Gersonides : a portrait of a fourteenth-century philosopher-scientist / Ruth Glasner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Glasner, Ruth, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Levi ben Gershom, 1288-1344.

Levi ben Gershom.

Jewish philosophy.

Philosophy, Medieval.

Jewish philosophers--France.

Jewish philosophers.

France.

Physical Description:

xii, 139 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2015.

Summary:

Gersonides was a highly original Jewish philosopher, scientist and biblical exegete, active in Provence in the first half of the fourteenth century. Ruth Glasner explores his impressive achievements, and argues that the key to understanding his originality is his perspective as an applied mathematical scientist. It was this perspective that led him to examine Aristotelianism from directions different from those usually adopted by contemporary scholastic scholars. Gersonides started on his way, as he himself claims, as a 'mathematician, natural scientist, and philosopher', who believed in his power to solve the main problems of medieval science. He ended up concentrating on his work as a mathematical astronomer, developing techniques of observation and computation, and somewhat less optimistic about the prospect of scientific knowledge.

Contents:

1 Background: The State of the Applied Mathematical Sciences 1

1.1 Ptolemaic Astronomy was Incompatible with Aristode's Natural Science 2

1.2 Ptolemaic Cosmology did not 'Work' 3

1.3 Geometrical Optics was Incompatible with Aristode's Natural Science 5

1.4 The Applied Mathematical Sciences could not Qualify as Sciences by Aristotelian Standards 7

1.5 Applied Mathematical Sciences Ranked Low in the Hierarchy of the Sciences 9

2 Gersonides: Outline of a Scientific Biography 13

3 Physics: Breaking the Aristotelian Harmony 19

3.1 Refuting Premise A: Paving the Way to Eccentric Cosmology 20

3.2 Refuting Premise B: Motion is a Relative Concept 22

Note, Undercutting the Distinction between Natural Motion and Forced Motion 25

3.3 Refuting Premise C: Severing the Mover-moved Nexus 26

Note. The Prehistory of the Principle of Inertia 35

4 Cosmology: Examining the Assumption of Celestial Animation 39

4.1 Dismissing Ptolemy's Account of Transmission 40

Note. Refuting Ptolemy's Model of Propagation 42

4.2 Transmission by Contact in an Eccentric Universe 44

Note. The 'Two Mechanisms of Transmission 46

4.3 Separate Intellects are not Needed qua Movers 47

5 Method: Empiricism and the Examination of Hypotheses 51

5.1 Historical Perspective 51

5.2 Gersonides' Empiricism; Theory 54

5.3 Gersonides' Empiricism: Praxis 58

5.4 Gersonides' Method: Theory and lustincation 61

5.5 Gersonides' Method: Praxis 65

5.6 Summary 69

6 Metaphysics: Doubts and Reservations 71

6.1 Changing the Literary Genre 71

6.2 Doubts about Metaphysics 74

6.3 Redefining the Division of Sciences 75

7 Cosmology: The Science of Rays 81

7.1 Complexity and Creation 82

7.2 The Scientific Background: Traditional Astrology 84

7.3 The Scientific Background: Pseudo-Avicenna's Theory of Rays 85

7.4 The Divine Plan 88

7.5 The Six Premises of Gersonides' Science of the Stellar Influences 91

7.6 A Science of Combinations 94

8 Astronomy: Specialization and Hesitation 99

Concluding Remark: Gersonides and Western Science 105.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 109-129) and index.

ISBN:

9780198735861

0198735863

OCLC:

894201673