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  • © 2011

Honoré Fabri and the Concept of Impetus: A Bridge between Conceptual Frameworks

Authors:

  • Cohen Institute prize winner - daring and highly original. A new interpretation of a Jesuit physical theory hitherto deemed dogmatic and reactionary
  • A description how Scientific Revolution ideas settled in the lion’s den of Catholic education
  • A depiction of an Aristotelian physical framework incorporating “new science” cornerstones

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science (BSPS, volume 288)

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Table of contents (19 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxix
  2. Basic Concepts

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction: The Primacy of Impetus

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 3-7
    3. Methodology and Main Texts

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 9-16
    4. Motion

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 17-29
    5. Impetus

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 31-45
  3. Natural Motion

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 61-61
    2. Fabri and the “Second Galilean Affair”

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 63-66
    3. Criticizing Aristotle

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 67-78
    4. The Law of Natural Numbers

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 79-86
    5. Fabri’s Discrete Analysis

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 87-96
    6. The Assimilation of Galileo’s Theory

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 97-105
    7. Fabri’s Assimilation Strategies

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 107-117
  4. Violent Motion

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 119-119
    2. Fabri and Conservation of Rectilinear Motion

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 121-125
    3. Motion in the Void

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 135-155
    4. The Inherent Linearity of Impetus

      • Michael Elazar
      Pages 157-168

About this book

This book discusses the impetus-based physics of the Jesuit natural philosopher and mathematician Honoré Fabri (1608-1688), a senior representative of Jesuit scientists during the period between Galileo's death (1642) and Newton's Principia (1687). It shows how Fabri, while remaining loyal to a general Aristotelian outlook, managed to reinterpret the old concept of “impetus” in such a way as to assimilate into his physics building blocks of modern science, like Galileo’s law of fall and Descartes’ principle of inertia. This account of Fabri’s theory is a novel one, since his physics is commonly considered as a dogmatic rejection of the New Science, not essentially different from the medieval impetus theory. This book shows how New Science principles were taught in Jesuit Colleges in the 1640s, thus depicting the sophisticated manner in which new ideas were settling within the lion’s den of Catholic education.

Authors and Affiliations

  • History of Science, Max Planck Institute for the, Berlin, Germany

    Michael Elazar

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access