William Molyneux

"See Molyneux for others of the same surname."

William Molyneux (17 April1656 – 11 October1698, both in Dublin) was an Irish natural philosopher and writer on politics.

The Molyneux family were wealthy landowners belonging to the Protestant ruling class, known as the "English in Ireland". From 1671 he studied at Trinity College, Dublin where he became an avid reader of the leading figures of the scientific revolution.

In 1682 Molyneux collaborated with Roderic O'Flaherty to collect material for Moses Pitt's "Atlas". In 1685, Pitt's financial crisis lead to cancellation of the project but much valuable early Irish history had been collected. Molyneux struck a friendship with O'Flaherty and assisted when the latter's treatise "Ogygia" was published in London.

In the October 1683 he founded the Dublin Philosophical Society along the lines of the Royal Society (of which Molyneux became a fellow in 1685). [citation|title=The Royal Society and Ireland. William Molyneux, F.R.S. (1656-1698)|first=K. Theodore|last= Hoppen|journal=Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London|vol=18|year=1963| pages= 125-135|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/531268] He was active in the proceedings of the society - recording weather data, calculating eclipses and demonstrating instruments and experiments. James G. O'Hara, ‘Molyneux, William (1656–1698)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008]

After John Locke published his "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" (1690), Molyneux wrote to him praising the work. Molyneux also proposed the philosophical question that has since become known as Molyneux's Problem, which Locke discussed in later editions of the "Essay". He is also an ancestor of anarcho-capitalist philosopher and writer, Stefan Molyneux.

In 1678 he married Lucy Domville (?-1691). Of their 3 children, only Samuel Molyneux (1689-1728) lived past childhood. Samuel went on to become an astronomer and politician who worked with his father on various scientific endeavors.Science and Its Times via cite web|url=http://www.bookrags.com/William_Molyneux|title=William Molyneux Summary|accessdate=2007-07-24]

Publications

*William Molyneux: "Dioptrica Nova, A treatise of dioptricks in two parts, wherein the various effects and appearances of spherick glasses, both convex and concave, single and combined, in telescopes and microscopes, together with their usefulness in many concerns of humane life, are explained", London 1692

Molyneux also published "The Case of Ireland's being Bound by Acts of Parliament in England, Stated" early in 1698. This controversialJames G. O'Hara, ‘Molyneux, William (1656–1698)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008] work - through application of historical and legal precedent - dealt with contentious constitutional issues that had emerged in the latter years of the eighteenth century as a result of attempts on the part of the English Parliament to pass laws that would suppress the Irish woolen trade. It also dealt with the disputed appellate jurisdiction of the Irish House of Lords. Molyneux's arguments reflected those made in an unpublished piece written by his father-in-law Sir William Domville, entitled "A Disquisition Touching That Great Question Whether an Act of Parliament Made in England Shall Bind the Kingdom and People of Ireland Without Their Allowance and Acceptance of Such Act in the Kingdom of Ireland". [Patrick Kelly. 'Sir William Domville, A Disquisition Touching That Great Question...', "Analecta Hibernica", no. 40 (2007): 19-69.]

Following a debate in the English House of Commons, it was resolved that Molyneux's publication was ‘of dangerous consequence to the crown and people of England by denying the authority of the king and parliament of England to bind the kingdom and people of Ireland’. [James G. O'Hara, ‘Molyneux, William (1656–1698)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18929, accessed 29 Feb 2008] ] Despite condemnation in England, Molyneux was not punished. His arguments remained topical in Ireland as constitutional issues arose throughout the eighteenth century, and formed part of Swift's argument in "Drapier's Letters". [Ferguson, Oliver W. "Jonathan Swift and Ireland" p. 119] The tract also gained attention in the American colonies as they moved towards independence. Although "The Case of Ireland, Stated" was later associated with independence movements - both in Ireland and America - as one historian points out, 'Molyneux's constitutional arguments can easily be misinterpreted' and he was 'in no sense a seperatist'. [David Dickson, "New Foundations: Ireland 1660-1800" (Dublin, 2000), 50.]

References

* [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp05588&rNo=0&role=sit Portrait]

William Molyneux's first book was editing and translating into English the work of Rene Descartes which was published in London, 1680 as "Six Metaphysical Meditations, Wherein it is Proved that there is a God..."

External links

* [http://www.europa.com/~telscope/molyneux.txt Europa Biography]
* From"The Online Library of Liberty" [http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1769&Itemid=28 "The Case of Ireland being bound by Acts of Parliament in England, Stated" [1698] DEFAULTSORT:Molyneux, William.