The Philosophy of Joseph Priestley’s 1765 Timeline: Abstract Ideas, Time, and Human Progress

Thomas, Emily

Abstract

In 1765, Joseph Priestley created what may be the world's first modern timeline, A Chart of Biography. This paper offers the first study of the philosophy underlying Priestley's timeline. It argues that Priestley was pushed towards representing times as lines by his views on abstract ideas and time, and there is no reason to believe that Newtonian absolutism grounds his uniform depiction of time. Further, the Chart confirms, and even advances, Priestley's views on human progress. Finally, this study shows that Priestley's conception of time as a line comprises a landmark contribution to the history of space-time parallelism.

Citation

Thomas, E. (2023). The Philosophy of Joseph Priestley’s 1765 Timeline: Abstract Ideas, Time, and Human Progress. History of Philosophy Quarterly, 40(1), 25-58. https://doi.org/10.5406/21521026.40.1.03

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 24, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jan 1, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-01
• Deposit Date: Jan 30, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 2, 2024
• Journal: History of Philosophy Quarterly
• Print ISSN: 0740-0675
• Electronic ISSN: 2152-1026
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 25-58
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5406/21521026.40.1.03
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1182210