David Gorlæus (1591-1612) : an enigmatic figure in the history of philosophy and science

Resource Information

The work David Gorlæus (1591-1612) : an enigmatic figure in the history of philosophy and science represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in European University Institute. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

David Gorlæus (1591-1612) : an enigmatic figure in the history of philosophy and science

Title remainder

an enigmatic figure in the history of philosophy and science

Statement of responsibility

Christoph Lüthy

Creator

• Lüthy, Christoph Herbert

Subject

• Gorlaeus, David, 1591-1612
• Philosophers -- Netherlands
• Philosophy -- History
• Physics -- History
• Religion and science
• Atomism

Language

eng

Summary

"When David Gorlaeus (1591-1612) passed away at 21 years of age, he left behind two highly innovative manuscripts. Once they were published, his work had a remarkable impact on the evolution of seventeenth-century thought. However, as his identity was unknown, divergent interpretations of their meaning quickly sprang up. Seventeenth-century readers understood him as an anti-Aristotelian thinker and as a precursor of Descartes. Twentieth-century historians depicted him as an atomist, natural scientist and even as a chemist. And yet, when Gorlaeus died, he was a beginning student in theology. His thought must in fact be placed at the intersection between philosophy, the nascent natural sciences, and theology. The aim of this book is to shed light on Gorlaeus' family circumstances, his education at Franeker and Leiden, and on the virulent Arminian crisis which provided the context within which his work was written. It also attempts to define Gorlaeus' place in the history of Dutch philosophy and to assess the influence that it exercised in the evolution of philosophy and science, and notably in early Cartesian circles."---Page [4] of cover

Member of

• History of science and scholarship in the Netherlands, 13

Additional physical form

Also published online through the online OAPEN library.

Biography type

individual biography

Cataloging source

DLC

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Series statement

History of science and scholarship in the Netherlands,

Series volume

v. 13