Atheist to "believe", and the Deist to accept Revealed Religion.
75. See "The Dedication", Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever, Birmingham, 1787, in J. Priestley (41), vol. 2, 313-16.
76. An Appeal to the Serious and Candid Professors of Christianity, London, 1791, in J. Priestley (41), vol. ii, 385.
77. J. Priestley (7), 74-5.
78. J. Priestley, Disquisitions relating to Malter and Spirit, etc., 2nd. ed., London, 1782 in J. Priestley (41), vol. iii, 204.
79. J. Priestley, A Free Discussion of the Doctrines of Materialism and Philosophical Necessity, in a Correspondence between Dr. Price and Dr. Priestley, London, 1778, in J. Priestley (41), vol. iv, 143.
80. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (49), 204.
81. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (49), 204.
82. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (45), 445.
83. J. Priestley, Experiments and Observations relating to various branches of Natural Philosophy with a continuation of the Observaitons on Air, Birmingham, 1779-86, vol. iii, xvi-xvii.
84. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (45), 446.
85. Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences, New Jersey, 1975, vol. vi, 325-404. In subsequent notes the reader will be referred to relevant sections of this study that develop and augment themes and topics that can only be given a brief consideration within the present frame of reference. These notes will, it is hoped, enable the reader to connect the present analysis to this earlier study in such a way as to attain the fullest sense of the role of chemistry in the totality of Priestley's thought.
86. The following pages contain both a more limited and a more extensive account of Priestley's theism than that found in J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56). While both studies share some common ground each covers aspects of the situation that are neglected by the other. Taken together, however, these accounts complement each other to produce a useful introduction to this aspect of Priestley's thought.
87. J. Priestley (49), 297-8.
88. See text above n. 76 below.
89. J. Priestley, The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity Illustrated, being an Appendix to the Disquisitions relating to Malter and Spirit, 2nd ed., London, 1782 in J. Priestley (41), vol. iii, 451.
90. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (43), 12 and 14.; 14-17; 21-24.
91. This view is expressed in numerous places throughout Priestley's writing, including (i) The History and Present State of Electricity, with Original Experiments, etc., London, 1767, iii,-lv
92. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. i, vii-viii, (45), 341.
93. J. Priestley (43), 5.
94. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (43), 6.
95. See also n. 170 below.
96. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (45), 219.
97. see pp. 26-8 below.
98. See n. 91 below. In J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56), 337-43, the intellectual heritage of Priestley's doctrine of determinism is outlined and its repercussions in the real of moral philosophy are considered. The main thrust of the present account relates to the ontological and existemological implications and interconnections of Priestley's theism and determinisn.
99. An Examination of Dr. Reid's Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense: Dr. Beattie's Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth
100. Dr. Oswald's Appeal to Common Sense on Behalf of Religion, 2nd ed., London, 1775
101. in J. Priestley (41) vol. iii, 89.
102. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (60), 453.
103. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (43), 5.
104. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 90.
105. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (43), 15.
106. J. Priestley (60), 470-3.
107. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 92.
108. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (43), 16.
109. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (60), 456.
110. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (43), 15.
111. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 579-80.
112. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (60), 507.
113. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 94.
114. See J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56), 343-7 for a fuller discussion of the relation between Priestley's cosmic optimism and the psychological progress of the individual towards happiness and perfection.
115. See (i) J. Priestley, An Essay on the First Principles of Government and on the Virtue of Political, Civic and Religious Liberty, London, 1768, 2-3
116. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), xx.
117. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), xx.
118. This view was a commonplace among eighteenth-century natural philosophers. See, e.g., I. Newton, Opticks, 4th ed., London, 1730 (reprinted by Dover, 1952), 405
119. C. Maclaurin, Account of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophical Discoveries, London, 1758, 4
120. W. Derham, Physico-Theology, London, 1691
121. D. Hartley, Observations on Man, His Frame, His Duty, and his Expectations, London, 1749, vol ii, 45.
122. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (60), 451.
123. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), xxi.
124. taken from D. Hartley, (101), vol. ii, 245-6
125. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), xxi-xxii.
126. Taken from D. Hartley (101), 255-6.
127. See, e.g., P. F. Strawson, Introduction to Logical Theory, London, 1952, 175.
128. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. ii, viii-ix.
129. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. i, vii.
130. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. ii, ix.
131. See pp. 23-4 below.
132. J. Priestley, The Doctrine of Phlogiston Established and that of the Decomposition of Water refuted, 2nd. ed. Northumberland, Pa., 1802, ix.
133. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. iii, xxii.
134. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. ii, ix.
135. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. i, viii.
136. See n. 99 above for the full title of this work.
137. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. iii, vi.
138. (ii) Heads of Lectures on a course of Experimental Philosophy particularly including Chemistry, delivered at the New College in Hackney, London, 1794, 2-3.
139. See (i) (99), 6
140. (ii) Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air and other branches of Natural Philosophy connected with the Subject, Birmingham, 1790, vol. i, v-vi.
141. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. iii, vi.
142. See also Miscellaneous Observations relating to Education, London, 1778 in J. Priestley (41), vol. xxv, 16.
143. Franklin and Newton, Philadelphia, 1956, 109.
144. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), xix.
145. See H. Gow (31) above.
146. See n. (28) above.
147. See n. (30) above.
148. Miscellaneous Observations relating to Education, London, 1778, 258.
149. For a discussion of the main features of Enlightenment epistemology and the context of Priestley's epistemic thought see E. Cassirer, The Philosophy of the Enlightenment, trans. F. A. C. Hoeling and T. F. Pettegrove, Boston, 1962. While this study will concentrate on those aspects of Priestley's epistemology that are most directly relevant to an understanding of his natural philosophy, a more complete treatment of Priestley's "moral philosophy" and its relation to the thought of Locke and Hartley is given in J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56), 348-57.
150. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (126), 27.
151. For a dissussion of this scientific philosophy see G. Buchdahl, The Image of Newton and Locke on the Age of Reason, London, 1961.
152. See, e.g., J. Priestley (78), 15-24. Here Priestley applies the methods and concepts of his associationist psychology not only to the problem of the psychological development of the individual but also to such diverse philosophical issues as the analytic/synthetic distinction, the relation between logic and thought, and the existence of an external world.
153. ed., Alexander Campbell Fraser, 2 vols., New York, 1459. Priestley used the thirteenth edition which appeared in 1749 (see note 32 above). References will here be made to Fraser's edition.
154. See (i) J. Priestley (78), 15-24
155. (ii) J. Priestley, Hartley's Theory of the Human Mind, on the Principle of Association of Ideas with Essays Relating to the Subject of it, 2nd. ed., London, 1790 in J. Priestley (41), vol. iii, 168-200.
156. J. Priestley (45), 401-2.
157. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (132, ii), 184.
158. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 15.
159. See e.g., (i) J. Locke (131), Bk. II, ch. XXIII.
160. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (49), 297.
161. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. iii, 418.
162. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (118, ii), 4-6.
163. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 15.
164. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (118, ii), 4-6 and 9.
165. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. iii, 418ff. See, also, Part 2 below.
166. D. Hartley (101), 268-323.
167. J. Priestley (78), 18-19
168. See, especially (i) J. Priestley (78), 15-17
169. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (45), 328-9.
170. (iii) D. Hartley (101), 325-329.
171. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 15.
172. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (45), 328.
173. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 15.
174. See pp. 22-3 below.
175. For a discussion of Priestley's epistemological views in relation to those of Hume and the common-sense philosophy see J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56), 357-68.
176. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (41), vol. iv, 127-8.
177. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 70.
178. J. Priestley (45), 327 and (78), 70-1.
179. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 125.
180. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (45), 329.
181. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 329.
182. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (45), 403.
183. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 127.
184. For a fuller discussion of Priestley's antology of "principles" and "powers" see J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56), 368-74.
185. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 441-2.
186. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (132, ii), 185.
187. "Observations and Experiments relating to Equivocal or Spontaneous Generation", American Philosophical Transactions, 6, 129, 1809.
188. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (132), 191.
189. See n. 164 above.
190. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (118, ii), 8-9.
191. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 441-2.
192. See also n. 166 above.
193. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (43), 15.
194. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (49), 241 where he says "all action is his [God's] action".
195. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (132, ii), 184 and (45), 404.
196. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (132, ii), 185.
197. For a discussion of this aspect of Priestley's thought in relation to his criticism of the common-sense philosophy and the tradition of rational dissent that formed his political sensibilities the reader is referred to J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56), 374-80.
198. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 74.
199. See, e.g., J. Beattis, Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth, in Opposition to Sophistry and Sceptism, etc., Edinburgh, 1776, 45.
