A History of Natural Philosophy : From the Ancient World to the Nineteenth Century

Natural philosophy encompassed all natural phenomena of the physical world. It sought to discover the physical causes of all natural effects and was little concerned with mathematics. By contrast, the exact mathematical sciences were narrowly confined to various computations that did not involve physical causes, functioning totally independently of natural philosophy. Although this began slowly to change in the late Middle Ages, a much more thoroughgoing union of natural philosophy and mathematics occurred in the seventeenth century and thereby made the Scientific Revolution possible. The title of Isaac Newton's great work, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, perfectly reflects the new relationship. Natural philosophy became the 'Great Mother of the Sciences', which by the nineteenth century had nourished the manifold chemical, physical, and biological sciences to maturity, thus enabling them to leave the 'Great Mother' and emerge as the multiplicity of independent sciences we know today. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 Preface......Page 13 The Preliterate Beginnings......Page 17 Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia......Page 18 The Pre-Socratic Natural Philosophers......Page 22 Hippocratic Medicine......Page 34 Plato......Page 37 Life......Page 43 Works: Aristotle's Writings and Their Preservation......Page 44 Aristotle's Achievements......Page 49 Aristotle's Cosmos and Natural Philosophy......Page 53 The Scope of Aristotle's Natural Philosophy......Page 58 Aristotle’s Approach......Page 59 Neoplatonism and Its Approach to Aristotle......Page 68 Philoponus and Simplicius......Page 74 The Translations......Page 77 The Beginnings: Nestorian and Monophysite Christian Translators......Page 78 Al-Nadım’s “Fihrist”: A Catalogue of Translations......Page 79 Hunayn ibn Ishaq (808-873)......Page 81 Translations in Baghdad......Page 83 The Fate of Natural Philosophy in Islam......Page 84 Three Levels of the Intellectual Hierarchy......Page 85 Muslim Natural Philosophers......Page 86 The Assault against the Philosophers:al-Ghazali(1058-1111); Ibn as-Salah ash-Shahrazurı(d. 1245); and Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406)......Page 103 Higher Education: The Madrasas......Page 106 The Marginal Existence of Islamic Natural Philosophy......Page 108 Roman Authors......Page 111 The Latin Encyclopedists: European Learning to the Ninth Century......Page 113 Macrobius (fl. Early Fifth Century AD)......Page 114 Calcidius (fl. Fourth or Fifth Century AD)......Page 116 Isidore of Seville (ca. 560–636)......Page 117 Pseudo-Bede (ca. Second Half of Eleventh Century)......Page 118 The Twelfth Century and Its Immediate Antecedents......Page 121 Advances in Education and Learning......Page 123 Hostile Reception of the New Theology......Page 131 Natural Philosophy in the Twelfth Century......Page 132 Adelard of Bath (ca. 1080-d.ca.1152)......Page 133 Bernard Silvester (fl. 1145-1153)......Page 138 William of Conches (ca. 1090–d. after 1154)......Page 141 The World of the Translators......Page 146 Translations from Arabic into Latin......Page 148 Translations from Greek into Latin......Page 153 How Trustworthy Are Aristotle's Translated Texts?......Page 154 Pseudo-Aristotle: Works Falsely Attributed to Aristotle......Page 156 The Medieval University......Page 159 The Impact of Aristotelian Natural Philosophy in the Early Thirteenth Century to 1240......Page 162 William of Auvergne (ca. 1180-1249)......Page 164 University Lectures on Natural Philosophy......Page 168 The Classification of the Sciences and the Subject of Natural Philosophy......Page 171 Dominicus Gundissalinus (fl. 1140)......Page 172 Robert Kilwardby (d. 1279)......Page 174 Roger Bacon (ca. 1219-1292)......Page 177 Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great) (ca. 1200-1280) and Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)......Page 179 Anonymous Fourteenth-Century Treatise On Natural Philosophy......Page 181 The Occult Sciences and Natural Philosophy......Page 186 Natural Magic......Page 187 The Role of Magic in Medieval Natural Philosophy......Page 192 Textual Commentaries on the Works of Aristotle......Page 195 The Questions ("Questiones") Form of Commentary on Aristotle's Works......Page 198 John Buridan: On The Possibility of Other Worlds......Page 199 The Thematic