There are various threads that can be followed back in Masonry including:
.....
.....
- philosophical propositions
- spiritual science
- underlying intent.
.........
Each thread tends to lead to a different starting point.
The three points I've eft are three that I would broadly discount as "the start of Freemasonry"
"Philosophical propositions" because what we have today is a pastiche of so many of them.
"Spiritual science" - because I think the term is so broad. For many it will destroy religion, for others it brings religion and science together.. for some, it's about astral projection and other things. I don't know a lot about it, but I'd be interested in your definition. Something like the below seems the most "rationalist" I've just read and the sort of thing I suspect you may have in mind;
How people think about spiritual science[/B said:
When we hear ‘spiritual’, we might cringe with thoughts of fantasies and magical fairy tales.
We might think of New Age and conspiracies with some woo woo magic. For spiritual science, some are horrifically offended in having spirituality together with science.
Now another name for spiritual science is esoteric or occult science. This brings up the idea of evil, Satanism, witches, etc. You might bring spells, rituals, and potions into the mix. But this is further from the truth.
The Hidden Truth
Spiritual science are neither of those. Esoteric and Occult means hidden. It is the origin of science and religion. It is hidden knowledge of the universe.
What is Spiritual Science?
While some modern scientists dogmatically reject spiritual science under unconscious critics, spiritual science takes an unbiased approach to understanding true reality. Spiritual science…
How people think about spiritual science[/B said:
- Uses the soul as an instrument to conduct research
- Follows a different approach than the conventional scientific method
- Involves having a balance and level-headed judgment in our conclusion
- Get their facts from within
The root of spiritual science is that there is a hidden world – spiritual (astral) world – and that we can come to understand them by unlocking our dormant human capacities, from within.
Source http://www.2empowerthyself.com/8-myths-spiritual-science/
Assuming, but not dogmatically accepting the above is somewhat accurate, I do not think it would be a broadly accepted as congruous with speculative Freemasonry. James, when you talk about how the Second Degree is so important, the above is what I generally the sort of thing I think you are talking about, or sacred geometry, or science (knowledge and understanding of the universe) generally.
"Underlying intent" is also just too broad a phrase and will also be argued.
Some of your list (perhaps all) might have made a contribution in forming our system, but I dont think you could say any were "the start" of Speculative Freemasonry.
I am not sure when "the start" of Freemasonry is either, but I generally accept the theory we came from operative Freemasons as the most likely and hence the point when they not just incorporated some moral teachings (or codification) into their rules, but also started to accept non-operatives as members. I would say that marked the birth of Modern Speculative Freemasonry.
*enter stage left Coach N*