William Molyneux

William Molyneux ( born April 17, 1656 in Dublin, † October 11, 1698 ) was an Irish natural philosopher and politician. The opposite John Locke raised by him in 1688 Molyneux problem is discussed to the 21st century.

Life

William was the second of five children of Samuel (1616-1693) and Anne Dowdell. His father was a wealthy landowner, lawyer and political writer. The son of Anglican visited the house from April 10, 1671 Trinity College, Dublin and ran into contact with the leading scientific debates of his time. He received his Bachelor on 27 February 1674th He then studied law from 1675 to 1678 in London.

Thanks to the father's assets Molyneux was financially independent and had from 1684 held various political functions. In 1685 he became a member of the Royal Society and from 1692 twice a member of the Irish Parliament.

William Molyneux married in Dublin on September 19, 1678 Lucy Domville ( 1660-1689 ), was the youngest daughter of Sir William Domville, an Attorney General of Ireland, attorney -general for Ireland. The couple had three children. Adulthood reached only a son, Samuel, who later became an astronomer and member of the British Parliament was.

He translated which he published under the title Six Metaphysical Meditations in the following spring 1680 works of Rene Descartes during the winter 1679-1680. Molyneux began an extensive correspondence with John Flamsteed and explained also, to September 1681, as scientific difficult doing in Ireland would be.

He is buried in Dublin St. Audoen 's Church. There also recalls an epitaph to him.

Work

The natural philosopher, published in 1680 an introductory translation of the work of René Descartes and participated from 1682 along with Roderic O'Flaherty ( 1629-1716/18 ) at the Atlas Project of Moses Pitt (ca. 1639-1697 ). Molyneux founded in 1683 by the Dublin Philosophical Society, in which he primarily for scientific topics, in particular for optics, started and published in the following years a number of works on various scientific and philosophical themes. In 1690 he wrote in response to the notice published in the same year, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding a letter to John Locke in which he posed the so-called Molyneux problem.

A political controversy sparked The Case of Ireland's being Bound by Acts of Parliament in England, Stated from 1698 from. The fact themed historical, legal and policy issues in relation to Ireland, the UK, about laws of the English Parliament to the detriment of the Irish wool trade, were highly controversial. Molyneux sat down with it for the autonomy of the Irish Parliament, and took the position that Ireland was a Kingdom England equal. While Molyneux was often cited by American patriots who fought out their own disputes with the British Crown, the House of Commons classified the work as a threat to British authority in Ireland.

Works (selection)

• Partial translation of Gottfried Leibniz in Unicum opticae catoptricae et dioptricae principium '. Acta eruditorum, June 1682, pp. 185-190.
• The Case of Ireland being bound by Acts of Parliament in England, Stated ( 1698 )