Treatise, or "Tractatus"......Page 204 The Substantive Nature of Natural Philosophy in the Late Middle Ages......Page 206 Departures from Aristotle......Page 208 Thought Experiments and the Role of the Imagination......Page 216 Departures from Aristotle Based on Appeals to God's Absolute Power......Page 217 That Homogeneous Mixed Bodies of Unequal Weight Would Fall with the Same Speed in a Void......Page 225 Beyond Aristotle......Page 227 The Role of Experience in Medieval Natural Philosophy......Page 231 Was Aristotelian Natural Philosophy Science?......Page 250 Questions on Visual Rays, Rainbows, and Halos......Page 252 METEOROLOGY......Page 253 9 The Relations between Natural Philosophy and Theology......Page 255 The Disciplinary Relations Between Natural Philosophy and Theology......Page 263 Did God and Theology Play an Integral Role in Medieval Natural Philosophy?......Page 264 How a Few Significant Natural Philosophers Viewed the Relations Between Natural Philosophy and Theology......Page 267 The Relationship as Reflected in the Questions and Commentaries on the Works of Aristotle......Page 273 Did Natural Philosophy Influence Medieval Theology?......Page 278 The Fate of Medieval Natural Philosophy During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries......Page 290 The New Natural Philosophy of the Seventeenth Century......Page 294 The Transformation of Natural Philosophy......Page 296 The Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge......Page 301 The Forms of Literature in the New Natural Philosophy......Page 304 Scientific Societies......Page 305 Natural Magic......Page 306 Natural Philosophy and Religion......Page 309 The Medieval Background......Page 319 Francis Bacon: Natural Philosophy Is "The Great Mother of the Sciences"......Page 321 The Revolution in Natural Philosophy From The Middle Ages To The Nineteenth Century......Page 323 Isaac Newton Again......Page 329 Natural Philosophy as a Synonym for Physics and Science in the Nineteenth Century......Page 332 The Continuity of History and the Problem of Names and Terminology......Page 335 Conclusion......Page 339 Bibliography......Page 347 Index......Page 363 Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Preface 13 1 Ancient Egypt to Plato 17 The Preliterate Beginnings 17 Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia 18 Early Greek Natural Philosophy and Medicine 22 The Pre-Socratic Natural Philosophers 22 Hippocratic Medicine 34 Plato 37 2 Aristotle (384–322 bc) 43 Life 43 Works: Aristotle's Writings and Their Preservation 44 Aristotle's Achievements 49 Aristotle's Cosmos and Natural Philosophy 53 The Scope of Aristotle's Natural Philosophy 58 Aristotle’s Approach 59 3 Late Antiquity 68 Neoplatonism and Its Approach to Aristotle 68 Philoponus and Simplicius 74 4 Islam and the Eastward Shift of Aristotelian Natural Philosophy 77 The Translations 77 The Beginnings: Nestorian and Monophysite Christian Translators 78 Al-Nadım’s “Fihrist”: A Catalogue of Translations 79 Hunayn ibn Ishaq (808-873) 81 Translations in Baghdad 83 The Fate of Natural Philosophy in Islam 84 Three Levels of the Intellectual Hierarchy 85 Muslim Natural Philosophers 86 The Assault against the Philosophers:al-Ghazali(1058-1111); Ibn as-Salah ash-Shahrazurı(d. 1245); and Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) 103 Higher Education: The Madrasas 106 The Marginal Existence of Islamic Natural Philosophy 108 5 Natural Philosophy before the Latin Translations 111 Roman Authors 111 The Latin Encyclopedists: European Learning to the Ninth Century 113 Macrobius (fl. Early Fifth Century AD) 114 Calcidius (fl. Fourth or Fifth Century AD) 116 Martianus Capella (fl. ca. 365–440) 117 Isidore of Seville (ca. 560–636) 117 Pseudo-Bede (ca. Second Half of Eleventh Century) 118 The Twelfth Century and Its Immediate Antecedents 121 Advances in Education and Learning 123 Hostile Reception of the New Theology 131 Natural Philosophy in the Twelfth Century 132 Adelard of Bath (ca. 1080-d.ca.1152) 133 Bernard Silvester (fl. 1145-1153) 138 William of Conches (ca. 1090–d. after 1154) 141 6 Translations in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries 146 The World of the Translators 146 Translations from Arabic and Greek in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries 148 Translations from Arabic into Latin 148 Translations from Greek into Latin 153 How Trustworthy Are Aristotle's Translated Texts? 