This volume provides a much needed, historically accurate narrative of the development of theories of space up to the beginning of the eighteenth century. It studies conceptions of space that were implicitly or explicitly entailed by ancient, medieval and early modern representations of the cosmos. The authors reassess Alexandre Koyré’s groundbreaking work From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe (1957) and they trace the permanence of arguments to be found throughout the Middle Ages and beyond. By adopting a long timescale, this book sheds new light on the continuity between various cosmological representations and their impact on the ontology and epistemology of space.
Readers may explore the work of a variety of authors including Aristotle, Epicurus, Henry of Ghent, John Duns Scotus, John Wyclif, Peter Auriol, Nicholas Bonet, Francisco Suárez, Francesco Patrizi, Giordano Bruno, Libert Froidmont, Marin Mersenne, Pierre Gassendi, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnizand Samuel Clarke. We see how reflections on space, imagination and the cosmos were the product of a plurality of philosophical traditions that found themselves confronted with, and enriched by, various scientific and theological challenges which induced multiple conceptual adaptations and innovations.
This volume is a useful resource for historians of philosophy, those with an interest in the history of science, and particularly those seeking to understand the historical background of the philosophy of space.
Table of Content
Chapter 1. Introduction (Frederik Bakker).- Chapter 2. Aristotle’s Account of Place in Physics 4: Some Puzzles and Some Reactions (Keimpe Algra).- Chapter 3. The End of Epicurean Infinity: Critical Reflections on the Epicurean Infinite Universe (Frederik Bakker).- Chapter 4. Space, Imagination, and Numbers in John Wyclif’s Mathematical Theology (Aurélien Robert).- Chapter 5. Space and Movement in Medieval Thought: the Angelological Shift (Tiziana Suarez-Nani).- Chapter 6. Mathematical and Metaphysical Space in the Early Fourteenth Century (William Duba).- Chapter 7. Francisco Suárez and Francesco Patrizi: Metaphysical Investigations on Place and Space (Olivier Ribordy).- Chapter 8. Giordano Bruno’s Concept of Space: Cosmological and Theological Aspects (Miguel Angel Granada).- Chapter 9. Libert Froidmont’s Conception and Imagination of Space in Three Early Works: (1627) Peregrinatio cœlestis (1616), De cometa (1618), Meteorologica (1627) (Isabelle Pantin).- Chapter 10. Questioning Fludd, Kepler and Galileo: Mersenne’s Harmonious Universe (Natacha Fabbri).- Chapter 11. Imaginary Spaces and Cosmological Issues in Gassendi’s Philosophy (Delphine Bellis).- Chapter 12. Space, Imagination and the Cosmos in the Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence (Carla Rita Palmerino).
About the author
Frederik Bakker is assistant professor in the History of Philosophy and Science at Radboud University in Nijmegen. The focus of his research is on the history of ancient philosophy and science, and more specifically Epicureanism. He is also interested in the ancient poets’ engagement with philosophy and science and in the modern reception of ancient scientific ideas. He has published papers on ancient doxography and on topics in ancient and medieval poetry, and recently brought out a monograph on Epicurean astronomy and meteorology (Epicurean Meteorology, Leiden: Brill 2016).
Delphine Bellis is assistant professor in the History and Philosophy of Science at Paul Valéry University in Montpellier, France. She has previously worked as postdoctoral researcher at Utrecht University, Radboud University Nijmegen, Ghent University, and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. Her research interest is primarily in the history of early modern philosophy and science, in particular optics and theories of space and matter, with a focus on Descartes and Gassendi. She has published papers on Descartes, Regius, and Gassendi, and participates in the edition of Descartes’ complete correspondence edited by Roger Ariew, Erik-Jan Bos, and Theo Verbeek, to be published by Oxford University Press. She also is a member of the editorial board of Studium. Tijdschrift voor Wetenschaps- en Universiteitsgeschiedenis / Revue d’Histoire des Sciences et des Universités.
Carla Rita Palmerino is Professor in the History of Modern Philosophy and Director of the Center for the History of Philosophy and Science at Radboud University, Nijmegen. Her research focuses on the history of early-modern philosophy and science, and more specifically on theories of space, time and matter and on debates concerning the ontological and epistemological status of mathematical truths. She is also interested in the role of thought experiments in early modern science and philosophy. She has published on Galileo, Gassendi, Mersenne, Descartes, Froidmont, Leibniz, Newton and participates in the edition of Descartes’ complete correspondence edited by Roger Ariew, Erik-Jan Bos, and Theo Verbeek, to be published by Oxford University Press. She is member of the editorial board of Galilæana: Journal of Galilean studies.
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