Discuss about how the members of the Royal Society made scientific knowledge, whether through observations, experiments or accounts from other virtuosi. You are being asked to analyze kind of empiricism the Royal Society followed. What could count as a fact? How was it to be observed? Who had the authority to produce facts? How were facts verified, and what did the Royal Society think they were good for? These are complex questions that can lead to vague, over-generalized pronouncements. But you won’t do that! Offer answers to these questions by making explicit reference to at least one substantial passage in the readings.
