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Julius Caesar Scaliger, Renaissance Reformer of Aristotelianism
A Study of His Exotericae Exercitationes
Series: - Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy and Science, Volume: 26
Author:
This monograph is the first to analyze Julius Caesar Scaligerâs Exotericae Exercitationes (1557). Though hardly read today, the Exercitationes was one of the most successful philosophical treatises of the time, attracting considerable attention from many intellectuals with multifaceted religious and philosophical orientations. In order to make this massive late-Renaissance work accessible to modern readers, Kuni Sakamoto conducted a detailed textual analysis and revealed the basic tenets of Scaligerâs philosophy. His analysis also enabled him to clarify the historical provenance of Scaligerâs Aristotelianism and the way it subsequently influenced some of the protagonists of the âNew Philosophy.â The author thus bridges the historiographical gap between studies of Renaissance philosophy and those of the seventeenth-century.
Kuni Sakamoto, Ph.D. (2012) in history of science, University of Tokyo, is an affiliated researcher at the Center for the History of Philosophy and Science, Radboud University Nijmegen. He has published on early modern natural philosophy, with a particular focus on its interaction with theology and philology.
"Sakamoto has provided a very useful glimpse into the philosophical notions underpinning Scaligerâs system of thought, as well as a very welcome addition to the field."
- David A. Lines (University of Warwick), Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. LXX, No. 4, 1482-1483
Sakamotoâs book [...] presents central strands of Scaligerâs most important work in natural philosophy, a thousand-page critique of Girolamo Cardanoâs De Subtilitate, as a systematically integrated whole.
- Andreas Blank (Bard College Berlin), Journal of the History of Philosophy, 55:3 (July 2017), 543-544
- David A. Lines (University of Warwick), Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. LXX, No. 4, 1482-1483
Sakamotoâs book [...] presents central strands of Scaligerâs most important work in natural philosophy, a thousand-page critique of Girolamo Cardanoâs De Subtilitate, as a systematically integrated whole.
- Andreas Blank (Bard College Berlin), Journal of the History of Philosophy, 55:3 (July 2017), 543-544
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
1 Creation, the Trinity, and Prisca theologia 15
1 Introduction 15
2 God as Efficient Cause 16
3 Creatio ex nihilo 20
4 The Trinity 22
5 Prisca theologia 24
6 Conclusion 28
2 Against the World-Soul 32
1 Introduction 32
2 Godâs Triune Power 33
3 The Soul and Heat 37
4 Form, the Soul, and the Platonic Idea 42
5 Platonic Sublunary God and Aristotelian Nature 45
6 The Order and Unity of the World 47
7 Conclusion 51
3 The Best Possible World 53
1 Introduction 53
2 The Number of Species 55
3 The Possibility of a Better World 56
4 Humans in the Hierarchy of Being 60
5 The Completeness of the World 63
6 Conclusion 68
4 Void and Place 71
1 Introduction 71
2 Cardano, Averroes, and âRecent Philosophersâ 72
3 The Double Performance of Form 77
4 Place as Void 82
5 Against Aristotle and Scotus 84
6 Conclusion 86
5 Angels and Intelligences 88
1 Introduction 88
2 Cardano and the Naturalists 89
3 The Nature and Attributes of Intelligences 92
4 Celestial Movements and the Imitation of God 94
5 Cognition of Intelligences 98
6 Angelic Motion, Prime Matter, and the Value of Learning 103
7 On Copernicus and Melanchthon 106
8 Conclusion 108
6 Generation and Form 110
1 Introduction 110
2 Doctrinal Background 111
3 Criticism of Fernel 113
4 Spontaneous Generation 116
5 Generation from Seeds 118
6 Human Generation 123
7 The Formative and Informative Souls 125
8 Plastic Power 131
9 The Soul as the Divine Fifth Essence 135 10 Conclusion 142
7 Mixture 145
1 Introduction 145
2 Criticism of Avicenna 146
3 A New Definition of Mixture 149
4 Objections of Basson and Sennert 152
5 Form as Mixture 153
6 Creation of Mixtures 157
7 Scaliger and the Franciscan Tradition 160
8 Conclusion 162
General Conclusion 164
Bibliography 181
Index 208
Introduction 1
1 Creation, the Trinity, and Prisca theologia 15
1 Introduction 15
2 God as Efficient Cause 16
3 Creatio ex nihilo 20
4 The Trinity 22
5 Prisca theologia 24
6 Conclusion 28
2 Against the World-Soul 32
1 Introduction 32
2 Godâs Triune Power 33
3 The Soul and Heat 37
4 Form, the Soul, and the Platonic Idea 42
5 Platonic Sublunary God and Aristotelian Nature 45
6 The Order and Unity of the World 47
7 Conclusion 51
3 The Best Possible World 53
1 Introduction 53
2 The Number of Species 55
3 The Possibility of a Better World 56
4 Humans in the Hierarchy of Being 60
5 The Completeness of the World 63
6 Conclusion 68
4 Void and Place 71
1 Introduction 71
2 Cardano, Averroes, and âRecent Philosophersâ 72
3 The Double Performance of Form 77
4 Place as Void 82
5 Against Aristotle and Scotus 84
6 Conclusion 86
5 Angels and Intelligences 88
1 Introduction 88
2 Cardano and the Naturalists 89
3 The Nature and Attributes of Intelligences 92
4 Celestial Movements and the Imitation of God 94
5 Cognition of Intelligences 98
6 Angelic Motion, Prime Matter, and the Value of Learning 103
7 On Copernicus and Melanchthon 106
8 Conclusion 108
6 Generation and Form 110
1 Introduction 110
2 Doctrinal Background 111
3 Criticism of Fernel 113
4 Spontaneous Generation 116
5 Generation from Seeds 118
6 Human Generation 123
7 The Formative and Informative Souls 125
8 Plastic Power 131
9 The Soul as the Divine Fifth Essence 135 10 Conclusion 142
7 Mixture 145
1 Introduction 145
2 Criticism of Avicenna 146
3 A New Definition of Mixture 149
4 Objections of Basson and Sennert 152
5 Form as Mixture 153
6 Creation of Mixtures 157
7 Scaliger and the Franciscan Tradition 160
8 Conclusion 162
General Conclusion 164
Bibliography 181
Index 208
All interested in the history of philosophy, theology, and science, and anyone concerned with Renaissance humanism and the Reformation.