Georgians in an Age of Experimentation

This chapter analyses how the turbo-charged society of Georgian Britain and Ireland produced a major transformation in human history. It emphasizes that not all plans for innovation succeeded, noting that experimentation, which opened the floodgates, entailed ‘trial and error’. The chapter shifts to discuss how empiricism became a Georgian cultural mantra. The concept was taken at once to signify the avoidance of dogmatic extremes and equally a willingness to apply ad hoc measures. It also reviews the need for rational testing, and demonstrates how rational enquiry and debates were seen as central to all forms of learning. The chapter looks at the subjectivity of human brainpower. It argues that an antidote to error was offered by shared questioning and debate—and, for scientists, by repeated experimentation.