Abstract
This paper looks into two Scottish Philosophical Societies of the Eighteenth century: The Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, and the Select Society of Edinburgh. I intend to show that they were planned, constructed, and carried out according to the experimental method of natural philosophy, and that it was this factor that enhanced the influence they had in the development of the country. An examination of the minute books, discourses, abstracts and question lists of these societies will provide enough evidence to support the claim that experimental philosophy and its method were the decisive factors for the developing and huge success of these societies.
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Notes
- 1.
According to the database of the Scholarly Societies Project of the University of Waterloo, a total of 210 societies are listed as being established between 1700 and 1799. (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/society/overview.html).
- 2.
- 3.
Although the authorship of the preface is usually ascribed only to Hume, I am working on a paper that shows that this is not the case.
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Gomez, J. (2012). The Progress of Scotland and the Experimental Method. In: Maclaurin, J. (eds) Rationis Defensor. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, vol 28. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3983-3_9
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