Motion, Space, and Early Modern Re-formations of the Cosmos: Nicholas of Cusaâs Anima Mundi and Henry Moreâs Spirit of Nature

Nathan R. Strunk

Jump to Content

Chapter 11 Motion, Space, and Early Modern Re-formations of the Cosmos: Nicholas of Cusaâs Anima Mundi and Henry Moreâs Spirit of Nature

äºNicholas of Cusa and the Making of the Early Modern World

èèï¼

Nathan R. Strunk

Nathan R. Strunk
Search for other papers by Nathan R. Strunk in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

ç±»å:: ç« è

Page Range:: 307â336

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004385689_013

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

â¬42.00â¬35.00Â excl. VAT

Add to Cart

æ¾åè®¿é®ä»¤ç

In the early modern period theologians reformulated the relation of God in the cosmos to accommodate dramatic shifts in understanding the nature of motion and space brought about by the rise of modern science. An instance of such reform can already be found in Nicholas of Cusa (c. 1401â1464), who was one of the first to respond to the collapse of a stable, geocentric universe that had been replaced by an incessantly moving decentered one. In Book ii of De docta ignorantia, Cusa transposes the Platonic notion of anima mundi into a doctrine of divine omnipresence understood as the moving, living interrelationship of all things. Cusa variously defines âworld-soulâ as life-giving form, a connecting necessity, an animating principle, and a holism holding the world together. With each of these definitions, Cusa upholds that the living dynamism of divine presence in the world remains consistent with a physical universe in unceasing motion. Two hundred years after Cusa, Henry More (1614â1687) likewise sought to rethink the relationship between God and the cosmos by advancing a doctrine of divine omnipresence that he calls the âuniversal soul of the worldâ or the âSpirit of nature.â More revises and challenges Descartesâ conception of space (res extensa) in order to counter Hobbesâ closed, mechanical, and materialistic conception of the world. For More, Spirit like space is extended through the whole cosmos as the principle of its motion, form, and inter-connectionÂ â a divine extension mediating the living, vital presence of God within the cosmos much as the soul does the body. In their own ways and for different ends, Cusa and More both transpose the Platonic conception of world-soul in order to reformulate cosmologies that can accommodate and respond to changes in understanding the world initiated by early modern science. Whereas some found in science an occasion to separate God from the world, Cusa and More saw an opportunity to re-form the cosmos and thereby reaffirm the divine living, interconnection âholding together the cosmic frame.â

å¼ç¨ä¿¡æ¯

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share Link

Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789004385689/BP000015.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Nicholas of Cusa and the Making of the Early Modern World

ä¸ç¼ï¼ Studies in the History of Christian Traditions, å·ï¼ 190

ISBN:: 9789004385689

åºçç¤¾:: Brill

å°å·åºçæ¥æ:: 02 Jan 2019

Subjects

ç»è®¡æ°æ®

	å¨é¨æé´	è¿å»ä¸å¹´	è¿å»30å¤©
æè¦æµè§æ¬¡æ°	279	70	8
å¨ææµè§æ¬¡æ°	13	1	0
PDFä¸è½½æ¬¡æ°	26	1	0

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

AppBar-Authors 2025

AppBar-Open Access 2025

AppBar-Product Information 2025

AppBar-Company 2025

AppBar-Contact 2025

Chapter 11 Motion, Space, and Early Modern Re-formations of the Cosmos: Nicholas of Cusaâs Anima Mundi and Henry Moreâs Spirit of Nature

å¼ç¨ä¿¡æ¯

Share Link

Nicholas of Cusa and the Making of the Early Modern World

ç®å½

ç»è®¡æ°æ®

ç»è®¡æ°æ®

Chapter 11 Motion, Space, and Early Modern Re-formations of the Cosmos: Nicholas of Cusaâs Anima Mundi and Henry Moreâs Spirit of Nature

å¼ç¨ä¿¡æ¯

ç»è®¡æ°æ®