This thesis explores the role of Quaker women in science in an attempt to arrive at
some understanding of what motivated Quaker women in nineteenth century
America to go into the sciences. George Fox founded the Society of Friends in the
mid-seventeenth century in England and the Quaker theology centered on the
concept of the Inner Light, which is the idea that everyone has the capacity to
perceive, recognize, and respond to God. Following their Inner Light to find God,
Quakers also referred to themselves as "seekers of truth." Additionally, Quakers
have believed since their inception in the equality between men and women. Given
the Quaker desire to pursue truth and their belief that women have the same
capacity to do so as men, it is not surprising that there were a number of Quaker
women in science. Through an examination of three Quaker women in science, I
discuss the Quaker influences in their lives and works with the larger goal of
demonstrating the inherent connections that exist between Quaker theology and
the pursuit of science in the nineteenth century. One such connection lies within
the tradition of natural theology, which was prevalent in the larger scientific
community in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The connection that is
unique to Quakers, though, relates to their idea of the search for truth, which led
many Quakers to employ scientific methods. The three Quaker women examined
in this study, astronomer Maria Mitchell, naturalist Graceanna Lewis, and medical
doctor Ann Preston, were all truth-seekers in some sense who wanted to find
evidence of God's work within nature. / Graduation date: 2005
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/29801 |
| Date | 28 June 2004 |
| Creators | McCabe, Leslie N. |
| Contributors | Nye, Robert A. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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