Academies, Universities, and Intellectuals

REVOLUTIONS IN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA HIST 1301 | History Academies, Universities, and Intellectuals In addition to more official educational institutions and academies, which also contributed to the intellectual culture of the time, there were coffee shops, salons, and print shops in the public domain. Coffeehouses and even salons were much more accessible to the reading public than universities and scientific organisations, despite the latter's important responsibilities in the advancement of experimental science and philosophy. For instance, women frequented salons but were often not members of scientific groups or colleges. Similarly, working-class males, who were occasionally seen hanging around in coffee shops, had no access to scientific societies or colleges. Because of their historic concentration on a theologically grounded curriculum and their religious roots, these institutions also tended to have rather conservative outlooks. Even when university curricula grew less religious in the eighteenth century, they remained essentially subservient to governmental and royal powers, rather than being self-governing. These early modern colleges were exclusively male and affluent, and their purpose was to prepare students for jobs in the civil service or in one of the three professions (medicine, law, or theology), as opposed to current research institutions. Generally speaking, the curriculum was created to preserve tradition rather than to innovate. However, the reputation and influence that came with being associated with esteemed colleges such as Oxford, Bologna, and Paris allowed scholars to establish relationships with affluent patrons in royal and aristocratic circles. These relationships might then be used to fund more creative scholarship and research outside of academic institutions. Thus, scientific research was often conducted in private facilities with support from several scientific groups and academies. Due to their reliance on the financial backing and defence of kings and princes, these establishments were nevertheless linked to the government and did not enjoy the complete independence of the public domain. The Royal Society of London was one of the earliest; it was legally authorised and recognised by King Charles II immediately after its founding on November 28, 1660. The scientific method, which Francis Bacon developed, is credited with inspiring the creation of the society. His emphasis on refining experimental methods became a core component of its tenets and persisted for many years after its establishment, influencing scientists such as Isaac Newton. Among the group's most well-known members was Newton. French thinkers such as Voltaire were inspired by Newton's machine-like conception of the cosmos and the laws of planetary motion and gravity that supported it. They saw Newton's discoveries as proof of a rational universe. Similar to the Royal Society of London, Louis XIV, the French king who established the Academy of Sciences in 1666, provided it with financial backing and protection. In contrast to the English academy, the French academy was heavily supported and closely supervised by its royal patron, who provided financial allowances and pensions to support scientists and their research. Members of scientific organisations and academies were a limited elite due to their links to the court, but they also took part in Enlightenment salons and public forums, marking the start of scientific professionalisation in the eighteenth century. Some scientific associations gave women the chance to participate in science as a profession because of their links to the salons. Some noble and aristocratic women, like Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle in England, and Maria Winkelmann of Germany, were not only patrons of science but also actively engaged in scientific research, despite being denied formal membership in royal academies in both France and England.