Please join us for this week's History of Philosophy Works-in-Progress Luncheon, cosponsored by Physis! This week's presenter is Dr. Álvaro José Campillo Bo (Department of Philosophy, University College Dublin), who will present on "Trust in Mathematics: Proclus and The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science (16th-18th centuries)" (see abstract below).
Each meeting consists of a presentation by a graduate student, visiting scholar, or faculty member on a project that they are working on in the history of philosophy, followed by a period of comments/questions from other participants. The workshop is designed to give contributors the opportunity to develop ideas and receive helpful feedback on projects/papers in a friendly and low stakes environment.
Lunch is provided for registered attendees.
Abstract: Alessandro Piccolomini’s (1508-1579) reception of Proclus’ In Euclidem in his work De certitudine mathematicarum (1547) triggered one of the most critical debates in the early modern history of science: the question of the certainty of mathematics. Using Proclus, Piccolomini undermined the scientific status of mathematics, claiming it was not an actual science. The object of my research is to reassess the history of mathematical certainty and its relation to demonstrative means in the early modern period (16th- to 18th-century), going from Piccolomini and Francesco Barozzi (1537-1604) to Isaac Barrow (1630-1677) and Isaac Newton (1643-1727).
Originally published at historyofphilosophy.nd.edu.