The ‘rational study of God’s works’: Eighteenth-century clerical naturalists and the origins of the modern life sciences
- Event type
- Seminar
- Series
- British History in the Long 18th Century
- Address
- Hybrid | Online-via Zoom & IHR Wolfson Room NB01, Basement, IHR, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
- Speakers
- Brycchan Cary (Northumbria University, Newcastle)
- Event dates
- Contact
- ihr.events@sas.ac.uk Email only
The figure of the clerical naturalist, sometimes called the ‘parson naturalist’, is superficially familiar to scholars of both clerical life and Enlightenment science through individuals such as Gilbert White, the celebrated author of The Natural History of Selborne (1789). Until now, however, clerical naturalists have been the subject of only one study: Patrick Armstrong’s limited and problematic The English Parson Naturalist (2000). In this paper, I share research from my British Academy/Wolfson-funded project ‘The Parish Revolution’ in which I examine the personal, rhetorical, and cultural history of clerical naturalism as it was practiced and published in the British Isles and Empire between 1660 and 1859.
Drawing on data I have collected on over a thousand clerical naturalists (listed at https://www.brycchancarey.com/naturalists), I will offer a brief quantitative analysis of their collective education, denomination, clerical careers, nationality, regionality, and scientific specialism to demonstrate their enormous diversity and productivity before focusing on some important individuals such as John Ray, William Derham, William Borlase, Griffith Hughes, Gilbert White, and William Paley. I will show how their work reflected personal, epistolary, and literary networks deeply influenced by the ‘physico-’ or natural theology that posited that the nature and existence of the creator could be determined by study of the creation, and which asserted that practicing natural history was both a pleasure and a religious duty—an approach that the botanist and parish priest John Lightfoot called ‘the rational study of God’s works’. While natural theology is today rarely consulted either by scientists or theologians, eighteenth-century clerical naturalists, I show, were nonetheless integral and important participants in the development of the modern life sciences.
This seminar aims to create a welcoming space for discussion and debate, fostering a professional environment where diverse views and perspectives can be shared. You can find more on this via our seminar page on the IHR website.
All welcome. This event is free to attend, but advance registration is required.
This will be a ‘hybrid’ seminar with a limited number of places available in person and a larger number of bookings for online attendance via Zoom. Those attending in person are asked to bring a Wi-Fi enabled laptop, tablet or phone.
The session will start at the slightly later time of 17:30.
