Michael more molyneux biography of william

Anglo-Irish philosopher

For other people named William Molyneux, see William Molyneux (disambiguation).

William MolyneuxFRS (; 17 April 1656 – 11 October 1698) was an Anglo-Irish writer on science, politics and natural philosophy.

He is noted as a close friend of fellow philosopher John Locke, and for proposing Molyneux's Problem, a thought experiment widely discussed.

Life

He was born in Dublin to Samuel Molyneux (1616–1693), lawyer, landowner and Master Gunner for Ireland, (whose grandfather, Sir Thomas Molyneux, had come to Dublin from Calais in the 1560s), and his wife, Anne, née Dowdall.^[1] The second of five children, William Molyneux came from a relatively prosperous Anglican background, with his father established at Castle Dillon in County Armagh, and his uncle Colonel Adam Molyneux holding large estates inherited from the Dowdall's in Ballymulvey, near Ballymahon in County Longford.

He was close to his brother Sir Thomas Molyneu