The Dublin Philosophical Society was founded in 1683[1][2] by William Molyneux with the assistance of his brother Sir Thomas Molyneux and the future Provost and Bishop St George Ashe.[3] It was intended to be the equivalent of the Royal Society in London (with which it maintained cultural ties) as well as the Philosophical Society at the University of Oxford. Whilst it had a sometimes close connection with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, its closest institutional connection was with Trinity College Dublin.
Society
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The society was originally intended to be a paper reading society, however it also included many demonstrations of the latest science and mathematical endeavour of the time. Members would meet regularly within Trinity College Dublin and at Crow Street, Temple Bar, Dublin at a location commonly referred to as "The Crow's Nest". This location housed the society's garden and laboratory, as well as containing a large meeting room and a small repository for the society's belongings. Among its most prominent members were William Petty, Archbishop Narcissus Marsh, Archbishop William King and Bishop George Berkeley. The majority of its members were graduates of Trinity College, Dublin, a number of whom were Fellows, including the then current and later Provost of the college. Although it played a small role in intellectual Dublin life, it inspired the foundation of the Dublin Society founded in 1731 (which became the Royal Dublin Society in 1820) and the Royal Irish Academy in 1785. Whilst at the time no particular precedent existed for Trinity College, Dublin to recognise it, it can be considered the college's first such society.
History
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The Dublin Philosophical Society had a somewhat tumultuous existence. It held its first meeting on 15 October 1683[4] within the Provost's lodgings at Trinity College Dublin, however it is thought to have existed from sometime in September 1683. It existed most prominently from 1683 until 1698, 1701 until 1731.[5]
Having garnered a significant reputation of studious diligence, on 18 December 1683, then Provost Robert Huntington acting on behalf of the society wrote to Robert Plot of the Royal Society asking for assistance in printing the papers of its members. Hereafter the relationship between both societies became cemented, with many papers being printed in Philosophical Transactions and for a number of years the society flourished, circulating papers from various academic fields. From then on, the Provost played a vital role in protection and assistance of the society,[6] becoming its Senior Patron, a role the position still holds.
Provisionally Dr Charles Willoughby was placed in charge of the society. On 1 November 1684 William Petty was duly elected the first president of the society, with William Molyneux elected as the first secretary.
The appointment of Richard Talbot as Lord Deputy of Ireland impeded some work of the society to a small degree, having earlier petitioned James II to deny the society of a royal charter in 1686.[7]
The society struggled greatly during the Revolution of 1688, a time which during few meetings took place, but papers were still presented to members. Finally struggling on until the year 1698, when, due to political upheaval the society was forced to adjourn for almost ten years, sometimes meeting sporadically from some time after the Battle of the Boyne.[7] During this time William Molyneux died and the society did not recommence activity until 1701 when his son Samuel Molyneux was elected Secretary.[8]
Sir Thomas Molyneux is recorded as having been a continued member of society in all its incarnations[8] and most likely continued to be until his death in 1733.[5]
Council and Members of the Dublin Philosophical Society
editHaving been at what seems the centre of learned culture in 17th century Dublin, the society boasted many historically famous members. Many of these were members, fellows, professors of Trinity College Dublin, clergymen, medical practitioners and members of the judiciary.
Council
editDating of the society's sessions are counted from 1 November 1684, due to the first elections of officers taking place at that time.
| Senior Patron | Robert Huntington, Provost of Trinity College. |
|---|---|
|
Officers of the Dublin Philosophical Society, 5th Session | |
| President | Sir William Petty |
| Director | Dr. Charles Willoughby |
| Treasurer | William Pleydall |
| Secretary | William Molyneux |
Members of the Society
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What follows is a complete list of known members of the society.
- William Stewart, 1st Viscount Mountjoy.
- Robert Reading, first and last Baronet Reading.
- George Berkeley, Anglo-Irish philosopher.[9]
- Cyril Wyche, Chief Secretary for Ireland.
- Sir Richard Bulkeley, 2nd Baronet, Fellow of Trinity College.
- Samuel Foley, Bishop of Down and Connor, one of the earliest members of the society.
- Dudley Loftus, Vicar General of Ireland, Judge of the Prerogative Court of Ireland, Senior Master of Chancery and great-grandson of Adam Loftus.
- Allan Mullen, eminent Irish anatomist.
- William King, Archbishop of Dublin, Scholar of Trinity College Dublin.
- Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, Lord President of the Council and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
- St George Ashe, Bishop of Cloyne, Fellow, Provost of Trinity College Dublin.
- Jonathan Swift,[7] Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer.
- William Palliser, Professor of Divinity at Trinity College Dublin, Bishop of Cloyne and Archbishop of Cashel.
- Sir Thomas Molyneux, 1st Baronet, Irish physician and Fellow of the Royal Society.
- Samuel Molyneux, son of William Molyneux, elected secretary of the society in 1706.
- John Madden, father of Samuel Madden who co-founded the Royal Dublin Society.
- John Bulkeley (most likely brother of Sir Richard Bulkeley, 2nd Baronet).
- Robert Clements, father of Irish politician and financial figure Nathaniel Clements.