200. J. Priestley (78), 101-2.
201. See, e.g., (i) A Free Discussion of the Doctrines of Materialism and Philosophical Necessity, in a Correspondence between Dr. Price and Dr. Priestley, London, 1778, in J. Priestley (41), 10
202. (ii) History of the Corruption of Christianity, 2 vols., London, 1782, in Priestley (41), vol. v.
203. J. Priestley (43), xvii. A good history of Priestley's religious heritage is found in H. Gow, The Origins of Non-Conformity, London, 1912.
204. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (118, ii), xxi.
205. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (119, ii), xi.
206. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (43), xvi.
207. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (180, ii), 5. An impression of the religious and political climate that Priestley inhabited can be gleaned from a reading of his Memoirs.
208. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (118, ii), xxii.
209. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (180, ii), 4.
210. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), xiv.
211. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (45), 220.
212. In the following pages Priestley's theory of matter is presented only insofar as it more closely relates to his natural philosophy.
213. For a view of its integrating rolë in the totality of his thought the reader is referred to J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56), 380-96.
214. A Treatise on Human Nature, ed., L. A. Selby-Briggs, London, 1955, 346-7.
215. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (45), 399 where he claims that "the idea of power or causation" is an idea that "corresponds to something real in the relation of the things that suggest it".
216. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 230.
217. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (180, i), 248.
218. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 223.
219. See, especially, R. E. Schofield (5). This outlook is adopted by J. Lindsay in his "Introduction" to his edition of Autobiography of Joseph Priestley: Memoirs Written by Himself, etc., Bath, 1970.
220. For a criticism of these views see J. G. McEvoy (5), 122-3 and J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56), 389-90 and 397-8.
221. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 237.
222. According to the traditional view, the concept of action-at-a-distance is unintelligible because it is underivable from the idea of "solid atoms". A "foreign power" of "the deity" was thus regarded as necessary to explain it, such that the system of the world depends on its action. Priestly goes further than this and reduces matter itself and its interrelations to the power of the Deity.
223. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 441-96.
224. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), 258-86.
225. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (118, ii), 1-12.
226. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (78), 25.
227. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 443-4.
228. It has to be noted that Priestley's definition of a "perfect theory" highlights an uneasy tension between sensationalism and the ontology of "principles". Whereas sensationalism demands a "relational concept" of causality, an ontology of "principles" gives expression to the "substantive concept". (See E. Cassirer, Substance and Function, New York, 1953). A complete examination of the debate between Priestley and "the Lavoisians" must deal with the confusions, ambiguities and conflicts that result from the conflation and clash of these two modes of thought in eighteenth-century natural philosophy. However, this topic is beyond the scope of this study
229. and, for the moment, the reader is referred to J. G. McEvoy and J. E. McGuire (56) 370-2, and J. G. McEvoy (40) 290-348, for a further discussion of this issue.
230. See, especially, R. E. Schofield (5). This outlook is adopted by J. Lindsay in his "Introduction" to his edition of Autobiography of Joseph Priestley: Memoirs Written by Himself, etc., Bath, 1970.
231. For the participants in this tradition, see L. L. Laudan, "Theories of Scientific Method from Plato to Mach", History of Science, 7, 24-8, 1968. Priestley asserts his view of the necessity and fruitfulness of hypotheses at (9, ii), vol. i, 259.
232. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 444.
233. See text above n. 157 above.
234. See text above n. 214 above.
235. This sense is given expression in the text above n. 219 above.
236. On rare occasions Priestley viewed the development of natural philosophy in terms of the methodology of "conjecture and refutation", in which hypotheses are viewed as approximations to the true theory which, under the corrective force of experimental refutation, are brought "still nearer to the truth". (See J. Priestley (66, i), 445). However, this epistemological view of the status of hypotheses soon gives way to an emphasis on their heuristic value that is in greater harmony with the rest of Priestley's thought.
237. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 445.
238. See text above n. 156 above.
239. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. ii, vii.
240. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (126), 4.
241. See pp. 23-4 above.
242. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (132, ii), 185.
243. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 433.
244. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. iii, xvii.
245. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (III), 4. See, also, J. Priestley (54), vol. iii, 72.
246. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. iii, xi.
247. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. iii, xxvii.
248. See also J. Priestley (III), xviii.
249. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. ii, xx.
250. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. ii, 325-66.
251. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. i, xi.
252. Throughout Priestley's writings the terms "hypothesis", "opinion", "prejudice" and "speculation" are used interchangeably with synonymous epistemological intent: see, e.g., the texts above notes 233, 242 nad 243.
