Scientific Revolution

Roger Bacon (c. 1220-1292) was one of the earliest commentators on Aristotle's Parva naturalia. In his De sensu commentary, composed in the 1240s, one finds an extensive discussion on the definition and reality of colour. The established division of Bacon's works is in two: the early period of his Paris lectures and the mature period. The later is characterised by an intense occupation with optics, and by the elaboration of his theory of the multiplication of species. Bacon's most thorough discussion of colour is found in his questions on De sensu, which is considered an early work, although it shows marks of a later revision. 1 I present this discussion and its resulting extremely realistic theory of colour in another paper. 2 In this chapter, I examine the ways by which Bacon's interest in optics and the development of the theory of the multiplication of species in his so-called 'mature' writings affected his conception of colour. The most salient feature of his mature interest in colour is the distinction between real and apparent colours, which is the focus of this chapter. This distinction touches the core philosophical conundrum of the validity of sensation in general, and with it, of our ability to properly distinguish between reality and appearance. When cast in the context of our colour experience, the following problem is at stake: do colours inhere in things independently of their relations to light and perceivers, or are they rather a subjective experience? Bacon is firmly grounded within the Aristotelian tradition, which takes colours to have real existence in the world. 3 However, not all colour-experiences are equal, and a demarcation is required between those that can be trusted and those that cannot. This chapter concerns the components of that demarcation, as conceived by Bacon. The chapter begins with a short presentation of the essentials of Bacon's De sensu theory of colour, especially its differentiating criterion between real and apparent colours. It then examines its modifications in his mature period of work. It first addresses Bacon's analysis of the phenomenon of the rainbow and similar phenomena in which a bow of colours appear. Bacon formulates his distinction between real and apparent colours within the frame of this discussion. The influence of the development of his theory of the multiplication of species upon his theory of colour is examined next along with various

This work starts giving a short introduction about woodworking and devotes the second chapter to collecting and commenting historical sources dealing with wood used in stringed keyboard instruments. In the following part, looking both at sources and extant instruments, an approximate atlas of the wood types used in various building traditions is sketched; natural range and features of the most important trees used in soundboards are also given. A special kind of clavichord has been designed and built to test different soundboard materials without changing strings and bridge: pictures, together with a description of the instrument's genesis and technical features are provided in the fourth chapter. Physical measurements of the wood used in the sample soundboards and spectrum analysis of the recorded sound complete the work.

From the beginning of his studies, Johannes Kepler recognized the need for a mechanical model to represent Copernicus' revolutionary cosmology in a simplified manner. In 1618, in his Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae he emphasized the importance of astronomical machines and clocks in promoting the Copernican model and aiding scientists in their celestial calculations. During his time in Graz in 1598, Kepler proposed to Duke Friederich I von Württemberg the idea of creating a cup adorned with a model of his Platonic Solid theory of the solar system as a way to honor him. However, he eventually abandoned this idea and wrote a detailed description of a mechanical planetarium, which he sent to his mentor, Michael Mästlin. This second project was also abandoned, and Kepler's idea was forgotten. In this paper I present a translation of Kepler's original design and a hypothetical three-dimensional virtual reconstruction of his mechanical planetarium.

Johann Adam Schall von Bell und die Jesuitenmission in China: Es lohnt sich, sich mit Leben und Wirken dieses facettenreichen, vielseitig begabten Mannes näher zu befassen und die Leserschaft mit einer der größten Missionarspersönlichkeiten und bedeutendsten europäischen Gelehrten der Frühen Neuzeit in China bekannt zu machen.

Book description: This book is an essential guide for anyone inquiring about the present and future place of science in humankind's destiny. The subject is the the history and explanation of modern physics. Every so often science moves by large leaps, sometimes spurred by the realization that the commonly held beliefs of the day need revising.One such great change occurred at the turn of the twentieth century, when there was a revolution in modern scientific thinking. Here the genius and ironies behind those discoveries are described. This book has great clarity and removes the shrouds of mystery, which envelop one of contemporary science's greatest challenges. It finds answers to the deepest questions of modern phsyics and ultimately describes a unified design of the Universe, which has truth beauty and symmetry.

English translation of “Il telescopio di Galileo” (Einaudi, 2012), with Michele Camerota and Franco Giudice.

Between 1608 and 1610 the canopy of the night sky changed forever, ripped open by an object created almost by accident: a cylinder with lenses at both ends. Galileo’s Telescope tells the story of how an ingenious optical device evolved from a toy-like curiosity into a precision scientific instrument, all in a few years. In transcending the limits of human vision, the telescope transformed humanity’s view of itself and knowledge of the cosmos.