- Francis Cuff, friend of William Molyneux who lived in Peter's Place.
- Dr. Sir Christopher Dominick, father of Elizabeth Dominick who was grandmother of Augustus FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster and for whom Dominick Street is named.
- Edward Smyth, Professor, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin and Bishop of Down and Connor.
- John Worth, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
- Richard Acton, Fellow of Trinity College.
- Dr. Richard Chamberlin.
- John Baynard, Archdeacon of Connor.
- Sir Patrick Dun,[10] physician, and president of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
- Henry Eenerly.
- J. Finglass.
- Mark Baggot.
- Dr. Daniel Houlaghan.
- John Keogh
- John Stanley.
- Jacobus Silvius.
- Samuel Walkington, Archdeacon of Ossory, elected to the society in 1693.
- Paul Rieaut.
- Sir John Hely, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.
- Sir Richard Cox,[11] Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench for Ireland
- Bryan Robinson,[12] physician, academic and writer.
- Richard Helsham,[12] physician, fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and first to hold the professorship of natural philosophy on the foundation of Erasmus Smith.
- Thomas Prior,[13] author, and founder of the Royal Dublin Society.
- Samuel Madden,[13] author, and founder of the Royal Dublin Society.
Continuation of the Society
editThe Dublin Philosophical Society continued under the new guise of the Medico-Philosophical Society, from 1756 until 1831. John Rutty, Dr. Hugh Hamilton (uncle to later University Philosophical Society Patron George Alexander Hamilton), David MacBride, George Cleghorn, all of whom had delivered several papers to the Dublin Philosophical Society[14] and continued the practice of paper reading. The papers presented could cover natural history, natural philosophy, medicine, ethics, as well as politics, similar in style and subject matter to those of the Dublin Philosophical Society. Whilst a significant proportion of the members had studied at Trinity College Dublin it was predominantly aligned with Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
While the society may have existed outside of Trinity College Dublin for the first time in seventy-three years, the tradition established by the society of having academic papers published in Philosophical Transactions continued in within the college.[15]
Inspiration for other societies
editThe society was the inspiration for the Royal Dublin Society which had its first meeting in the society's rooms in 1731.[16][17]
It also inspired the cadet society, the Physio-Historical Society of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, lasting from 1744 until 1777.
The Royal Irish Academy founded in 1785, drew the inspiration for its creation from the society.
References
edit- ^ Greta Jones, Elizabeth Malcolm (1999), Medicine, Disease and the State in Ireland, 1650–1940, Cork University Press, p. 91, ISBN 978-1-85918-230-7
- ^ W.R.Wilde (1844), "Memoir of the Dublin Philosophical Society of 1683", Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 3: 160–176, JSTOR 20489545
- ^ T. D. Spearman (1992), 400 Years of Mathematics "Molyneux resolved to establish such a society, 'agreeable to the design of the Royal Society', in Dublin. His main accomplice in this was St. George Ashe, who was Miles Symner's successor as Donegall Lecturer in Mathematics and later became Provost."
- ^ W.R.Wilde (1844), "Memoir of the Dublin Philosophical Society of 1683", Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 3: 160–176, JSTOR 20489545
- ^ a b Crowe, Ian (22 August 2012). Patriotism and Public Spirit: Edmund Burke and the Role of the Critic in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Britain. Redwood City, California, USA: Stanford University Press. p. Chapter 3.
- ^ W.R.Wilde (1844), "Memoir of the Dublin Philosophical Society of 1683", Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 3: 160–176, JSTOR 20489545
- ^ a b c Ehrenpreis, Irwin (1 January 1962). Swift, Volume 1: Mr Swift and his contemporaries. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Harvard University Press. pp. 78–90.
- ^ a b Henry F. Berry (1915), A History of the Royal Dublin Society, London:Longmans
- ^ Bertil Belfrage (1986), "Berkeley's theory of emotive meaning (1708)", History of European Ideas, 7 (6): 643–649, doi:10.1016/0191-6599(86)90014-8
- ^ Kirkpatrick, Thomas Percy Claude (1945). Sir Patrick Dun, M.D. An address delivered in the Chapel of Trinity College. Trinity College, Dublin: University Press, Dublin.
- ^ Berry, Henry F. (1915). A History of The Royal Dublin Society. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
- ^ a b Weaire, Kelly and Attis. (1 March 2000). A Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy. CRC Press. p. P2.
- ^ a b Clarke, Desmond (September 1951). "Thomas Prior, 1681-1751: Founder of the Royal Dublin Society". Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review. 40 (159): 334–344.
- ^ Repository of the Dublin Philosophical Society, Royal Irish Academy
- ^ Hugh Hamilton (1764), Philosophical Transactions, S. Smith and B. Walford, printers to the Royal Society, p. 103
- ^ Provost's Address to Members of the Royal Dublin Society-"The very first meeting of the Dublin Society in 1731 – when it wasn't yet Royal – was in the rooms of the Philosophical Society in Trinity College."
- ^ T.D. Spearman (1992), 400 Years of Mathematics>[1]- " The Philosophical Society is generally regarded as a forerunner of the Royal Dublin Society which was founded in 1731."