Abstract

The intent of the thesis is to examine the influence that the rediscovery of ancient Scepticism in early modern Europe had on the development of natural philosophy, specifically in the work of Gassendi, Bacon and Boyle. It will be argued that the emerging view of the world as a complex mechanical device led Gassendi to a corpuscularian philosophy of nature as a way of avoiding the sceptical suspension of judgement. Bacon's use of his inductive method provided him with a way of avoiding the conclusions of the sceptic's arguments on the relativity of sense perception. Finally, Boyle's corpuscularianism is presented as a synthesis of Gassendi's and Bacon's solutions to the problems raised by scepticism. As well, Boyle's natural philosophy goes beyond that of his predecessors in that with it, he was able to account for occult qualities that could not be incorporated into previous theories