Galileo plays a leading—but by no means solo—part in this riveting tale. He shares the stage with mathematicians, astronomers, and theologians from Paolo Sarpi to Johannes Kepler and Cardinal Bellarmine, sovereigns such as Rudolph II and James I, as well as craftsmen, courtiers, poets, and painters. Starting in the Netherlands, where a spectacle-maker created a spyglass with the modest magnifying power of three, the telescope spread like technological wildfire to Venice, Rome, Prague, Paris, London, and ultimately India and China. Galileo’s celestial discoveries—hundreds of stars previously invisible to the naked eye, lunar mountains, and moons orbiting Jupiter—were announced to the world in his revolutionary treatise Sidereus Nuncius.

Combining science, politics, religion, and the arts, Galileo’s Telescope rewrites the early history of a world-shattering innovation whose visual power ultimately came to embody meanings far beyond the science of the stars.

Questo libro racconta di un delitto. Tutto comincia ed esplode tra il 1608 e il 1610, quando il cielo che si credeva di conoscere viene distrutto. Quando il cielo contemplato da Omero e Ovidio, da Aristotele e Tolomeo, da Dante e Tommaso d'Aquino, viene definitivamente cancellato.
Spesso descritta in modo lineare e al limite della banalità, l’invenzione del telescopio assume qui, grazie anche alla pubblicazione di numerose lettere e documenti d’archivio inediti, i tratti di una storia piú complicata e sofferta, dove in primo piano non c’è solo Galileo. Con lui, protagonisti sono matematici, astronomi, filosofi e teologi come Paolo Sarpi, Johannes Kepler e il cardinale Bellarmino, ma anche artigiani, uomini di corte, ambasciatori, nunzi pontifici e sovrani come Rodolfo II, Enrico IV e Giacomo I, insieme a poeti e artisti della levatura di John Donne e Jan Brueghel. Una storia avvincente, raccontata istante per istante, dove la potenza visiva del nuovo strumento finí per incarnare significati che andavano ben oltre la scienza degli astri. La metafora dell’«occhiale dalla vista lunga» era troppo seducente e scandalosa per restare racchiusa dentro i confini di un semplice avviso astronomico.

Nous sommes dans les dernières années du seizième siècle ; une nouvelle époque, plus dure, s'ouvre pour la culture européenne. Une infime minorité de philosophes et de mathématiciens a entrepris de jeter les fondements d’une nouvelle constitution de l’univers. La genèse de cette recherche et ses premiers progrès sont reconstruits dans ce livre à travers l’histoire intellectuelle et humaine de deux personnages majeurs de la modernité : Galilée (1564-1642) et Kepler (1571-1630).
Les deux savants ne sont pas simplement présentés dans leurs rôles de « pionnier » et de « vainqueur ». Ce livre nous les montre aussi en train d'élaborer une nouvelle physique et une nouvelle astronomie. On les voit aux prises avec les observations célestes mais aussi avec d'épineuses questions religieuses et politiques qui étaient indissociables de leurs projets et de leurs stratégies intellectuelles. Dans les mondes séparés et ennemis où il leur fallait bien vivre, Kepler et Galilée ont subi les injures des hommes de leur temps : Kepler a été excommunié par l'Église luthérienne pour ses idées calvinistes sur l'Eucharistie, Galilée a été condamné à la prison à vie par l'Église de Rome pour sa scandaleuse défense de l'héliocentrisme. L'ouvrage propose enfin un voyage passionnant dans l'Europe de la révolution scientifique.

A Editora Fi segue orientação da política de distribuição e compartilhamento da Creative Commons Atribuição-CompartilhaIgual 4.0 Internacional Dados Internacionais de Catalogação na Publicação (CIP) P667c Pires, Guilherme Nunes Clash of sciences: from Aristotle to the scientific revolution [recurso eletrônico] / Guilherme Nunes Pires. -Cachoeirinha : Fi, 2024. 95p.

With the advent of the theory of irreversible processes to replace equilibrium thermodynamics, it became obvious that the so-called "radiant equilibrium" is in fact a consequence of the equality of the flows of absorbed and radiated energy. This forces us to reconsider the rationale for the law of radiation given by M. Planck on the basis of the concept of thermal equilibrium of the radiator with the cavity of an absolutely black body and on a number of related postulates that contradict classical physics. The article shows that the consideration of radiation from the standpoint of non-equilibrium thermodynamics as a stationary process does not require quantization of energy as a function of state, the introduction of the Planck constant and the involvement of considerations of a quantum mechanical nature. In this case, radiation appears as a process of modulation in a luminiferous medium of oscillations with a frequency characteristic of the emitter, and the subsequent transfer of this excitation to the radiation receiver, and a single wave, and not a particle called a photon, becomes a true quantum of radiation. The value of this quantum is found and the possibility of overcoming in this way a number of existing difficulties in understanding and explaining the observed optical phenomena is shown. Аннотация С приходом теории необратимых процессов на смену равновесной термодинамике стало очевидным, что так называемое «лучистое равновесие» является в действительности следствием равенства потоков поглощаемой и излучаемой энергии. Это вынуждает пересмотреть обоснование закона излучения, данное М. Планком на основе представлений о тепловом равновесии излучателя с полостью абсолютно чёрного тела и на ряде связанных с этим постулатов, противоречащих классической физике. В статье показано, что рассмотрение излучения с позиций неравновесной термодинамики как стационарного процесса не требует квантования энергии как функции состояния, введения постоянной Планка и привлечения соображений квантово-механического характера. При этом излучение предстаёт как процесс модуляции в светоносной среде колебаний с частотой, свойственной излучателю, и последующего переноса ею этого возбуждения к приёмнику излучения, а истинным квантом излучения становится одиночная волна, а не частица, именуемая фотоном. Найдена величина этого кванта и показана возможность преодоления таким путем ряда существующих трудностей в понимании и объяснении наблюдаемых оптических явлений.

