Authorship and teamwork around the Cimento Academy: mathematics, anatomy, experimental philosophy.

Abstract

Multiple authorship is so common and pervasive in our world that it is tempting to take it for granted. Prior to the twentieth century, however, multiple authorship was exceedingly rare. This essay addresses the issue of whether in the past collaboration was less common or was acknowledged in different forms. I focus on the 1660s circle of intellectuals fluctuating around the Cimento Academy because the Cimento is generally considered the first academy devoted to experimental philosophy, this essay highlights the existence of a wide range of conventions about authorship even within a geographically and temporally limited area, and suggests that collaboration was more common than title pages would suggest.