Roger Ariew
University of South Florida, Philosophy, Faculty Member
Nicolaus Steno studied medicine in his native Denmark, spent time in the Netherlands, where he befriended Baruch Spinoza, traveled to France, and then to Italy, and became Court Physician to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. In Italy, he... more
Nicolaus Steno studied medicine in his native Denmark, spent time in the Netherlands, where he befriended Baruch Spinoza, traveled to France, and then to Italy, and became Court Physician to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. In Italy, he converted to Catholicism, was ordained, and subsequently made a bishop; he spent the last years of his life in Germany, where he met GW Leibniz. Steno's skills in dissection were legendary.
There is a line of interpretation for Descartes' Meditations that treats the work as an attempt to construct a self-consistent unity, a geometrical whole whose structures can be revealed or whose elements can be shown as interconnected, a... more
There is a line of interpretation for Descartes' Meditations that treats the work as an attempt to construct a self-consistent unity, a geometrical whole whose structures can be revealed or whose elements can be shown as interconnected, a totality, however, that cannot fruitfully be analyzed by psychological or historical methods. The Meditations, it is asserted, resembles Euclid's geometry and to understand a given geometrical system it is necessary to grasp its demonstrations and its sequences.
I discuss some of Leibniz's pronouncements about fringe phenomena-various monsters; talking dogs; genies and prophets; unicorns, glossopetrae, and other games of nature-in order to understand better Leibniz's views on science and the role... more
I discuss some of Leibniz's pronouncements about fringe phenomena-various monsters; talking dogs; genies and prophets; unicorns, glossopetrae, and other games of nature-in order to understand better Leibniz's views on science and the role these curiosities play in his plans for scientific academies and societies.
There is a popular view that Descartes and Pascal were antagonists. I argue instead that Pascal was a Cartesian, in the manner of other Cartesians in the seventeenth century. That does not, of course, mean that Pascal accepted everything... more
There is a popular view that Descartes and Pascal were antagonists. I argue instead that Pascal was a Cartesian, in the manner of other Cartesians in the seventeenth century. That does not, of course, mean that Pascal accepted everything Descartes asserted, given that there were Cartesian atomists, for example, when Descartes was a plenist and anti-atomist.
Perspectives on Science 2004, vol. 12, no. 2�� 2004 by The Massachusetts Institute of Technology him, for I hold that there is no other way to discover the truth. But he continually digresses, and does not take time to explain matters... more
Perspectives on Science 2004, vol. 12, no. 2�� 2004 by The Massachusetts Institute of Technology him, for I hold that there is no other way to discover the truth. But he continually digresses, and does not take time to explain matters fully. This, in my view, is a mistake: it shows that he has not investigated matters in an orderly way, and has merely sought explanations of some particular effects, without going into the primary causes in nature; hence his building lacks a foundation.
There are numerous references in contemporary sociology of science to a thesis called the underdetermination of theories-that there are in principle an indefinite number of theories that fit the observed facts more or less... more
There are numerous references in contemporary sociology of science to a thesis called the underdetermination of theories-that there are in principle an indefinite number of theories that fit the observed facts more or less adequately-attributed to Pierre Duhem and Willard Van Orman Quine (cf., for example, David Bloor [1981], Karin Knorr-Cetina [1983], and Andrew Pickering [1980]).
BOOK REVIEWS 677 conclusion of an argument that it" is necessarily true each time that I pronounce it, or that 1 mentally conceive it"(161 ff.). Despite my conviction that Judovitz does not establish the primacy of literary and rhetorical... more
BOOK REVIEWS 677 conclusion of an argument that it" is necessarily true each time that I pronounce it, or that 1 mentally conceive it"(161 ff.). Despite my conviction that Judovitz does not establish the primacy of literary and rhetorical modes in the genesis, maintenance, and discursive limitations of Cartesian dualism, I recommend her book to scholars compla-cently dependent on traditional contexts of Cartesian interpretation.
R��SUM��: Les critiques de Descartes au XVIIe si��cle ne gravitaient pas, comme aujourd'hui, autour du cogito, de/'ego et de questions d'ordre ��pist��mologique. Elles ��taient dirig��es, de mani��re pr��dominante, contre ses doctrines... more
R��SUM��: Les critiques de Descartes au XVIIe si��cle ne gravitaient pas, comme aujourd'hui, autour du cogito, de/'ego et de questions d'ordre ��pist��mologique. Elles ��taient dirig��es, de mani��re pr��dominante, contre ses doctrines m��taphysiques. Le cogito a fait tout de m��me l'objet de critiques par certains philosophes du XVIIe si��cle, qui sont relativement peu connues, parfois remarquables, et qu'on examine ici.
L'histoire qui suscite le plus l'imagination quand on parle d'Aristote au dix-septi��me si��cle est celle qui raconte que Cesare Cremonini a refus�� de regarder dans le t��lescope de Galil��e. Cette histoire rappelle celle de l'autruche... more
L'histoire qui suscite le plus l'imagination quand on parle d'Aristote au dix-septi��me si��cle est celle qui raconte que Cesare Cremonini a refus�� de regarder dans le t��lescope de Galil��e. Cette histoire rappelle celle de l'autruche qui, enfon��ant la t��te dans le sable, refuse de voir l'in��vitable en croyant qu'il ne se passera rien tant qu'on ne voit rien. Elle prend une ampleur particuli��re du fait de la r��putation de Cremonini, philosophe renomm�� de Padoue en 1610,���le plus grand aristot��licien d'Italie, et peut-��tre d'Europe��� jusqu'en 16311.
T��TULO: Descartes et le Moyen Age: actes du colloque organis����� la Sorbonne du 4 au 7 juin 1996 par le Centre d'Histoire des Sciences et des Philosophies Arabes et M��di��vales (URA 1085, CNRS/��PH��)��� l'occasion du quatri��me... more
T��TULO: Descartes et le Moyen Age: actes du colloque organis����� la Sorbonne du 4 au 7 juin 1996 par le Centre d'Histoire des Sciences et des Philosophies Arabes et M��di��vales (URA 1085, CNRS/��PH��)��� l'occasion du quatri��me centenaire de la naissance de Descartes AUTOR: Biard, Jo��� l
Philosophy and science, as well as their respective histories, are not recognized as distinct genres until relatively late in Western philosophy. Even when they are thought to be distinct genres, neither can be written independently of... more
Philosophy and science, as well as their respective histories, are not recognized as distinct genres until relatively late in Western philosophy. Even when they are thought to be distinct genres, neither can be written independently of the other, occasional protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.