With the invention of the microscope, humanity became aware of the microworld which is defined as 1 to 1000 microns. A micron is equal to one thousands of a millimeter. A cell is about 10 microns wide. Paper is about 100 microns thick. The unaided human eye can see items as small as 50 microns, or about half the width of a piece of paper.

Scientists use three scales when talking about the biological world: the milliworld, microworld, and the nanoworld. The milliworld contains all visible items down to 1 millimeter and includes very small things such as ants, fleas, and grains of sand.

By 1640, the microscope was perfected to the point that allowed the introduction of the microworld to humanity. The microworld contains items with a diameter from 1 millimeter to 1 micrometer, or 1 micron. The microworld contains things like single celled organisms as well as the largest bacteria. By 1640, humanity started it’s introduction to trillions of organisms living everywhere including nearly everything you touch, in the ground, inside plants, and even inside humans. Humans host over 10,000 species of organisms in, on, and through the human body — known as the human microbiome. Every human no matter how clean you think you are is playing host to 10-100 trillion organisms. This fact gradually changed how every human on Earth views life.

The nanoworld which includes smaller bacteria as well as viruses, proteins, and molecules would have to wait for the invention of the electron microscope in 1931. 

Note: The micron and micrometer are the same size, but you use microns (μ) when measuring thickness, and micrometers (μm) when measuring the distance between things. So you can say a cell is 10 microns wide, or you can say the diameter of a cell is 10 micrometers. The term nanomicron, which would be equal to a nanometer, is not currently in regular use.

From Baroque music and paintings to sculptures and archicture. The dawn of the 17th century witnessed the birth of the Baroque era, marking a transformative period in the history of art that spanned from circa 1600 to 1750 CE. Originating in Italy and spreading across Europe, the Baroque movement represented a significant evolution in artistic expression, characterized by its dramatic, detailed, and exuberant style. This era brought about a profound change in music, visual arts, and architecture, emphasizing motion, contrast, and a vivid sense of emotion that sought to engage the viewer or listener directly. In music, the Baroque period saw the invention of opera as a new form of musical and theatrical expression, the development of complex tonal systems, and the creation of instrumental music forms such as the concerto and sonata. Composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and George Frideric Handel epitomized the Baroque’s intricate harmonies and elaborate compositions. The Baroque era’s emphasis on blending different forms of art to evoke a heightened emotional response represented a significant evolution in the way art was conceived and experienced. It laid the groundwork for future artistic movements and continues to influence the arts profoundly, underscoring the intricate relationship between human emotion, expression, and creativity in the journey of cultural development.

30 Phil, Chapter 23: Roger Williams and Liberalism
Roger Williams was born in England around 1602, in Smithfield, situated at the heart of London. Williams officially founded Providence Plantations in 1636 with an informal agreement with the local Native American leaders. It became the fifth American colony and the second in the New England region. In 1644, he published a series of pamphlets, the more contentious ones anonymously, leading up to penning what would become his magnum opus: “The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution,” or “Bloody Tenet.” More than a historical or religious treatise, the Bloody Tenet is a seminal work. It launched a full-throttle assault on the prevailing norms of religious and political intolerance that plagued both Old and New England. Williams passionately argued for the separation of church and state.

Pictured: No images exist of Roger Williams. This artist impression represents his fond relations with Native Americans.

The Gunpowder Treason Plot is the name of the Roman Catholic conspiracy to blow up Parliament including King James I, the queen, and his eldest son. The conspirators were zealous Roman Catholics angered by the King’s refusal to grant more religious toleration to Catholics. They hoped the confusion that would follow the murder of the king, his ministers, and the members of Parliament would provide an opportunity for the English Catholics to take over the country.

The authorities were tipped off by an anonymous letter. During a search of the House of Lords at about midnight on 4 November 1605, one of the conspirators was discovered guarding enough gunpowder to reduce the House of Lords to rubble — about 36 barrels. The attempt failed. The conspirators were executed.

30 Phil, Chapter 25: Spinoza and Monism
The Dutch philosopher Spinoza was a lens grinder by profession, a proponent of Rationalism, and an early founder of Enlightenment. My favorite concept of Spinoza’s is that God is nature, and nature is God. For me, whenever I read God in prayers and such I substitute the word nature. That concept I attribute to Spinoza. The concept doesn’t mean God does not exist, nor vice versa, it’s simply an acknowledgment of all interpretations of God, Gods, and nature and the fact, by my account, that we have no proof God exists or not.

Some of my favorite translated quotes include:

• I call him free who is led solely by reason.
• Whatsoever is contrary to nature is contrary to reason, and whatsoever is contrary to reason is absurd.
• Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.
• The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free.

In 1644, Williams published The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution. Historians consider it his most famous work. He wrote Bloudy after arriving in London in midsummer 1643. It was on sale by July 15, 1644. It is a fierce attack on religious and political intolerance in both Old England and New. He advocated for free thought and belief because he felt that punishing those that did not believe was not part of his faith and government should be separate from religion. Roger advocated for a “hedge or wall of Separation between the Garden of the Church and the Wilderness of the world” in order to keep the church pure. His ideas raised questions and challenges but his ideas endured over time.