For good and for ill, the new form of natural science that developed out of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century is one of the most important influences on the modern world. It is, thus, of great importance to examine the Scientific Revolution, and to attempt to disentangle its achievements from its questionable philosophical assumptions.

Modern cosmology often treats consciousness as a byproduct of material evolution. However, in this new framework, Primal Consciousness is regarded as a foundational entity, existing prior to space, time, and matter. • Essence: Primal Consciousness is Absolute Balance between dynamic and static, yin and yang, existing in a state of non-manifestation.

The Peruvian clavichord MIM 3385, housed in the Brussels Musical Instruments Museum, shares many features with the Lima clavichord, suggesting a common European origin. Despite its archaic design, carbon-14 dating of the wood places its construction between 1660 and 1820, raising questions about its age and suggesting it may be a reconstruction of an earlier model. The instrument’s construction shows a mix of expertise and deficiencies, particularly in its musical aspects.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis paradigma Cartesian-Newtonian dan paradigma Thomas Kuhn dalam disiplin filsafat ilmu, serta mengkaji pergeseran yang terjadi di antara keduanya. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan metode studi pustaka (library research). Data diperoleh dari sumber primer berupa artikel jurnal, e-book, dan media internet, serta sumber sekunder seperti prosiding, majalah, koran, dan situs ilmiah seperti Scopus dan Science. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui klasifikasi literatur yang relevan, kemudian dianalisis menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif. Penelitian ini merujuk pada beberapa karya seperti Hermawan (2009) mengenai filsafat pendidikan Islam, Rahmawati dkk. (2024) tentang teori dan paradigma pengetahuan, Salam (2014) mengenai pemikiran kritis Mulyadhi Kartanegara, dan Utomo (2016) terkait konsep berhukum ideal. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa paradigma Cartesian-Newtonian dipengaruhi oleh pemikiran Rene Descartes dan Isaac Newton, yang menekankan pada asumsi ontologis dan epistemologis tentang dunia yang bersifat tetap dan terukur. Sementara itu, paradigma Thomas Kuhn menekankan pentingnya tahapan perubahan paradigma dan memandang ilmu dalam kerangka aksiologis. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini menyatakan bahwa pergeseran paradigma mencerminkan pandangan bahwa dunia bersifat dinamis dan dipengaruhi oleh unsur ontologis, epistemologis, dan aksiologis secara menyeluruh.

This paper proposes a novel architecture for building a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer in outer space. Current quantum computing technologies are limited by cooling challenges, noise, radiation, and scalability. We suggest the design of a Quantum Space Station that leverages the natural cold environment of space (2.7 K) as a pre-cooling layer. The system integrates deionized water for thermal buffering, advanced cryogenic cooling to milliKelvin levels, radiation shielding, and vibration isolation. Ground-based classical control units transmit operations to the space-based processor, and results are returned via optical communication links. This architecture could enable the realization of a million logical qubit quantum computer, which is beyond the feasible capacity of terrestrial cooling systems.

L'erboristeria astrologica, nella sua essenza più profonda, non è semplicemente una pratica terapeutica, ma un sistema cosmologico completo, una Weltanschauung che postula un universo risonante e simpatetico. È un paradigma in cui il macrocosmo celeste – i movimenti, le nature e le influenze dei pianeti e delle stelle – si specchia e agisce sul microcosmo terrestre, manifestandosi nel regno vegetale e nel corpo umano. Questa disciplina si fonda su un principio fondamentale: l'universo è un unico organismo vivente, unificato e interconnesso, le cui parti comunicano attraverso una rete di corrispondenze occulte, o nascoste. Comprendere queste corrispondenze significa decifrare la firma di Dio sulla creazione e acquisire la capacità di ripristinare l'armonia, e quindi la salute, nell'essere umano.

