scholarly journals The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence as a Case Study for the Historiography of Physics

2020 ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Matt Waldschlagel
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz ◽  
History Of Physics ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Absolute Space ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Absolute Time ◽  
Modern Physics ◽  
History Of

This paper examines an important episode in the history of early modern physics – the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence of 1715-16, an exchange that occurred at the intersection of physics, metaphysics and theology – before turning to questions of interpretation in the historiography of physics.  Samuel Clarke, a disciple of Isaac Newton, engaged in a dispute over Newton’s commitment to absolute space and absolute time with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who criticized Newton’s views and advanced a rival account.  I clarify the positions at stake in the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence, define a variety of terms – absolute space, absolute time, substantivalism, and relationalism – endogenous to the exchange, and reconstruct key elements in the philosophical dimension of the dispute.  I then use the Leibniz-Clarke exchange as a springboard from which to examine interpretive considerations in the historiography of physics.  I argue that the history of physics can benefit from reassessing its historiographical commitments by borrowing or appropriating some of the intellectual resources used by philosophers working in the history of philosophy.  This historiographical reassessment, I contend, will not only shed new light on the Leibniz-Clarke exchange but may also reinvigorate the history of physics.

Scene Setting

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Final Part ◽  
Philosophy Of Time ◽  
Absolute Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Metaphysics Of Time

Absolute Time studies roughly a century of British metaphysics, starting from the 1640s. This chapter contextualizes this period of history, both philosophically and more widely. It opens with a speedy and extremely selective Cook’s tour of the history of philosophy of time leading up to seventeenth-century philosophy, emphasizing the work of Aristotle and Plotinus. It continues by describing the metaphysics of time found in a variety of early seventeenth-century British philosophers. The final part of this chapter enters into the wider history of the period, discussing non-philosophical reasons that may have played a role in increasing early modern interest in time: horology, chronology, and apocalypse studies.

GLOSSING THE GLOSS: READING PETER LOMBARD’SCOLLECTANEAON THE PAULINE EPISTLES AS A HISTORICAL ACT

Traditio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 73 ◽  
pp. 83-116
Author(s):  
PETER O'HAGAN
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Classroom Activity ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Central Focus ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Pauline Epistles ◽  
History Of ◽  
Extended Analysis

Peter Lombard's influential commentary on the Pauline Epistles, theCollectanea in omnes divi Pauli epistolas,has received little extended analysis in scholarly literature, despite its recognized importance both in its own right and as key for the development of hisSentences.This article presents a new approach to studying theCollectaneaby analyzing how Lombard's commentary builds on theGlossa “Ordinaria”on the Pauline Epistles. The article argues for treating theCollectaneaas a “historical act,” focusing on how Lombard engages with the biblical text and with authoritative sources within which he encounters the same biblical text embedded. The article further argues for the necessity of turning to the manuscripts of both theCollectaneaand theGlossa,rather than continuing to rely on inadequate early modern printed editions or thePatrologia Latina.The article then uses Lombard's discussion of faith at Romans 1:17 as a case study, demonstrating the way in which Lombard begins from theGlossa,clarifies its ambiguities, and moves his analysis forward through his use of otherauctoritatesand theologicalquaestiones.A comparison with Lombard's treatment of faith in theSentenceshighlights the close links between Lombard's biblical lectures and this later work. The article concludes by arguing that scholastic biblical exegesis and theology should be treated as primarily a classroom activity, with the glossed Bible as the central focus. Discussion of Lombard's work should draw on much recent scholarship that has begun to uncover the layers of orality within the textual history of scholastic works.

scholarly journals Foreword

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-160
Author(s):  
Jorge Ledo
Keyword(s):  
Modern Philosophy ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Literary History ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Early Modern Philosophy ◽  
Theoretical Relationship ◽  
Renaissance Studies ◽  
History Of

The aim of this volume is not to offer a comprehensive overview of the multifarious aspects of fiction and its implications for early modern philosophy, but to be an invitation, from the standpoint of the history of philosophy, to survey some of the fundamental problems of the field, using six case-studies written by some of the finest international scholars in their respective areas of Renaissance studies. Although perhaps not evident at a first reading, these six studies are linked by common concerns such as the theoretical relationship between (literary) history, rhetoric, poetics, and philosophy; the tensions between res, verba, and imago; and the concept of enargeia. They have been arranged according to the chronology of the corpus each one considers.

