Newton and the Rosicrucian Enlightenment

Abstract

The aspect of the Yates thesis that has become the point of so much contention can be summed up as follows: modern science originated as the result of a new and optimistic view of human nature which fostered the belief that man had the ability to improve both himself and the world in which he lived. This optimistic assessment of man’s nature first emerged in the writings of the late Florentine Neoplatonists and was carried into the seventeenth century through the subterranean channels of occult philosophy. The very idea that man could change his environment for the better and harness the powers of nature to his own advantage had its roots in the magical world of Renaissance Hermeticists, and the twin concepts of progress and reform, which are the hallmarks of modern science, emerged from the grandiose schemes of Renaissance magi. In Yates’ view the Rosicrucian Manifestos of the early seventeenth century were perfect expressions of the new and exhilarating view of human potential and prowess that made the scientific revolution possible. With their call for the “Universal and General Reformation of the whole world” and their conviction that creation can be brought back to the state in which Adam found it, the Rosicrucian Manifestos provided a bridge between Renaissance Hermeticism and modern science. On the basis of this evaluation of their importance, Yates suggested the word “Rosicrucian” should enter the vocabulary of serious historians to describe the kind of activist, reforming mentality that paved the way for modern science.1