This paper looks at the way in which the author came to meet Stephen Gaukroger and, over a period of thirteen years, developed a friendship, which left a long-lasting mark on him. Such mark has not been left on a human level only (a level that is not discussed), but it has developed on a decisive intellectual influence on the author despite their somewhat differing scholarly inclinations.

Este artículo aborda un problema nuevo y difícil: la manera como un fenómeno o sistema simple o lineal puede ser transformado gracias a la geometría de fractales en un sistema o fenómeno complejo. En este sentido, el contexto es el de las ciencias de la complejidad. El problema es altamente significativo, pues de manera general siempre se ha dicho que la complejidad trata, entre otros, con comportamientos no-lineales. Método: El método es eminentemente teórico. En la bibliografía especializada el problema nunca se ha trabajado, y si sí, cómo un sistema simple o complicado puede ser cambiado en uno complejo o no-lineal. Resultados: Los resultados indican que es posible abordar el problema y resolverlo satisfactoriamente, atendiendo a los más destacados antecedentes en la materia. Se presentan varios argumentos que remiten entre otros a G. Julia y Mandelbrot. Conclusiones: La conclusión es que la geometría de fractales suministra bases suficientes para estudiar la transformación estudiada. Así, la importancia teórica y práctica del problema considerado puede extenderse a numerosos campos; aquí se explora y se muestra, por primera vez, cómo dicha transformación es posible.

The technologies powering quantum chips—from superconducting circuits to photonics—each have unique strengths. As research advances, hybrid approaches may combine the best features of each, paving the way for practical, scalable quantum computing. Learn more in Fundamentals of Quantum Chips by Tonex.

This paper examines the intellectual shift in Greek philosophy before and after the emergence of Socrates in the 5th century BCE. Pre-Socratic thinkers such as Thales, Anaximander, and Heraclitus primarily explored cosmology, metaphysics, and the principles underlying the natural world. Their inquiries laid important foundations but were often speculative and cosmological in focus. Socrates introduced a radical departure by redirecting philosophical inquiry toward human nature, ethics, and epistemology, emphasizing self-examination, rational questioning, and the pursuit of virtue. His method of dialogue and critical questioning—later termed the Socratic method—challenged traditional assumptions and made philosophy more accessible and practical. The influence of Socrates profoundly shaped subsequent philosophical traditions, with Plato elaborating on metaphysical concepts such as the Forms, and Aristotle developing a systematic, empirical approach to knowledge. Drawing also on Francis Macdonald Cornford’s Before and After Socrates, this paper highlights how Socrates transformed philosophy from speculative cosmology to ethical inquiry and rational epistemology, establishing a legacy that continues to define Western philosophical thought.

In this paper a dynamic model for the demonstration of planetary motion is described. It is a rubber membrane strained on a ring and pulled down in its middle. The planets' of the model are small balls moving on the rubber surface. The force acting on the balls is inversely proportional to the distance from the centre so only Kepler's second law is valid for the motion of the balls. The velocity hodograph of the Kepler motion is analysed theoretically and experimen

Apresenta-se, em resumo, a ação dos Jesuítas em Portugal no domínio da ciência, desde a sua entrada em Portugal, no ano de 1540, até à sua expulsão pelo Marquês de Pombal, em 1759. Foi extraordinária a rápida expansão da sua rede de colégios no país e em todo o mundo, incluindo o Brasil, a Índia, a China e o Japão. O Colégio das Artes em Coimbra produziu, entre 1592 e 1606, um conjunto de comentários a Aristóteles que se espalhou nos colégios jesuítas. Por outro lado, no Colégio de S. Antão em Lisboa, funcionou, de 1590 a 1759, uma escola de matemática, intitulada a Aula da Esfera, servida por alguns professores estrangeiros, por exemplo, o italiano Christophoro Borri. Foram esses mestres que trouxeram, não só para Portugal, como também para vários lugares, mesmo os mais remotos do império, as técnicas de observação astronómica introduzidas por Galileu, alargando à escala global a Revolução Científica. O Observatório Astronómico e o Tribunal da Matemática na corte imperial chinesa foram o expoente dessa ação. A meio do século XVIII, pressionados pelo antijesuitismo apoiado pela coroa, a sua ação foi fortemente contrariada. Apesar das acusações de desatualização científica, o certo é que alguns Jesuítas, como o padre Inácio Monteiro, não podem deixar de ser considerados modernos. A extinção da Ordem deixou um vazio no sistema de ensino português, o qual a Reforma Pombalina da Universidade de Coimbra só em parte preencheu.

This is a review I wrote and was published by The Sixteenth Century Journal.  It is of a very excellent book, WHAT GALILEO SAW: IMAGINING THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION, authored by Lawrence Lipking. Published by Cornell University Press in 2014. This book contains excellent original insights into the scientific ethos preceding and during the time of Galileo, far beyond those discoveries of Galileo himself.  314 pages, ISBN 978-0-8041-5297-0.