253. Thus, contrary to prevalent historiography, Priestley was as conscious of the hypothetical nature of the phlogiston theory as he was of the oxygen theory. Though satisfied with the phlogiston theory he was always ready to reject it should it be shown to be false. (See, e.g., J. Priestley (III), 104). However, despite this stated preference, Priestley was aware that both theories fell short of his epistemological standards by positing substances that had not been isolated in the laboratory.
254. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (iii), xiii.
255. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. iii, xxix.
256. See, e.g., J. Priestley (54), vol. i, x-xi.
257. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. iii, xii-xiii.
258. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 579-80.
259. "Further Discoveries on Air", Phil. Trans., 65, 394, 1775.
260. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. iii, xxii.
261. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 468 and 478.
262. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (III), 4.
263. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 446.
264. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. iii, xvii.
265. See text relating to n. 153 above.
266. See pp. 2-3 above.
267. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. ii, ix.
268. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. i, 335-6.
269. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. ii, 3336.
270. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. ii, 29.
271. See, e.g., J. Priestley (66, i), 468.
272. See J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. i, x
273. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. ii, xi-xii.
274. See I. B. Cohen, Franklin and Newton, Philadelphia, 1956, 180ff. for a discussion of this tradition. Priestley held Bacon in high esteem and had a copy of his works in his own library. In J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. ii, xvii, he said "How trifling is the fame of any statesman that this country has produced to that of Lord Bacon, or Newton, or of Boyle, and how much greater is our obligations to such men as these, than to any other in the whole of Biographia Britannica".
275. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (265), vol. i, xi.
276. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), vi.
277. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (7), vol. i, 64.
278. See also J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. i, x-xi.
279. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), xv.
280. See p. 25 above.
281. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), 576-7.
282. See, Part 2 below.
283. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), vol. i, xx.
284. See pp. 15-16 and pp. 23-4 above.
285. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (66, i), vol. i, vii.
286. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (54), vol. ii, viii-ix.
287. See, especially, R. E. Schofield (5). This outlook is adopted by J. Lindsay in his "Introduction" to his edition of Autobiography of Joseph Priestley: Memoirs Written by Himself, etc., Bath, 1970., 379-93.
288. For a brief close-up of this tradition see (i) J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. i, 1-5
289. (ii) J. Pringle, A Discourse on Different Kinds of Air Delivered at the Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Society, Nov. 30, 1733, London 1774
290. (iii) J. R. Partington (2, viii), vol. iii, chs. 4, 7 and 8 provides a more distant perspective.
291. See e.g., (i) J. B. Van Helmont, Oriatrike, or Physick Refined etc., trans. John Chandler, 2nd edn., London, 1664, 48-77
292. (ii) Etienne De Clave, Nouvelle Lumiere Philosophique Des Vrais Principles Et Elemens De Nature & Qualite d'Iclux Paris, 1641, 27
293. (iii) For a discussion of Boyle's views on this matter see M. Boas, Robert Boyle and Seventeenth-Century Chemistry, C.U.P., 1958, ch. VI
294. (iv) H. Boerhaave, Elements of Chemistry, being the annual lectures of Herman Boer-haave, trans. T. Dallowe London, 1735, 250
295. (v) see also H. Metzger, Newton, Stahl and Boer-haave et la doctrine Chimique, Paris, 1930, for a discussion of the non-chemical nature and status of air in the writings of Boerhaave, Stahl and their followers.
296. See n. 286 above.
297. See also (i) H. Guerlac "John Mayow and the Aerial Nitre", Actes du 7 Congres International d'Hist. des Sciences, Jerusalem, 1953, 332-49
298. (ii) T. S. Patterson, "John Mayow in Contemporary Setting", Isis, 15, 47-96, 504-46 1931
299. (iii) D. McKie, "Fire and the Flamma Vitalis, Boyle, Hooke and Mayow", Science, Medicine and History, Oxford, 1953, 409-88.
300. See, e.g., (i) R. Boyle, "Chemical Precipitation", The Works of the Honourable Robert Boyle, ed. T. Birch, 6 vols., London, 1772, vol. iii, 638
301. (ii) H. Boerhaave (284, iv), 250.
302. See R. Boyle, New Experiments Physico-Mechanical touching the Air, Oxford, 1660.
303. R. Boyle "The General History of the Air" in Works (286), vol. v, 105.
304. (i) J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. iii, 326
305. see Stephen Hales, Vegetable Staticks, London, 1727, 116.
