Research Seminar June 5th: Luca Guzzardi (Department of Philosophy, University of Milan) Jesuit Physico-Mathesis after Clavius: The Shaping of a Mathematical Style

Research Seminar June 5th: Luca Guzzardi (Department of Philosophy, University of Milan) Jesuit Physico-Mathesis after Clavius: The Shaping of a Mathematical Style

29 May 2017

The variety of positions regarding the role of mathematics emerged within the Roman

College since the last decades of the 17 th century can be considered as a late result of a

more ancient debate which usually goes under the name of Quaestio de Certitudine

Mathematicarum. The debate, characterizing much of the 16 th century “philosophy of

mathematics” particularly in Italy, has been described more times and with different

emphases and purposes. For many reasons ― and particularly because of its importance

for Galilei ― scholarship has chiefly concentrated on the age of Clavius. However, it is not

clear whether it really was a “monolithic” controversy with a well recognizable and stable

core or it was instead a multifaceted discussion around a plurality of issues pertaining the

status of mathematics and the relevance of mathematical methods to other disciplines.

In the present paper, I contend that the quaestio and its consequences, in their multiple

threads, would leave at least an important legacy in the post-Clavius era. For, a renewed

formulation of its main themes played a crucial role in shaping a physico-mathematical

tradition, which became peculiar to most of the successors of Clavius and initiated novel

epistemological trends within the Roman College. So, in this paper I will: (i) outline the

main treats of this tradition; (ii) assess its effects in the renewal of mathematical teaching

and practice at the Roman College during the 18 th century; (iii) show how crucial this

context was for one of the most prominent Jesuit scientists since 1740s, namely Ruggiero

Boscovich, whose theoretical and epistemological approach was the final result of this tradition.

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