"neither can natural causes nor effects be overpowered by man so, as if man was...above nature...for man is but a small part, and his powers are but particular actions of nature, and therefore he cannot have a supreme and absolute power."
Cavendish, Observations (1666), ch. 1.2
#philosophy #c17
Cavendish, Observations (1666), ch. 1.2
#philosophy #c17
Comments
Hooke literally says that scientific progress will undo the Fall of Man. He thinks it will enable us to overcome & control nature.
(And, I might add, that pattern of thought still seems prevalent in some quarters today.)
But, I mean giving us the ability to fly could be seen as changing our nature in a sense