Time: A Very Short Introduction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenann Ismael
Keyword(s):  
History Of Physics ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
Short Introduction ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Experience Of Time ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Nature Of Time ◽  
Everyday Living

Time: A Very Short Introduction explores questions about the nature of time that have been at the heart of philosophical thinking since its beginnings: questions like whether time has a beginning or end, whether and in what sense time passes, how time is different from space, whether time has a direction, and whether it is possible to travel in time. These questions passed into the hands of scientists with the work of Isaac Newton when the structure of space and time became connected to motion and included the subject matter of physics. This VSI charts the way that the history of physics, from Isaac Newton through Albert Einstein’s two revolutions, wrought changes to the conception of time. There are parts of physics that are in a state of confusion, but this strand of development is a story of philosophical illumination and conceptual beauty. The discussion here provides an opportunity to see what distinguishes the methods of physics from those of philosophy. It brings together physics, cognitive science, and phenomenology in the service of reconciling what modern theories tell us about the nature of time with the everyday living experience of time.

Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam: An Insight on Entrepreneurial Behaviour in the Dutch Republic

2008 ◽  
pp. 15-32
Author(s):  
Cátia Antunes
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
Dutch Republic ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Entrepreneurial Behaviour ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter provides a case study of the entrepreneurship of Portuguese Jewish merchants in the Dutch Republic in the Early Modern period. Though similar case studies exist, none have focused specifically on Jewish entrepreneurs. The core aim is to determine which business strategies and values the Jewish entrepreneurs shared with their Dutch counterparts. It provides a history of the Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam, followed by a definition of the early modern entrepreneur. It then examines the trade routes, products, range of trading capital, and social networks of the Portuguese Jewish entrepreneurs, and concludes that Portuguese Jewish and Dutch merchants operated their businesses in similar ways, but Portuguese Jewish merchants were willing to step out of their religious and social boundaries in pursuit of a stronger economic position and were able to do so through financial support gained by dealing in diverse, high quality trade.

scholarly journals Through the Walls of Time: A Short Reflection on Writing Early Modern Intellectual History

Zutot ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38
Author(s):  
Irene Zwiep
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
Modern Concept ◽  
Historical Interpretation ◽  
Jewish Historiography ◽  
Short Piece ◽  
History Of

This short piece takes a longstanding problem from the history of ideas, viz. the use of contemporary concepts in descriptions of past phenomena, and discusses its implications for broader intellectual history. Scholars have argued that being transparent about anachronism can be a first step towards solving the issue. I would argue, however, that it may actually interfere with proper historical interpretation. As a case study, we shall explore what happens when a modern concept like ‘culture’ is applied to pre-modern intellectual processes. As the idea of cultural transfer is prominent in recent Jewish historiography, we will focus on exemplary early modern intermediary Menasseh ben Israel, and ask ourselves whether his supposed ‘brokerage’ (a notion taken from twentieth-century anthropology) brings us closer to understanding his work. As an alternative, I propose ‘bricolage,’ again a central analytical tool in modern anthropology but, as I hope to show, one with unexpected hermeneutical potential.

Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Chomel (1671–1740): A Case Study in Problems Relating to the Social Status of Scientists in the Early Modern Period

1986 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-322
Author(s):  
David Sturdy
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
Social Mechanisms ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Practice Of Science

Consider this statement: the practice of science influences and is influenced by the civilization within which it occurs. Or again: scientists do not pursue their activities in a political or social void; like other people, they aspire to make their way in the world by responding to the values and social mechanisms of their day. Set in such simple terms, each statement probably would receive the assent of most scholars interested in the history of science. But there is need for debate on the nature and extent of the interaction between scientific activity and the civilization which incorporates it, as there is on the relations of scientists to the society within which they live. This essay seeks to make a contribution mainly to the second of these topics by taking a French scientist and academician of the eighteenth century and studying him and his family in the light of certain questions. At the end there will be a discussion relating those questions or themes to the wider debate. There is an associated purpose to the exercise: to present an account of the social origins and formation of Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Chomel (botanist, physician and member of the Academic des Sciences) which will augment our knowledge of this particular savant.

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