Oxford Philosophical Club

The Oxford Philosophical Club, also referred to as the "Oxford Circle",^[1]^[2]^[3] was to a group of natural philosophers, mathematicians, physicians, virtuosi and dilettanti gathering around John Wilkins FRS (1614–1672) at Oxford in the period 1649 to 1660. It is documented in particular by John Aubrey: he refers to it as an "experimental philosophical club" run weekly by Wilkins, who successfully bridged the political divide of the times. There is surviving evidence that the Club was formally constituted, and undertook some projects in Oxford libraries.

Its historical importance is that members of the Oxford Circle and the Greshamites joined together to form the Royal Society of London in the early 1660s under Charles II. Having been newly restored as King, Charles II favoured these great scientists and philosophers, so much so that he considered himself one of them.^[4]

Wilkins was Warden of Wadham College, and the circle around him is also known as the Wadham Group, though it was not restricted to members of the College.^[5] It included William Petty, Jonathan Goddard and John Wallis from the 1645 group in London.^[6]

The term Oxford Philosophical Society may refer to this club, or at least two later societies.

^ Duffy, Thomas P. (2011). "The Flexner Report ― 100 Years Later". The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 84 (3): 269–276. ISSN 0044-0086. PMC 3178858. PMID 21966046.
^ Zimmer, Carl (2005). Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain--and How it Changed the World. Atria. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-0-74-327205-6.
^ Tyler, H. Richard (1 September 2004). "Review: Soul made flesh: The discovery of the brain — and how it changed the world". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 114 (5): 604. doi:10.1172/JCI22882. ISSN 0021-9738. PMC 514597.
^ Feuer, Lewis Samuel (1963). The scientific intellectual; the psychological & sociological origins of modern science. Internet Archive. New York, Basic Books. p. 27.
^ Alan Craig Houston; Steven C. A. Pincus (20 August 2001). A Nation Transformed: England After the Restoration. Cambridge University Press. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-521-80252-9. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
^ Paul Welberry Kent; Allan Chapman (2005). Robert Hooke and the English renaissance. Gracewing Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-85244-587-7. Retrieved 29 March 2012.

[1] Duffy, Thomas P. (2011). "The Flexner Report ― 100 Years Later". The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 84 (3): 269–276. ISSN 0044-0086. PMC 3178858. PMID 21966046.

[2] Zimmer, Carl (2005). Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain--and How it Changed the World. Atria. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-0-74-327205-6.

[3] Tyler, H. Richard (1 September 2004). "Review: Soul made flesh: The discovery of the brain — and how it changed the world". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 114 (5): 604. doi:10.1172/JCI22882. ISSN 0021-9738. PMC 514597.

[4] Feuer, Lewis Samuel (1963). The scientific intellectual; the psychological & sociological origins of modern science. Internet Archive. New York, Basic Books. p. 27.

[5] Alan Craig Houston; Steven C. A. Pincus (20 August 2001). A Nation Transformed: England After the Restoration. Cambridge University Press. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-521-80252-9. Retrieved 29 March 2012.

[6] Paul Welberry Kent; Allan Chapman (2005). Robert Hooke and the English renaissance. Gracewing Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-85244-587-7. Retrieved 29 March 2012.

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