William Molyneux

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See Molyneux for others of this name

William Molyneux (17 April 1656 - 11 October 1698, both in Dublin) was an Irish natural philosopher and writer on politics.

The Molyneux family were wealthy landowners belonging to the Protestant ruling class, known as the "English in Ireland". He studied at Trinity College, Dublin. Himself member of the Royal Society, in the 1680s he found the Dublin Philosophical Society along the lines of the Royal Society of London. After John Locke published his Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), Molyneux wrote to him praising the work. Molyneux also proposed the philosophical question that has since become known as Molyneux's Problem, which Locke discussed in later editions of the Essay. He is also an ancestor of anarcho-capitalist philosopher and writer, Stefan Molyneux.

In 1678 he married Lucy Domvile (?-1691). From the 3 children, only Samuel Molyneux (1689-1728) lived past childhood to become an astronomer and politician.

[edit] Publications

William Molyneux: Dioptrica Nova, A treatise of dioptricks in two parts, wherein the various effects and appearances of spherick glasses, both convex and concave, single and combined, in telescopes and microscopes, together with their usefulness in many concerns of humane life, are explained, London 1692