Editing Joseph Priestley (section)

===Daventry Academy===
Priestley eventually decided to return to his theological studies and, in 1752, matriculated at [[Daventry Academy|Daventry]], a Dissenting academy.<ref>Schofield (1997), 28–29; Jackson, 30; Gibbs, 5.</ref> Because he was already widely read, Priestley was allowed to omit the first two years of coursework. He continued his intense study; this, together with the liberal atmosphere of the school, shifted his theology further leftward and he became a [[English Dissenters#Rational Dissenters|Rational Dissenter]]. Abhorring dogma and religious mysticism, Rational Dissenters emphasised rational analysis of the natural world and the Bible.<ref>McEvoy (1983), 48–49.</ref>

Priestley later wrote that the book that influenced him the most, save the Bible, was [[David Hartley (philosopher)|David Hartley]]'s ''[[Observations on Man]]'' (1749). Hartley's psychological, philosophical, and theological treatise postulated a material [[Philosophy of mind|theory of mind]].<!-- "philosophy of mind" link is better than "theory of mind" --> Hartley aimed to construct a Christian philosophy in which both religious and moral "facts" could be scientifically proven, a goal that would occupy Priestley for his entire life. In his third year at Daventry, Priestley committed himself to the ministry, which he described as "the noblest of all professions".<ref>Qtd. in Jackson, 33. See Schofield (1997), 40–57; Uglow, 73–74; Jackson, 30–34; Gibbs, 5–10; Thorpe, 17–22; Tapper, 314; Holt, 11–14; Garrett, 54.</ref>