The King Philip’s War started on Jun 20, 1675, and ended on Apr 12, 1678. An elderly Roger Williams played a key role in the conflict. At the urging of Roger Williams, the Narragansett natives maintained neutrality during the early months of King Phillip’s War.

Later in 1676, a large army of about 3,500 native warriors led by chief sachem Canonchet marched north along the coast destroying towns. Roger went out to meet with the native leaders. Their discussions began with Roger scolding the Narragansett for becoming involved in the war. That led nowhere so he attempted to bluff them by saying they were not good fighters, and that 100 English could hold them off. His bluff was called and the Narragansett accepted a face off. He reacted by doing what he was known to do best, negotiate. He asked for the Narragansett to give him their demands so he could negotiate for them. His proposal was rejected. When Roger turned to walk away. He was warned by the natives that there were some young braves on his side of the river that might ‘do him some mischief,’ and he could safely return to the blockhouse by walking along the water’s edge.

The natives burned most of Providence. Roger’s home and crops were among those burned. Roger survived and helped rebuild Rhode Island, but mainly focused on Providence. For a time, he lived in his son Joseph’s home. He lead the first meeting after the war outside under a tree.

30 Phil, Chapter 26, Voltaire, Touchstone 67: Fourth Estate.

The fourth estate refers to the role of media in society. During Voltaire’s time, the seeds were being sown for the concept of the fourth estate. This was due in part to his tireless advocacy for freedom of speech and the press, an echo of the force of public opinion.

30 Phil, Chapter 27: Hume and Skeptical Empiricism
The Scottish Enlightenment philosopher and historian Hume was a leading exponent of empiricism. The belief that all human knowledge derives solely from experience.

Some of my favorite Hume quotes:

• “A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.” -A Treatise of Human Nature, 1739
• “The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster.”
• “Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.”

30 Phil, Chapter 27, Hume, Touchstone 69: Skeptical Empiricism.

Skeptical Empiricism challenges the idea of innate knowledge, asserting all we know stems from our experiences.

30 Phil, Chapter 29: Mill and Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill was born on May 20, 1806, in London, to James Mill, a Scottish-born philosopher and economist, and Harriet Barrow. His Greatest Happiness Principle lies at the core of utilitarianism, advocating for actions that maximize utility, generally understood as producing the greatest well-being for the most people, but how do you measure or evaluate this “utility” or “happiness?” On May 8, 1873, at age 66, surrounded by a few friends and his stepdaughter Helen, John Stuart Mill took his final breaths. 

Alfred Russel Wallace lived from January 8, 1823, to November 7, 1913. He is best known for independently proposing the theory of evolution by natural selection, prompting Charles Darwin to publish his own findings. Wallace’s work as a biologist, anthropologist, and geographer took him to the Amazon and the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the Wallace Line, a boundary between Asian and Australian fauna.

A prolific writer, Wallace’s unconventional ideas on evolution earned him the nickname “The Heretic of Darwinism.” His anthropocentric view led him to believe the human mind was too complex to be explained by natural selection alone. He was skeptical of subcategories of behavioral selection, such as sexual selection, believing many traits attributed to them could be better explained by natural selection focused on survival. However, he acknowledged artificial selection, understanding it as a process driven by human intervention.

James Clerk Maxwell predicted electromagnetic waves, but he did not perform experiments to prove their existence. His prediction was based on his work on the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which unified electricity, magnetism, and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetism predicted the existence of waves of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that travel through empty space at a speed that could be predicted from simple electrical experiments. The existence of electromagnetic waves was later experimentally confirmed by Heinrich Hertz in 1887.

• 1831: Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction: electric current in a wire.
• 1864: James Clerk Maxwell publishes “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field,” where he predicts the existence of electromagnetic waves, including radio waves.
• 1887: Heinrich Hertz experimentally demonstrates the existence of radio waves, confirming Maxwell’s theories.
• 1895: Guglielmo Marconi, first practical use, radio waves to transmit Morse code without wires.
• 1906: Reginald Fessenden, first radio broadcast of audio (both music and speech) on Christmas Eve.
• 1920s: Radio becomes a popular medium for entertainment and news

30 Phil, Chapter 31: Sartre and Existentialism
Jean-Paul Sartre arrived in the Material World on June 21, 1905. Born in Paris to a modest family. Sartre, the chain-smoking existentialist who frequented Parisian cafes, is most remembered as an activist writer and for his idea of “bad faith.” 

Starting in 1931 with the invention of the electron microscope, the nanoworld became visible to us. The nanoworld contains items as small in diameter as 1 micrometer (1 micron) to a diameter 1,000 times smaller, a diameter of 1 nanometer. The nanoworld includes the smallest single celled organisms, the smallest bacteria as well as viruses, proteins, and molecules.

Note: The virus was discovered in 1892 through scientific experiments and first seen in the 1930s.