Nature, art, and psyche: Jung, Pauli, and the Kepler–Fludd polemic

Westman, Robert S.

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511572999.007

Cited by 18 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The fact that Fludd chose to convey various aspects of musical fundamentals in the form of an illustration confirms his alignment with the occult tradition, where the affinity for images pointed to the mysterious and magical relationship that was believed to exist between words, pictures, and thoughts. 30 As Hauge has chronicled in detail, most of the contents of Fludd's temple are drawn from other sources. For example, the well-known legend of Pythagoras at the blacksmith's is depicted in the bottom left corner of the structure, 31 and the black-and-white triangle of consonant and dissonant intervals is a compositional aid that Thomas Morley had used in his A Plaine and Easie Introduction of 1597.…”

Section: The Temple Of Musicmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Inaudible Music of the Renaissance: From Marsilio Ficino to Robert Fludd

Giles¹

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article revaluates the significance of musical treatises written by the Ficinian physician Robert Fludd (1574–1637). By reconsidering the implications of Fludd’s interpretation of Marsilio Ficino’s musical philosophy, I propose that his “reconstruction” of the Renaissance outlook in the seventeenth century is not merely a backward-looking oddity, but is rather indicative of a long-standing and pervasive history of inaudible music (i.e., the “silent” harmony of the universe and of the human body). Music played a central role in Fludd’s polemics with the scientists Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) and Marin Mersenne (1588–1648), regarding not the composition of art music but rather the understanding of the composition of the universe itself. The societal tensions evident in Fludd’s musical books reveal that it is not only musical practice but also broad scientific, medical, and philosophical conceptions of sound that comprise musical understanding in the early seventeenth century. Cet article propose de réévaluer la signification des traités de musique du médecin ficinien Robert Fludd (1574–1637). En reconsidérant ce qu’implique l’interprétation par Fludd de la philosophie musicale de Marsile Ficin, il avance que cette « reconstruction » d’une perspective issue de la Renaissance au XVIIe siècle ne correspond pas seulement à un excentrique retour en arrière; elle réfère plutôt à la longue et omniprésente histoire de cette musique inaudible qu’est l’harmonie des sphères (comprise comme harmonie silencieuse de l’univers et du corps humain). La musique a en effet joué un rôle important dans les échanges polémiques entre Fludd, Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) et Marin Mersenne (1588–1648), qui ne portent pas tant sur la composition musicale que sur la compréhension de la composition de l’univers lui-même. Les tensions sociétales, bien perceptibles dans les traités de musique de Fludd, montrent qu’au delà de la pratique musicale, c’est une conception scientifique générale, médicale et philosophique qu’engage la pensée musicale du début du XVIIe siècle.

show abstract

Section: The Temple Of Musicmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Inaudible Music of the Renaissance: From Marsilio Ficino to Robert Fludd

Giles¹

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is perhaps worth noting a parallel here, which is the Kepler -Fludd debate. 46 Kepler claimed that there was nothing mystical in his geometric/ harmonic account of the universe and dissociated himself from Fludd's views which he felt were too symbolic, mystical and were insufficiently precise.…”

Section: -Macrocosm and Microcosmmentioning

confidence: 99%

William Harvey, Aristotle and astrology

Gregory¹

2013

Br J Hist Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper I argue that William Harvey believed in a form of astrology. It has long been known that Harvey employed a macrocosm–microcosm analogy and used alchemical terminology in describing how the two types of blood change into one another. This paper then seeks to examine a further aspect of Harvey in relation to the magical tradition. There is an important corollary to this line of thought, however. This is that while Harvey does have a belief in astrology, it is strongly related to Aristotle's views in this area and is quite restricted and attenuated relative to some contemporary beliefs in astrology. This suggests a more general thesis. While Harvey was amenable to ideas which we associate with the natural magic tradition, those ideas had a very broad range of formulation and there was a limit to how far he would accept them. This limit was largely determined by Harvey's adherence to Aristotle's natural philosophy and his Christian beliefs. I argue that this is also the case in relation to Harvey's use of the macrocosm–microcosm analogy and of alchemical terminology, and, as far as we can rely on the evidence, this informs his attitudes towards witches as well. Understanding Harvey's influences and motives here is important in placing him properly in the context of early seventeenth-century thought.

show abstract

“…The London physician and chymical philosopher Robert Fludd used images as emblems representing the mysteries of hermeticism that he would interpret for the reader (Fludd 1617;Debus 1966;Godwin 1979;Westman 1984). Fludd's rich use of cosmogonic sections established important visual conventions for subsequent representations of the Earth, including the quarter section and double hemisections explored by Magruder (2006).…”

Section: Robert Fludd: Hexameral Idiom and Cosmogonic Sectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The idiom of a six day creation and global depictions in Theories of the Earth

Magruder

2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the 17th century, in a new contested tradition known as Theories of the Earth, conventions for the visual representation of the Earth as a whole developed alongside the expression of biblical idiom. Global depictions carried embedded biblical idiom that shaped the formulation of questions, the development of theories, and the exchange of discoveries and ideas.In several examples I contrast the varying ways in which biblical idiom was expressed within global depictions, particularly hexameral idiom (i.e. the language of the six day creation in Genesis 1). I discuss the Jesuit mathematician Gabriele Beati and meteorological and cosmic sections; the cosmogonic sections and hexameral idiom of Robert Fludd; the geogonic sections and hexameral idiom of René Descartes; the apocalyptic idiom of Thomas Burnet; and the global depictions and hexameral idiom of William Whiston in the controversy over Burnet. Biblical and particularly hexameral idiom proved durable and versatile for more than a century after Fludd, and facilitated the development of a directionalist sense of Earth history. The continuities of visual conventions, the durability of hexameral idiom, and the contrasts of disciplinary perspectives and local contexts observed in the examples considered here conform well to the characterization of Theories of the Earth as a contested print tradition.

show abstract

Nature, art, and psyche: Jung, Pauli, and the Kepler–Fludd polemic

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

The Inaudible Music of the Renaissance: From Marsilio Ficino to Robert Fludd

The Inaudible Music of the Renaissance: From Marsilio Ficino to Robert Fludd

William Harvey, Aristotle and astrology

The idiom of a six day creation and global depictions in Theories of the Earth

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About