During his studies he came up with a hypothesis: "science may be compared to a tree; metaphysics is the root, physics is the trunk, and the three chief branches are mechanics, medicine, and morals, these forming the three applications of our knowledge, namely, to the external world, to the human body, and to the conduct of life- (Ball, 1995). ...
Social and technological change in the seventeenth century brought about the greatest change to a seemingly ordinary concept that everyone experiences everyday- thought. Never before had such an immense change in the thought processes of a mass group of people, quite possibly the world over, occurred. A change in America from the very beliefs that founded the country with European settlers, a change in the world that brought new understanding and logical thinking to the masses, a change so great that its effect has remained permanent throughout the centuries. This change, the American Enlighte...