Introduction À notre époque où les certitudes scientifiques deviennent des incertitudes et des doutes, il serait peut-être temps de redonner la priorité à la force de l'esprit créatif, ou créateur, qui conçoit et perçoit sans toucher. Il faut se poser la question si c'est l'esprit qui voit ou la matière qui fait voir. Car si la chose vue n'éveille pas son miroir dans le cerveau, elle est incompréhensible. Aussi, le monde et l'univers peuvent-ils être conçus sans être touchés et vus. De quelle manière ? Par la Pensée. Le cerveau humain fonctionnant dans sa totalité, librement, dans le silence et la paix, tourne comme une orbite sur lui-même, éclairant tous les aspects du monde. Cet astre, mû par une énergie intérieure, conçoit ce qui existe. En aucun cas sa puissance ne peut se confondre avec la matière. Il semble qu'elle préexiste et demeure. Son origine et sa source sont un mystère. Les liens qui relient ces cerveaux dans le temps ne périssent pas. Ils sont gravés, à jamais, dans l'univers. L'oeuvre d'Art musical a la vocation d'éterniser la Pensée. Au-delà du corps sonore, elle imprègne l'univers d'une marque indélébile. C'est vers elle qu'il faut tendre, au-dessus de sa structure temporelle, modes et esthétiques. Problématique. Hypothèse : Complète abstraction de l'oeuvre musicale Si l'on ne peut pas concevoir une oeuvre musicale comme une totalité indivisible, indestructible, contenant tout et surtout l'essentiel, comme une Forme spectrale, architecturale, mentale, ses beautés sont un chaos sonore, qui passera. Le fruit extérieur mais pas la graine génitrice. Cette graine est tombée de Beethoven sur Wagner, à travers le temps. La IXème symphonie contient déjà Tristan et Parsifal. La structure n'est rien, c'est l'Idée, Une, qui les relie. Sans doute grâce à une même capacité cérébrale, une même élévation, un même idéal transcendantal de ce qu'est la Musique. Car la Musique existe comme une Forme mentale supérieure, peut-être même comme sa source, puisqu'elle est plénitude de l'Harmonie et son chant va au-delà de la voûte des étoiles (über'm Sternenzelt) 1. Méthode et Application. Au lieu de chercher par des analyses, judicieuses mais techniques et pragmatiques, où est le début, la fin, le milieu, l'endroit, l'envers, la face et le fond, on pourrait d'abord tenter de saisir le mouvement essentiel, la rotation qui fait se mouvoir l'astre en éclairant le monde. Car la musique est universelle et sa composition embrasse l'univers. Elle est un Tout spirituel, parfait, ou elle n'est pas. Ainsi que l'on saisisse le globe virtuel de la IXème, par sa fin, l'audelà de la voûte des étoiles, et qu'on le fasse pivoter à l'envers, on touchera toujours la foudre, Götterfunken, qui éclate, dès le début. Cette oeuvre est un tout irréductible, parfait, qui exprime l'essentiel, à savoir, à tout moment et dans chaque note, la puissance de l'éclair divin. Si l'on pouvait recréer, de manière totalement libre et différente, ce cristal, ce chef-d'oeuvre, aujourd'hui, peut-être pourrions-nous nous connecter à nouveau à une réalité supérieure, une vérité indestructible qui surpasse, et de loin, toutes les découvertes, scientifiques, chaotiques de la matière.

Resumen Nuestro artículo examina la introducción temprana de la lógica matemática en el Perú, impulsada por Pedro S. Zulen en la década de 1920. En un entorno dominado por la silogística y la inferencia inductiva, Zulen adoptó las ideas de Boole, Peano, Russell y Whitehead, rompiendo con los métodos tradicionales de enseñanza. Sus Programas de psicología y lógica según el curso dictado en el 2.º semestre de 1924 presentan la primera aplicación de notación formal en el país e integran los fundamentos lógicos que sustentan las matemáticas modernas. Aunque su esfuerzo puede considerarse «fallido» debido a limitaciones institucionales y a su prematura muerte, su propuesta anticipó desarrollos posteriores que consolidarían la nueva lógica en América Latina.

Hermeneutics is the technical term for Bible interpretation. Various schools of thought apply widely divergent hermeneutical principles or techniques to the Genesis creation accounts. This paper is a summary of material presented to the Montreal chapter of the American Scientific Affiliation and emphasizes that when it comes to understanding the Bible it's all about hermeneutics And when it comes to hermeneutics it's all about context .

