6.1. MEDICINE IN WESTERN EUROPE IN THE 18TH CENTURY
As a rule, the modern age is dated from the time of bourgeois revolutions in Europe in Netherlands, England, and lately, in France. Conditionally, this timespan can be regarded as a period beginning in 1640s. A new social class, young bourgeoisie originating from craftspeople and merchants, required a bold approach to studying nature and causes of social and biological phenomena which would not be burdened by religious persecution. In an ideological sense, this resulted in development of mechanistic, natural materialism, as well as new significant and pragmatically valuable discoveries and new knowledge about the world. As noted above, great geographic discoveries made during the previous century widened the world's boundaries, enlarged knowledge of life of different nations and opened the way to new markets and new gains. The time to use achievements in science and new knowledge has come. Naturally, feudalism did not want to cede ground without support from the Inquisition and religion. However, it was losing its resources and began quitting the stage.
It was materialistic physicians who played the major role in the development of materialism. Particularly, French philosophers added much to this process. Le-roy (1598-1679) did not admit the principal difference of the soul and body. He objected against dualism and even departures from Descartes' materialism, decisively took Harvey's side with his theory of blood circulation and against Galen's scholastic dogmas and errors. J.O. La Mettrie (1709-1751) advocated only an experimental way of development of modern medicine. In his famous book "Machine Man", he developed a program of the physiological science transformation based on