Presentation Schedule
William Blake and the Limits of Religion (108118)
Session Chair: Jerry Chia-Je Weng
Monday, 11 May 2026 12:15
Session: Session 2
Room: Room G405 (4F)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
In this talk I want to discuss the interconnectedness of science and religion in English poetry and thought – the vital ways in which these two modes of understanding the world intersected, conjoined, and eventually departed from each other. I will attempt to sketch out a narrative from the late seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century, using two pivotal figures at the beginning and end of this period to make my case. At one end is Isaac Newton (1642-1727), founder of classical mechanics and representative of the scientific Enlightenment; at the other end is William Blake (1757-1827), poet and painter, who strongly criticized and rejected the Enlightenment view of science. Both men were religious, though not entirely orthodox: Newton published esoteric writings interpreting the Book of Revelation, while images of the Fall and Apocalypse are everywhere in Blake. Blake radically criticized Newton in his poetry and paintings, commenting on his inadequate views on natural religion. We will see how Newton brings into being a worldview uniting science and religion, whereas for Blake that worldview is fraught with difficulties and impossibilities. Finally, I want to contextualize this change of attitude within the process of secularization that has been dominant in western culture for the past two hundred years.
Authors:
Jerry Chia-Je Weng, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Jerry Chia-Je Weng is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at National Taiwan University in Taiwan
See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule
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