Materialism in Eighteenth-Century European Thought
Conclusion
While it is difficult to find philosophically important individual (materialist) thinkers in other European countries, the materialistic current of the Enlightenment and its belief in the virtues of science swept through Europe, influencing, more or less directly, the political life in every country, with the endorsement of various forms of scientific progress and "enlightened" government. The application of science and the scientific method, mostly based on methodological materialist doctrines, became the hallmark of progress (itself an early-eighteenth-century notion). These beliefs brought important changes in urban development, public health, and industry thoughout Europe.
The influence of European political and social thought, especially concerning tolerance and education, was also felt by American writers and had a fundamental role in the American Revolution and the writing of the U.S. Constitution. However, no movement endorsing materialism, methodological or metaphysical, can be traced.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Peter Machamer
Francesca di Poppa
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- Materialism in Eighteenth-Century European Thought - English Materialism
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