Newtonian World-Machine

The concept of the Newtonian world-machine consists of a huge and uniform machine that worked in absolute space, time, and motion according to natural laws. Sir Isaac Newton, an author of the book Principia Mathematica published in 1687, was one of the greatest and most influential scientists in the 17th century. Based on his study from the earlier scientists coupled it with his own observations, and ideas came up with the concept of so called Newtonian world-machine which means that the universe was like a huge machine. Within this machine, all objects follow the theories he had identified. Newtonian theories, later proved by applying the scientific methods are now called Newton’s laws. Newtonian world-machine is based on the laws of gravity and motion. Newton’ law of gravity is the force that attracts objects to each other. Newton’s gravitational laws explains why apple fall to the ground and It’s the same gravitational force that keeps the planets in the orbit around the sun. One of Newton’s laws of motion described as “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” explains how objects move in the space. Newton’s laws became the foundation of almost all scientific study until the nineteenth century.

The concept of Newtonian world-machine led to the re-examination of all aspects of life in the society. Its widespread impact on the political and cultural change in the eighteenth century enabled people to apply the rational and scientific way of thinking and minimized the importance of religion in their lives. This belief, in turn, led people to hope that they could create a better society than the one they had inherited or given by God. It influenced the French intellectuals of the Enlightenment period, known as philosophes who were the professors, economists, political scientists, and the social reformers. The French philosophes, in turn, affected intellectuals in the entire Western world including the Spanish and British colonies in the America. People were convinced that the world and everything in it worked like a giant machine and they could discover the natural laws that governed law, politics, and religion by following the same reasoning. Inspired by Newton’s laws, John Locke denied that people inherited views called innate ideas. According to John Locke, people change if subjected to the new environment and it can create a new society. It prompted people to apply the rational thinking to everything in their lives including religion and politics. Three highly influenced French philosophes  - Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot were inspired by the concept of Newtonian world-machine and applied the scientific method to prove that natural laws govern the social and political relationship of human beings in society.