God-Pantocrator and God-Coordinator: The Status of a Miracle in the Scientific Revolution

Scientists and philosophers of the 17th century, with all the novelty of their ideas, at the same time were in no hurry to reject the concept of a miracle, although many of them, such as I. Newton, rejected the understanding of a miracle as a violation of the laws of nature, its “ordinary course”. On the whole, with regard to the Christian concept of the miracle in the natural philosophy of the early modern period, a very uncertain situation developed. On the one hand, in the era of the Scientific Revolution, there was a clear tendency to explain extraordinary phenomena by the action of natural causes, which in theology found its meaningful expression in the Protestant concept of the cessation of miracles (cessatio miraculorum) in post-apostolic times, and in philosophy (more precisely, in the philosophico-theological literature), especially in the teachings of B. Pascal, R. Descartes, B. Spinoza, D. Hume and other authors, in an effort to build a rational theology in which the status of a miracle turned out to be very uncertain. On the other hand, the difficulties that arose in science after I. Newton's discovery of the law of universal gravitation and associated with the problem of actio in distans, forced researchers to resort to theological concepts and images in natural-philosophical reasoning, in particular, to refer to the concept of a miracle. The latter circumstance required the development of a new understanding of miracles, namely the concept of “coincidence miracles”, which made it possible to preserve the apologetic functions of miracles and at the same time to neutralize the philosophical and theological criticism of the concept of miracle by B. Spinoza and D. Hume. My aim in this article is to demonstrate that the relationship between theological and scientific (more precisely, natural-philosophical) problems is by no means reduced to the use of theological concepts in the process of the formation of classical science in the mode of general reasoning by analogy or as general ideological statements. Theological concepts turned out to be included in the natural-philosophical discourse on a par with purely physical arguments, and, on the contrary, theological thought had to somehow react to natural-philosophical discoveries, which ultimately led to a mutual adjustment of both natural-philosophical and theological concepts.

Hahnemann in Sibiu: possible influence of the ideas of Baron d'Holbach

The present paper discusses the possible influence that the 1777-79 stay in Sibiu, at Baron of Brukenthal’s palace, might have had on Samuel Hahnemann’s early training. In this context, an analysis of the contents of Baron of Brukenthal’s Library as depicted in a catalog to which Hahnemann contributed was performed. Data suggest that Hahnemann was particularly interested in the ideas of Baron d’Holbach. The Appendix describes all the works related to Medicine and Natural Philosophy listed in the catalog. Keywords: Homeopathy; History; Early influences of Hahnemann; Sibiu/Hermannstadt; Holbach.  Hahnemann em Sibiu: a possível influéncia das idéias do barão d´Holbach Resumo O presente artigo discute a possível influéncia sobre a formação inicial de Hahnemann de sua estada no palácio do barão de Brukenthal, em Sibiu, entre 1777 e 1779. Para tanto, foi analisado o conteúdo do acervo da biblioteca do barão de Brukenthal, tal como descrito num catálogo que o próprio Hahnemann contribuiu a compor. Os resultados sugerem que Hahnemann esteve particularmente interessado nas idéias do barão d´Holbach. No Apéndice são listadas todas as obras relacionadas com medicina e filosofia natural citadas nesse catálogo. Palavras-chave: Homeopatia; História; Primeiras influéncias de Hahnemann; Sibiu / Hermannstadt; Holbach.  Hahnemann en Sibiu: la posible influencia de las ideas del barón de Holbach Resumen Este artículo discute la influencia que puede haber tenido en la formación temprana de Samuel Hahnemann su estadía en el palacio del barón de Brukenthal en Sibiu, entre 1777 y 1779. Para tanto, fue analizado el contenido de la biblioteca del barón de Brukenthal, como descripto en un catálogo que el propio Hahnemann ayudó a componer. Los resultados sugieren que Hahnemann estaba particularmente interesado en las ideas del barón de Holbach. En el Apéndice, son listadas todas las obras relacionadas com medicina y filosofía natural presentes en dicho catalágo. Palabras-clave: Homeopatía; Historia; primeiras influencias de Hahnemann; Sibiu / Hermannstadt; Holbach.  Correspondence author: Silvia Waisse Priven; [email protected] How to cite this article: Waisse Priven S, Jurj G. Hahnemann in Sibiu: possible influence of the ideas of Baron d’Holbach. Int J High Dilution Res [online]. 2008 [cited YYYY Mmm DD]; 7(23): 93-102. Available from: http://journal.giri-society.org/index.php/ijhdr/article/view/53/344. ÂÂÂ

