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A* - 17/20 Essay - Science & Reasoning
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A* Essay for science and reasoning - Band 5 - John Locke and Thomas Hobbes etc
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Witchcraft essay: science and reasoningHow significant were the writings of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in the process of
undermining the belief in magic and witchcraft in the years c1580–c1750?
To a significant extent, the writings of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were the most influential
factors in the process of undermining the belief in magic and witchcraft. However, this factor is
limited as Hobbes and Locke became influential in the late 1600s to early 1700s however they
were trigger factors and introduced new, long term changes in beliefs and undermining them. In
order to assess the extent to which factors undermined the belief in magic and witchcraft it is
worth considering the extent to which something gained attention, introduced new ideas,
transformed ways of thinking and motivated more scientific research. Therefore, it is also
necessary to look at other factors such as the writings of Galileo in 1632 and Newton in his
philosophia mathematica as well as the emergence of the royal society. All of these factors had
a long term influence in the process of undermining the belief in magic and witchcraft as they
challenged beliefs however this essay will look into how they were not as impactful as Hobbes
and Locke. Thus, there is absolutely no doubt that Hobbes and Locke presented the most
influential writing which led to entirely undermining the belief in magic and witchcraft as they
were the first to introduce the belief that witches were not real.
To begin with, it is evident that Hobbes and Locke were the most important factors in the
process of undermining the beliefs in magic and witchcraft. Hobbes writing (Leviathan in 1651)
was highly significant, as argued by R. McCrum, and he pushed towards new forms of thinking
and encouraged political debate. Furthermore, Hobbe’s literature, in particular his Essay
Concerned with Human Understanding is argued by J. Green as a significant piece of literature
for history as something that motivated both the French and American Revolution. Nonetheless,
these two men were highly influential for their time period both short term and long term as their
work was highly respected even during their lifetime. This is particularly important as it meant
that their ideas and beliefs were taken seriously and held in high esteem which meant they were
able to push forth new ideas quite well. This benefitted them further and led to undermining
beliefs in magic and witchcraft as they were both materialists (as seen in their writing) and this
meant that they did not believe there was room for the supernatural on earth as spirit’s matter
was so fine it was virtually undetectable and could not integrate with matter on earth. This would
have undermined beliefs great as not only were they influential men which meant they would
gain attention for others, but they also essentially argued that witchcraft did not exist. This
introduced entirely new attitudes and ways of thinking in comparison to prior beliefs which
motivated cases such as the Scottish hunts 1661 or the 1690c Alice Molland case. Therefore,
they entirely undermined beliefs in witchcraft as they did not even believe it could exist.
Furthering this, the two men both argued as materialists that God could not control daily events
on earth but only nature and this significantly undermined the belief of witchcraft as well as the
notion of the devil coming down to earth (which motivated devil pacts and the 1604 witchcraft
act). Thus, these men introduced significantly new beliefs that entirely challenged the role of
magic and witchcraft as well as legislation behind it. Influencing legislation and arguing it as
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