materialist-philosophy
The chapter emphasizes a materialist and experimental approach to understanding nature, as seen in the inquiries into stars, animals, and physical phenomena.
1 chapter across 1 book
Pandaemonium: The Coming of the Machine as Seen by Contemporary Observers 1660-1886 (1985)Humphrey Jennings
This chapter opens with an extended excerpt from Milton's Paradise Lost describing the fallen angels' industrious construction of Pandæmonium, symbolizing the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of mechanization beginning around 1660. It then presents historical documents and reflections from the same period, including the founding of the Royal Society and early scientific inquiries, highlighting a phase of pure science and experimental philosophy before industrial exploitation and social transformation. The chapter suggests that this initial era of scientific clarity was later overshadowed by emotional repression and exploitation as industrial capitalism expanded.