THE TRADITION OF ALCHEMICAL AND ASTROLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE WITHIN AND AROUND THEOPHAN PROKOPOVYCH’S LIBRARY

The important role of the alchemical and astrological tradition in the formation and trans-formation of science as a social institution in the Early Modern period is researched in detail in Western historiography of science. At the same time, the Ukrainian aspect of this pan-European phenomenon needs further intensive study.The article deals with the alchemical and astrological component of Ukrainian science of the High Baroque era on an example of Theophan Prokopovych (1677 – 1736). The analysis of the ca¬talog of Prokopovych’s library confirmed that the alchemical-astrological and magical-physical knowledge belonged to the sphere of interests of the scholar. His activity, in addi-tion to cosmogonic reasoning and mathematical calculations, also had a practical compo-nent. Books from the library’s holdings included works of late alchemy, which allowed Pro-kopovych to be aware of the latest ideas, trends, and achievements in this and related fields of knowledge. This is reflected in the formation of the worldview and creative work of the scholar.A comparison of the facts of biographies, the essence and direction of creativity, and the relationship of the authors mentioned in Prokopovych’s treatise “Natural Philosophy or Physics”, testified to the existence of the united pan-European scientific and information space, within which the tradition of late alchemy was formed and transformed during the 16th-18th centuries. Theophan Prokopovych also belonged to this tradition, and his works reflected the state and essence of Ukrainian alchemical knowledge of the High Baroque era. Prokopovych’s own views on problems of alchemy and astrology are a topic of special re-search.

The natural philosophy of Antonius Andreae

Igual que su maestro, John Duns Escoto, Antoni Andreu no fue un naturalista, ni siquiera para los estándares de su época. Sin embargo, reconoció la importancia de la filosofía natural en el sistema de conocimiento aristotélico, que era el fundamento de la cosmovisión premoderna. Consecuentemente, abordó los problemas relacionados con las sustancias naturales en algunas de sus obras, sobre todo en sus Quaestiones de tribus principiis naturae, pero también en los comentarios sobre la Metafísica y las Categorías de Aristóteles y, ocasionalmente, en la Abbreviatio Operis Oxoniensis. Estos problemas incluyen la cuestión del sujeto de la física, los procesos físicos, con una atención especial a los procesos de generación y de corrupción, y las características de los cuerpos que son objeto de dichos procesos.

COGNITION AND NATURAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

With an emphasis on the trends related to the development of the Earth’s civilization in recent decades, the demographic rise and total digitalization, the existing and promising approaches to the formation of the processes of cognition of natural-scientific and social laws are discussed.

A Mughal Treatise on Essence and Existence

This article presents an annotated translation of The Equivalence between Giving and Receiving (al-Taswiya bayna al-ifāda wa-l-qabūl), a short Arabic treatise on essence (dhāt) and existence (wujūd) composed by the South Asian philosopher-Sufi Shaykh Muḥibb Allāh Ilāhābādī (996–1058/1587–1648). Although modern scholarship has habitually referred to Muḥibb Allāh as an ardent defender of the doctrine of waḥdat al-wujūd (“unity of existence”) associated with the figure of Ibn al-ʿArabī, such generalized formulations fail to do justice to the uniqueness of Muḥibb Allāh’s intellectual contributions. Most authors who had set out to provide a philosophical defense of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s teachings – including the well-known likes of Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī, ʿAfīf al-Dīn al-Tilimsānī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq Kāshānī, Dāwud al-Qayṣarī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī, Mullā Ṣadrā, and so on – had tended to prioritize a philosophically utilizable formulation of wujūd or “existence.” Muḥibb Allāh, in notable contrast, favors a presentation of the divine Reality in terms of “pure essence/quiddity” (dhāt/māhiyya maḥḍa), at times going to considerable lengths to uphold his alternative formulation. Such a strategy of argumentation is uncommon amongst philosophical defenders of Ibn al-ʿArabī, the distinctiveness of which is further enhanced by Muḥibb Allāh’s peculiar mode of disputation, which straddles the line between metaphysics and natural philosophy/physics. The Taswiya occasioned at least sixteen commentaries and refutations; this translation benefits from consulting the earliest of these, composed by Mullā Maḥmūd al-Jawnpūrī (d. 1062/1652) and Khwāja Khwurd (d. 1073/1663), as well as three later commentaries by Ḥabīb Allāh Paṭnaʾī (d. 1140/1728). Most significantly, this translation makes extensive use of Muḥibb Allāh’s own Persian auto-commentary, the Sharḥ-i taswiya, which is a critical aid for deciphering the author’s at times opaque manner of expression and argumentation.