Isaac Beeckman on Matter and Motion

Mechanical Philosophy in the Making

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, Philosophy & Social Aspects, History
Cover of the book Isaac Beeckman on Matter and Motion by Klaas van Berkel, Johns Hopkins University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Klaas van Berkel ISBN: 9781421409610
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Publication: August 14, 2013
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Klaas van Berkel
ISBN: 9781421409610
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication: August 14, 2013
Imprint:
Language: English

The contribution of the Dutch craftsman and scholar Isaac Beeckman to early modern scientific thought has never been properly acknowledged. Surprisingly free from the constraints of traditional natural philosophy, he developed a view of the world in which everything, from the motion of the heavens to musical harmonies, is explained by reducing it to matter in motion. His ideas deeply influenced Descartes and Gassendi. Klaas van Berkel has succeeded in unearthing and explicating Beeckman's scientific notebooks, allowing us to follow how he developed his new philosophy, almost day by day.

Beeckman was almost forgotten until the discovery of his notebooks in the early twentieth century. Isaac Beeckman on Matter and Motion is the first full-length study of the ideas and motives of this remarkable figure. Van Berkel's important study first relates Beeckman's life, placing him in the religious, intellectual, educational, and social context of the Dutch Republic in its golden age. Van Berkel then analyzes the notebooks themselves and the nature and development of Beeckman's "mechanical philosophy." He demonstrates how Beeckman's artisanal background and religious convictions shaped his natural philosophy, even as the decisive influence stems from the educational philosophy of the sixteenth-century French philosopher Peter Ramus.

Historians of science and the philosophy of science will find the substance of Beeckman's thought and the unraveling of its growth and development highly interesting. Van Berkel's account provides a new and comprehensive interpretation of the origins of the mechanical philosophy of nature, the philosophy that culminated in the work of Isaac Newton.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The contribution of the Dutch craftsman and scholar Isaac Beeckman to early modern scientific thought has never been properly acknowledged. Surprisingly free from the constraints of traditional natural philosophy, he developed a view of the world in which everything, from the motion of the heavens to musical harmonies, is explained by reducing it to matter in motion. His ideas deeply influenced Descartes and Gassendi. Klaas van Berkel has succeeded in unearthing and explicating Beeckman's scientific notebooks, allowing us to follow how he developed his new philosophy, almost day by day.

Beeckman was almost forgotten until the discovery of his notebooks in the early twentieth century. Isaac Beeckman on Matter and Motion is the first full-length study of the ideas and motives of this remarkable figure. Van Berkel's important study first relates Beeckman's life, placing him in the religious, intellectual, educational, and social context of the Dutch Republic in its golden age. Van Berkel then analyzes the notebooks themselves and the nature and development of Beeckman's "mechanical philosophy." He demonstrates how Beeckman's artisanal background and religious convictions shaped his natural philosophy, even as the decisive influence stems from the educational philosophy of the sixteenth-century French philosopher Peter Ramus.

Historians of science and the philosophy of science will find the substance of Beeckman's thought and the unraveling of its growth and development highly interesting. Van Berkel's account provides a new and comprehensive interpretation of the origins of the mechanical philosophy of nature, the philosophy that culminated in the work of Isaac Newton.

More books from Johns Hopkins University Press

Cover of the book Of Virgins and Martyrs by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book Justice, Dissent, and the Sublime by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book Pandemics, Pills, and Politics by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book Protesting Affirmative Action by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book When Someone You Know Is Living in a Dementia Care Community by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book Listening to Trauma by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book The Ephemeral History of Perfume by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book British Romanticism and the Critique of Political Reason by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book Patients and Healers in the High Roman Empire by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book Native Memoirs from the War of 1812 by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book All Joking Aside by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book Sharks of the Shallows by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book Your Maryland by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book A New History of Medieval French Literature by Klaas van Berkel
Cover of the book Transatlantic Aliens by Klaas van Berkel
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy