Mechanism: the Clockwork Universe
In "From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest" by T.Z. Lavine, it says:
Descartes's theory of the physical universe is called mechanism. Mechanism is the theory that all of nature can be explained by the mechanical motion of hte material substances. In Descartes's mechanistic view of the world, the world is infinite in extension, with the bodies of all shapes and sizes continually moving and changing. All motion of bodies is due to mechanical impact, like the mechanical workings of a clock. The infinite universe is through and through mechanical, from the vast celestial clockwork of the motion of the planets, which Galileo described, to all inorganic physical things — these too move mechanically on impact. This is what the physical universe is for Descartes: a mechanical clockwork system of bodies in motion according to the laws of physics. THe physical world consists of bodies of various geometrical sizes and shapes, colorless, soundless, without smell, taste, or texture. They move on impact with one another in purposeless mechanical motion in a clockwork universe.
Mechanism is the absolute faith in the Clockwork God. This heretical religion is found only in Begma and flourishes underground among the Engineers who chose to expand their scientific world of the world to the cosmological view of the universe. They worship the universe as the Clockwork Machine.
The religious establishment of Begma decry this cult as a perversion of the Natural Order. As clearly stated in the Four Unbreakable Laws, Mankind is the Master of the Machine, not the reverse.
The Cult of the Clockwork God flourishes among the young fresh fellows newly graduated from the University who specialize in Difference and Analytical Engineering. The belief in the Clockwork God drifts them perilously close to research into Manufactured Intelligence, a clear violation of Begma's Laws.
Rumour has it that the Ministry of Tourism (MiniTour) invests great time and energy in attempting to stamp out the Cult of the Clockwork God. MiniTour occasionally offers cultists special "vacation packages" involving "far-off tourist destinations" and numbers. They do not want it known outside of Begma that Begman science might actually be mystical mechanics and not proper engineering. However, they may be recruiting a few of the Cultists to work on their own Analytical Machines.
The Cult of the Clockwork God is working diligently to build an orrery big enough to rival anything found currently on Pathi.
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