Heretics!

Set out in a highly original cartoon strip form, this book tells the story of the birth of modern philosophy and political freedom in the 17th century, featuring not only the best-known characters like Galileo, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz and Newton, but also less well-known contributors like the Jansenist Arnauld, Henry More, Lady Anne Conway and Elizabeth of Bohemia. All these people challenged existing religious and political authority, as well as each other, and the narrative format provides not only a commentary but also typical exchanges between these philosophers. Ancient ways of making sense of the world are discarded in favour of natural philosophy and the emergence of materialism that has not come to dominate modern thinking. Most of the key books were on the Inquisition index, and many of these leading thinkers were exiled or persecuted. The book moves around Europe with specific dates and encounters, finishing in Geneva with Voltaire in 1755. The author could have mentioned his Philosophical Letters of 1734, which resulted from his exile in London and studying of Newton. Voltaire praises the English virtue of toleration and attacked the Church for holding up the progress of knowledge. Not surprisingly, the occult side of Newton is not mentioned, and the emphasis on reason and evidence needs to extend beyond the materialistic approach of our time, otherwise the new orthodoxy just gives rise to a new form of heresy. Having said that, this is an entertaining and informative read.