XVII. yüzyıl bilim devrimi kavramı, modern dünyanın ortaya çıkışını anlamak için bir temel anlatı olarak bilim tarihinin merkezinde yer almıştır. Genel olarak bu önemli analitik çerçevenin Avrupa’da türetildiğine ve ilk kez Soğuk Savaş sırasında Herbert Butterfield ve Alexander Koyré’nin yazıları aracılığıyla yaygınlaştığına inanılmaktadır. Ancak bu görüş hatalıdır. Bilim devrimi büyük ölçüde Birinci Dünya Savaşı sonrasında Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nde sosyal yeniden inşaya ilişkin tartışmaların bir ürünüdür. Avusturyalı göçmen Martha Ornstein’ın öncü kitabında tanıtılan ve tarihçi James Harvey Robinson’un etkileyici çoksatan kitabında vurgulanan bilim devrimi, iki savaş arası dönemde binlerce lise ve üniversitede öğretildi. John Dewey’in “bilimsel yöntem” savunusu ile evrimsel psikoloji ve antropolojiye dayanan bu kavram kadın hakları, ırkî eşitlik, seküler hümanizm ve küresel barış kampanyalarının temelindeydi. Bu yenilikçi siyasî amaçlar, bilim devrimi yalnızca bir disiplin olarak bilim tarihini şekillendirdiğinde değil aynı zamanda dekolonizasyonun hızlandığı, küresel kapitalizmin pekiştiği ve “modern” olmanın ne anlama geldiğinin yeniden tanımlandığı İkinci Dünya Savaşı’ndan sonra terk edilmiştir.

Niccolò Cacciatore was Giuseppi Piazzi's successor at the Palermo Observatory, although his main scientific contributions were in meteorology. Since his parents wanted him to pursue an ecclesiastical career, Cacciatore studied under the guidance of his uncle, Innocenzo Cacciatore. After taking minor orders in 1796, Niccolò taught Greek in the seminary of Agrigento. The following year he moved to Palermo to study under Giovanni Agostino de Cosmi, who presented Cacciatore to Piazzi, director of the Palermo Astronomical Observatory. Piazzi encouraged the young man to work at the observatory, and in 1800 Cacciatore was appointed as an assistant. In 1817, Cacciatore became director, on Piazzi's recommendation, when Piazzi became general director of the observatories of Naples and Palermo. After the death of Niccolò, his son Gaetano took his place as director. Niccolò Cacciatore was fellow of the Royal Society of London, member of the Società Italiana delle Scienze (dei XL), and Secretary of the Accademia del Buon Gusto in Palermo. As Piazzi's assistant, he helped the director in the construction of the meridiana drawn in the floor of the Palermo Cathedral (1801), in the reform of the Sicilian weight and measures system (1809), in the draft of a geographic map of the Palermo valley (1808-1811), but especially in editing Piazzi's second star catalog (1814). Piazzi, in the foreword to his catalog, lauded Cacciatore's collaboration in making observations and calculations of the star positions. This work made him the prime candidate as Piazzi's successor at the Palermo Observatory, as he auspicated by inserting the name of ROTANEV SUALOCIN (palindrome of NICOLAUS VENATOR, the Latin for NICCOLÒ CACCIATORE) alongside the stars α and β Delphini in the catalog. In this way he designated himself as Piazzi's Dauphin, with Piazzi's approval. Cacciatore ordered and published the meteorological observations made at the Palermo Observatory from 1791 and acquired and installed several meteorological instruments. He designed a mercury seismoscope and an anemoscope, and thanks to his impulse, the meteorological observations at the observatory became very regular and accurate. Unfortunately, Cacciatore was implicated in some personal controversies, especially with the physicist Domenico Scinà, which dimmed, to an extent, the international prestige of the Palermo Observatory.

Short paper for a graduate seminar on the philosophy of science. PHIL 694: Special Topics in Contemporary Philosophy: Science, Values, Society. Fall 2018. Professor Christopher DiTeresi.

Course information:
https://philosophy.gmu.edu/courses/phil694/course_sections/36950

