Aristotle, Descartes and the New Science: Natural philosophy at the University of Paris, 1600–1740

Brockliss, Laurence

doi:10.1080/00033798100200111

Cited by 94 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…That university curricula might be indicative of theory acceptance is acknowledged by Schmitt ( 1973 ), pp. 163, 176;Brockliss ( 1981 ), p. 35; Sturm and Gigerenzer ( 2006 ), p. 146. as trustworthy as encyclopaedias, textbooks too are typically written with the objective of presenting the current state of knowledge in a particular fi eld. When we open a contemporary physics textbook, for example, what we normally expect to fi nd is an account of currently accepted physical theories, i.e.…”

Section: Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Laws of Scientific Change

Barseghyan¹

2015

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Section: Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Laws of Scientific Change

Barseghyan¹

2015

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“…In an article I published in the Annals of Science in 1981, I used surviving course transcriptions and the printed abstracts of student theses to chart for the first time the history of natural philosophical teaching in these colleges across the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, to see how quickly and in what way they responded to the ideas and discoveries of the new science (Brockliss 1981). The primary conclusion of my research was unambiguous -and has only been confirmed by my subsequent investigations (e.g., Brockliss 1987, ch.…”

Section: The Turning Pointmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Moment of No Return: The University of Paris and the Death of Aristotelianism

Brockliss¹

2006

Sci Educ

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Aristotelianism remained the dominant influence on the course of natural philosophy taught at the University of Paris until the 1690s, when it was swiftly replaced by Cartesianism. The change was not one wanted by church or state and can only be understood by developments within the wider University. On the one hand, the opening of a new college, the Colle`ge de Mazarin, provided an environment in which the mechanical philosophy could flourish. On the other, divisions within the French Catholic Church between Augustinians and Molinists led to Cartesianism finding support within an important section of the faculty of theology, which was the traditional guardian of philosophical orthodoxy. The conversion of the University of Paris to Cartesianism had important consequences. It encouraged similar changes to the natural philosophical curriculum throughout France and affected the structure and raison d'eˆtre of the Acade´mie des Sciences.As in the late middle ages, the science of physics in 17th-and 18th-century France was normally taught as one part of a quadripartite course of philosophy. In contrast to the earlier period, however, institutionalized philosophy teaching after 1600 was no longer provided by a university faculty of arts. Instead, the subject was taught in one of 150 colle`ges de plein exercice. These were schools established in most of the large towns of France in the course of the sixteenth century to offer tuition in the Latin and Greek humanities, a new field of study promoted all over Europe by Renaissance humanists to replace traditional propaedeutic courses in Latin grammar. Over time, in France if not usually elsewhere, these new schools added to their remit the task of teaching philosophy, which was studied once the humanities course had been completed, and the faculties of arts became simply examining boards. Some of the schools were located in the old residential colleges of France's sixteen universities but most were new. Most, too, whatever had been the case in the sixteenth century, ended up by being taken over by the regular orders, especially the Jesuits. The only large block of colle`ges de plein exercice outside the regulars' control were the ten attached to the University of Paris, historically the most important centre of philosophy teaching in Latin Christendom. The philosophy course in all these colle`ges de plein exercice was always two years in length. Students would begin by studying logic and ethics, then proceed to physics and metaphysics, though increasingly from 1650 natural philosophy would be taught last and take up Science & Education (2006) 15:259-278 Ó Springer 2006

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Platonism and Philosophical Humanism on the Continent

Mercer¹

2008

A Companion to Early Modern Philosophy

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Aristotle, Descartes and the New Science: Natural philosophy at the University of Paris, 1600–1740

Cited by 94 publications

References 8 publications

The Laws of Scientific Change

The Laws of Scientific Change

The Moment of No Return: The University of Paris and the Death of Aristotelianism

Platonism and Philosophical Humanism on the Continent

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