How and Why Science Influenced the Founding of Modern Freemasonry and its Role as a Microcosm of the Impact of Science on the Upper Echelons of British Society at that Time

This research began as a routine enquiry into the current wisdom with regard to the 'science' of Masonic Ritual. However after diligent search to my utter amazement nothing of substance came to light and so began this unique enquiry. Modern Freemasonry's ritual places great emphasis on understanding the science which underpins its basic philosophy and insists that Masons must strive to understand its implications. Unfortunately this scientific injunction only remained for the few years whilst its Founder's remained active and from then onwards science became an absolute no-go area to all subsequent freemasons and Masonic historians alike. Yet even today that same (crucial) insistence upon science still punctuates the ritual, suggesting that the Founder's imperative remains central to Freemasonry and life in general. Why then has science been ignored for the last c280 years? It posed the further question why had nobody made any attempt to understand its presence, or even moot its fundamental importance and whether for good or bad, why had it not occasioned a response? I determined to seek my own understanding of what lay behind this enigma.