Professor bio:
https://philosophy.gmu.edu/people/cditeres

ABSTRACT:
In Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, he poses the following question: “What are scientific revolutions, and what is their function in scientific development?” His response is that “scientific revolutions are here taken to be those non-cumulative developmental episodes in which an older paradigm is replaced in whole or in part by an incompatible new one” (SSR 92). He qualifies this by explaining that “scientific revolutions are inaugurated by a growing sense … that an existing paradigm has ceased to function adequately in the exploration of an aspect of nature to which the paradigm itself had previously led the way” (SSR 92). Though “[s]cientific revolutions … need seem revolutionary only to [/] those whose paradigms are affected by them” (SSR 92-93), paradigmatic or theory choice displacement remains perhaps not unproblematic to Kuhn’s overall picture. When discussing the process of a new theory displacing an old one, Kuhn notes that “[i]n the process of being assimilated, the second must displace the first” (SSR 97). In “Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice” Kuhn additionally ascribes five characteristic values that “are all standard criteria for evaluating the adequacy of a theory.” These are accuracy, consistency, scope, simplicity, and fruitfulness (103). However, these criteria for paradigm and theory choice displacement, in addition to the aforementioned corresponding values, can be challenged in an interesting way: namely, through the skeptical paradox investigated by Kripke through his interpretation of Wittgenstein. Kripke tells us that “[e]ven someone who disputes the conclusions … might well regard the problem itself as an important contribution to philosophy,” as the problem “may be regarded as a new form of philosophical scepticism” (7). The purpose of this paper will be to push back against Kuhn’s aforesaid assertions using Kripke’s paradox in the hope of opening up some interesting avenues of interpretation and re-interpretation.

Short paper for a graduate seminar on the philosophy of science. PHIL 694: Special Topics in Contemporary Philosophy: Science, Values, Society. Fall 2018. Professor Christopher DiTeresi.

Course information:
https://philosophy.gmu.edu/courses/phil694/course_sections/36950

Professor bio:
https://philosophy.gmu.edu/people/cditeres

ABSTRACT:
In Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, he poses the following question: “What are scientific revolutions, and what is their function in scientific development?” His response is that “scientific revolutions are here taken to be those non-cumulative developmental episodes in which an older paradigm is replaced in whole or in part by an incompatible new one” (SSR 92). He qualifies this by explaining that “scientific revolutions are inaugurated by a growing sense … that an existing paradigm has ceased to function adequately in the exploration of an aspect of nature to which the paradigm itself had previously led the way” (SSR 92). Though “[s]cientific revolutions … need seem revolutionary only to [/] those whose paradigms are affected by them” (SSR 92-93), paradigmatic or theory choice displacement remains perhaps not unproblematic to Kuhn’s overall picture. When discussing the process of a new theory displacing an old one, Kuhn notes that “[i]n the process of being assimilated, the second must displace the first” (SSR 97). In “Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice” Kuhn additionally ascribes five characteristic values that “are all standard criteria for evaluating the adequacy of a theory.” These are accuracy, consistency, scope, simplicity, and fruitfulness (103). However, these criteria for paradigm and theory choice displacement, in addition to the aforementioned corresponding values, can be challenged in an interesting way: namely, through the skeptical paradox investigated by Kripke through his interpretation of Wittgenstein. Kripke tells us that “[e]ven someone who disputes the conclusions … might well regard the problem itself as an important contribution to philosophy,” as the problem “may be regarded as a new form of philosophical scepticism” (7). The purpose of this paper will be to push back against Kuhn’s aforesaid assertions using Kripke’s paradox in the hope of opening up some interesting avenues of interpretation and re-interpretation.

I present a genealogy of Brazilian social and transcultural psychiatry, constructed from Juliano Moreira to my contemporary practice at the DyoNises Clinical Theater. Anchored in Moreira's pioneering correspondences with Sigmund Freud, in the introduction of psychoanalysis in Brazil, in the denunciation of structural racism in medicine and in milestones of transcultural psychiatry, I follow the tradition of Ulysses Pernambucano, Osório Thaumaturgo César, Nise da Silveira and Lula Wanderley. This lineage shows that there is no public health without public mental health, and that Brazilian psychiatry flourished in artistic, community and anti-racist practices.

This paper is devoted to the physiology of the first novatores, notably to that of Bernardino Telesio and his followers. The term novatores has been used since the seventeenth century to trace a narrative of ‘innovators’ in natural philosophy against the Aristotelian hegemony, and Telesio has been included in this narrative as the @rst and earliest. Consequently, its impact on modern philosophy has been examined from various perspectives, surprisingly leaving out physiology. In addition, Telesio’s notion of spiritus, which lies at the heart of his conception of living beings, has rarely been regarded as such, that is, as a biological concept meant to oppose Aristotle’s account of life. Therefore, I will first address Telesio’s critical engagement with Aristotle’s physiology and the reshaping of Aristotelian terminology that he brings forth. In particular, I will focus on the harsh criticism of the Aristotelian notion of the soul as form. Then, I will outline some further developments of Telesio’s physiology, especially among his main followers: Agostino Doni, Antonio Persio, and Tommaso Campanella.

Without ever claiming to be methodical in his individualistic historiography, Mohammad Ibrahim Bastani Parizi (1304-1391) repeatedly used negative criticism and ijtihad as well as positive criticism and ijtihad to disambiguate historical texts in all his works. The main question of this study is how Bastani Parizi used the weapon of historical criticism and ijtihad to infer the truth not mentioned in the sources and how this was reflected in his historiography. The results of this study will show that Bastani Parizi used negative criticism (ijtihad) and positive criticism (ijtihad) in all his famous works to respond to historical ambiguities and that he saw this technique as a way to achieve historical truth and objectivity. Thus, that it can be argued that this issue is the distinguishing feature and one of the most important features of his historiographical style. Accordingly, Bastani Parizi should be considered among the objectivist historians who believe that it is possible for a historian to achieve objectivity and historical truth in the light of historical criticism and ijtihad.

