A Free Enquiry Into the Vulgarly Received Notion of Nature

Published in 1686, this work attacked prevailing notions of the natural world that depicted “Nature” as a wise, benevolent and purposeful being. It represents one of the subtlest statements concerning the issues raised by the mechanical philosophy that emerged from the Scientific Revolution. This volume presents the first modern edition of the complete text, together with a historical introduction, a chronology of Boyle’s life and notes on further reading.