154 Pseudo-Aristotle: Works Falsely Attributed to Aristotle 156 7 Natural Philosophy after the Translations: Its Role and Place in the Late Middle Ages 159 The Medieval University 159 The Impact of Aristotelian Natural Philosophy in the Early Thirteenth Century to 1240 162 William of Auvergne (ca. 1180-1249) 164 University Lectures on Natural Philosophy 168 The Classification of the Sciences and the Subject of Natural Philosophy 171 Dominicus Gundissalinus (fl. 1140) 172 Robert Kilwardby (d. 1279) 174 Roger Bacon (ca. 1219-1292) 177 Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great) (ca. 1200-1280) and Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) 179 Anonymous Fourteenth-Century Treatise On Natural Philosophy 181 The Occult Sciences and Natural Philosophy 186 Natural Magic 187 The Role of Magic in Medieval Natural Philosophy 192 8 The Form and Content of Late Medieval Natural Philosophy 195 Textual Commentaries on the Works of Aristotle 195 The Questions ("Questiones") Form of Commentary on Aristotle's Works 198 John Buridan: On The Possibility of Other Worlds 199 The Thematic Treatise, or "Tractatus" 204 The Substantive Nature of Natural Philosophy in the Late Middle Ages 206 Departures from Aristotle 208 Thought Experiments and the Role of the Imagination 216 Departures from Aristotle Based on Appeals to God's Absolute Power 217 That Homogeneous Mixed Bodies of Unequal Weight Would Fall with the Same Speed in a Void 225 Beyond Aristotle 227 The Role of Experience in Medieval Natural Philosophy 231 Was Aristotelian Natural Philosophy Science? 250 PHYSICS 252 Questions on Visual Rays, Rainbows, and Halos 252 GEOLOGY 253 CHEMISTRY 253 METEOROLOGY 253 9 The Relations between Natural Philosophy and Theology 255 The Disciplinary Relations Between Natural Philosophy and Theology 263 Did God and Theology Play an Integral Role in Medieval Natural Philosophy? 264 How a Few Significant Natural Philosophers Viewed the Relations Between Natural Philosophy and Theology 267 The Relationship as Reflected in the Questions and Commentaries on the Works of Aristotle 273 Did Natural Philosophy Influence Medieval Theology? 278 10 The Transformation of Medieval Natural Philosophy from the Early Modern Period to the End of the Nineteenth Century 290 The Fate of Medieval Natural Philosophy During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries 290 The New Natural Philosophy of the Seventeenth Century 294 The Transformation of Natural Philosophy 296 Experiments 301 The Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge 301 The Forms of Literature in the New Natural Philosophy 304 Scientific Societies 305 Scientific Journals 306 Natural Magic 306 Natural Philosophy and Religion 309 The Relations Between Natural Philosophy and Science in the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Centuries 319 The Medieval Background 319 Francis Bacon: Natural Philosophy Is "The Great Mother of the Sciences" 321 The Revolution in Natural Philosophy From The Middle Ages To The Nineteenth Century 323 Isaac Newton Again 329 Natural Philosophy as a Synonym for Physics and Science in the Nineteenth Century 332 The Continuity of History and the Problem of Names and Terminology 335 Conclusion 339 Bibliography 347 Index 363 Natural philosophy encompassed all natural phenomena of the physical world. It sought to discover the physical causes of all natural effects and was little concerned with mathematics. By contrast, the exact mathematical sciences - such as astronomy, optics, and mechanics - were narrowly confined to various computations that did not involve physical causes. Natural philosophy and the exact sciences functioned independently of each other. Although this began slowly to change in the late Middle Ages, a much more thoroughgoing union of natural philosophy and mathematics occurred in the seventeenth century and thereby made the Scientific Revolution possible. The title of Isaac Newton's great work, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, perfectly reflects the new relationship. Natural philosophy became the "Great Mother of the Sciences," which by the nineteenth century had nourished the manifold chemical, physical, and biological sciences to maturity, thus enabling them to leave the "Great Mother" and emerge as the multiplicity of independent sciences we know today.

About the Author:
Edward Grant is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University, Bloomington