This study investigates the covert ideological mechanisms
embedded in the morphosyntactic structures of legal and
bureaucratic discourse, with a particular focus on official documents
produced within the Pakistani state apparatus. While grammatical
constructions such as passive voice, nominalization, modality, and
impersonal syntax are often treated as neutral or purely functional,
this research contends that they perform critical ideological work.
These grammatical features are not merely linguistic conveniences—
they are strategic tools that shape institutional authority, obscure
agency, and regulate citizen compliance through syntactic means. In
doing so, they reinforce dominant power structures and bureaucratic
hierarchies, often without the awareness of the reader. Employing a
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework, informed by the
theories of Fairclough, Van Dijk, Halliday, and Van Leeuwen, the
study examines a purposive corpus of 25 legal and bureaucratic texts
including service memos, judicial verdicts, policy circulars, and
regulatory notifications. Through qualitative analysis, the paper
highlights how syntactic forms contribute to ideological effects such
as dehumanization of policy enforcement, reification of institutional
power, and naturalization of state authority. For instance, passive
constructions enable agent deletion, thereby diffusing
accountability and transforming potentially controversial actions
into seemingly routine procedures. Nominalizations abstract away
dynamic social actions, presenting policy processes as objective and
inevitable entities. Similarly, deontic modality and impersonal
constructions enforce obligation and conformity, aligning citizen
behavior with institutional expectations. The findings suggest that
grammar in official texts functions as a soft instrument of
governance—one that shapes public perception, limits resistance,
and subtly reproduces systemic power asymmetries. This
phenomenon is especially pronounced in the Pakistani context,
where the colonial legacy of legal-bureaucratic English continues to
inform contemporary administrative style. By revealing these hidden
ideological dimensions, the study advocates for the development of
syntactic literacy among legal practitioners, bureaucrats, journalists,
and citizens, enabling them to decode the politics embedded in
institutional language and to critically engage with texts that
influence civic life and legal consciousness.

Jesuit astrology. Prognostication and science in early modern culture. By Luís Campos Ribeiro. (Time, Astronomy, and Calendars. Texts and Studies, .) Pp. xx +  incl.  colour and black-and-white ills and  tables. Leiden-Boston: Brill, . €.     ;  X JEH () ; doi:./S At the heart of Luís Campo Ribeiro's monumental study lies a study of a series of manuscripts containing examples of Jesuit teaching on astrology theory and practice. They originated in lessons delivered in a mathematical class known as the Aula da Esfera (a reference to John of Sacrobosco's textbook De sphaera) that were taught in the college of Sant Antão, the first Jesuit house in Portugal. Although these materials have been known to historians since at least the s, their astrological content has remained hitherto unstudied. This neglect, Ribeiro suggests, was caused by previous generations of historians' positivist distaste for this art, a disdain intensified by the fact that the authors of many of these works described the art they taught as 'judicial' astrology, a class of prediction seemingly condemned by the Church. Jesuit astrology is structured in order to contextualise and analyse these texts. As Ribeiro observes in the concluding 'final thoughts', the point of departure for this book was an effort to understand how astrology could be taught in a Jesuit institution. He notes that to some, the fact that Jesuits were teaching such materials might seem incongruous given the Church's apparent antipathy towards astrology. Addressing this point, the book opens with a discussion of astrology and its place in early modern culture, including an account of the Church's attitudes towards astrology that focuses on the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. This period witnessed the promulgation of the Tridentine Index of , which included Rule  that set out criteria for censoring works of divination including astrology. The rule installed essentially Thomist criteria to delimit the acceptable boundaries of astrology. It thus permitted forms of astrological predictions including not only those pertinent to medicine, agriculture and medicine, but also uncertain predictions pertaining to human actions. The Tridentine Index was followed in  by Sixtus 's bull Coeli et terrae, which reiterated most of the provisions of Rule . Ribeiro's survey of Catholic attitudes to astrology allows him to demonstrate that the early modern Church accepted a significant body of astrological theory and practice, thereby explaining how Jesuits could potentially reconcile their interest in this art with their faith. Although this point has previously been established by historians such as Ugo Baldini and Darrel Rutkin, Ribeiro develops it further by offering a valuable analysis of the categories 'natural' and 'judicial' astrology that have become commonplace in historiography. Historians often use the former category to refer to licit applications of astrology, for instance in medicine, while deploying the latter to denote illicit predictions, for