Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Mason I. Lowance, Jr.

Critical Essay by Mason I. Lowance, Jr.

SOURCE: "Science and Pseudoscience," in Increase Mather, Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1974, pp. 76-106.

In the following excerpt, Lowance analyzes Mather's attempts to combine scientific knowledge with theology to formulate explanations for occurrences in both nature and society, and also praises Mather for being forward-thinking and progressive in his scientific writings.

… Concomitant with the rise of interest in natural revelation was the growing awareness of the universe as a resource for scientific exploration. Although Increase Mather late in his life endorsed the scientific approach to inoculation against smallpox and even wrote a defense of the practice in Several Reasons Proving that Inoculating or Transplanting the Small Pox is a Lawful Practice, and that it has been Blessed by God for the Saving of many a Life (1721), his actual explorations in science were limited and are not to be compared with those of his son, Cotton, who became a Fellow...
(read more)