306. For full title see n. 296 below.
307. See also n. 293 below.
308. Opticks, etc., Dover, 1952, 295-396.
309. S. Hales (296), 180.
310. See, e.g., J. Black, Experiments upon Magnesia alba, Edinburgh, 1755
311. Alembic club reprint, 1960, 19 and 45 (see n. 306 below for full title)
312. D. McBride, Experimental Essays, London, 1767, 30 (see n. 312 below for full title)
313. H. Cavendish, "Three Papers containing Experiments on Factitious Airs", Phil. Trans., 56, 141, 1766
314. J. Priestley, Letter to the Author of the Letters on Materialism and on Hartley's Theory of the Mind, July, 1777 in J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. i, 2 and 23.
315. "Experimental Enquiry etc", Phil. Trans., 55, 218, 1765 (see note (299, i) below for full title of this work).
316. Vegetable Staticks: or An Account of Some Statical Experiments on the Sap in Vegetables
317. Being an Essay toward a Natural History of Vegetation. Also, a Specimen of an Attempt to Analyse the Air, By a Great Variety of Chymio-Statical Espriments, London, 1727, 89 and 89.
318. The other major work by Hales in pneumatic chemistry is Statical Essays, etc., 2 vols., London, 1733.
319. See S. Hales (296), 252-61.
320. See n. 292 above.
321. Brownrigg's contributions to the emergence and development of pneumatic chemistry are contained in two papers read to the Royal Society: (i) "An Experimental Enquiry into the Mineral Elastic Spirit, or Air, contained in Spa Water", Phil. Trans., 55, 218ff, 1765
322. (ii) "Continuation of an Experimental Enquiry concerning the Nature of the Mineral Elastic Spirit, or Air, contained in the Pouhon Water:, Phil. Trans., 64, 357ff, 1774.
323. W. Brownriggs (299, i), 236-7.
324. The full title is Experiments Upon Magnesia Alba, Quick Lime, and some other Alkaline Substances, Edinburgh, 1755
325. Alembic Club reprint 1906.
326. See p. 7 for a statement of Black's medical interest in a solvent for "the stone".
327. See H. Guerlac "Joseph Black and Fixed Air", Isis, 48, 124-51 and 433-56, 1957, for a discussion of the medical background to this work.
328. J. Black, (306), 14-15.
329. See S. Hales (296), 125-129.
330. J. Black (306), 17.
331. Experimental Essays on the following Subjects: I. On the Fermentation of Alimentary Mixtures II. On the Nature and Properties of Fixed Air. III. On the respective Powers, and Manner of Acting, of the Different Kinds of Antiseptics. IV. On the Scurvy, with a Proposal for Trying New Methods to Prevent or Cure the Same, at Sea. V. On the Dissolvent Power of Quicklime, London, 1764, xii. The second, enlarged and corrected, edition appeared in 1707 under the title Experimental Essays on Medical and Philosophical Subjects, etc. Subsequent references will be to the second edition.
332. See S. Hales (296), 178.
333. D. McBride (312), 29.
334. the cure of putrid diseases in general and that of scurvy in particular, depends greatly on the quantity of new air thrown into the blood from easily fermentable substances.
335. For a helpful account of the genesis and proliferation of McBride's views see E. L. Scott, "The Mc-Bridean Doctrine of Air. An Eighteenth-Century Explanation of Some Biochemical Processes, including Photosynthesis", Ambix, 27, 43-57, 1970.
336. D. McBride (312), 277.
337. See (i) "Three Papers containing Experiments on Factitious Airs", Phil. Trans., 56, 141ff, 1766
338. (ii) "Experiments on Rathbone Place Water", Phil. Trans., 57, 92ff, 1767.
339. H. Cavendish (320, i), 163.
340. See also J. Priestley (9, ii), vol. i, 39-40.
341. H. Cavendish (320, i), 165-7.
342. H. Cavendish (320, ii), 92-7.
343. "A Letter on the Solubility of Iron in Simple Water by the Intervention of Fixed Air", Phil. Trans., 54, 210ff, 1764.
344. H. Cavendish (320, i), 144-5.
345. See Part 2 below for Priestley's views about nitrous air.
346. H. Cavendish (370, i), 147-57.
347. See Part 2 below.
348. H. Cavendish (320, i), 175.
349. See J Priestley (9, ii), vol. i, 70-104.
350. See Part 2 below.