The “Physica Mosaica” of Johann Heinrich Alsted (1588–1638)

Jan Čížek

doi:10.46938/tv.2020.472

Abstract

Some early modern scholars believed that Scripture provided more certain knowledge than all secular authorities – even Aristotle – or investigating nature as such. In this paper, I analyse one such attempt to establish the most reliable knowledge of nature: the so-called Mosaic physics proposed by the Reformed encyclopaedist Johann Heinrich Alsted. Although in his early works on Physica Mosaica Alsted declares that his primary aim is proving the harmony that exists between various traditions of natural philosophy, namely between the Mosaic and the Peripatetic approaches, and despite the fact that his biblical encyclopaedia of 1625 was intended to be based on a literal reading of the Bible, he never truly abandoned the Aristotelian framework of physics. What is more, in his mature encyclopaedia of 1630, he eventually openly preferred Aristotle to other natural-philosophical traditions. I argue, therefore, that Alsted’s bold vision of Mosaic physics remained unfulfilled and should be assessed as an unsuccessful project of early modern natural philosophy.

Highlights

In his early works on Physica Mosaica Alsted declares that his primary aim is proving the harmony that exists between various traditions of natural philosophy, namely between the Mosaic and the Peripatetic approaches, and despite the fact that his biblical encyclopaedia of 1625 was intended to be based on a literal reading of the Bible, he never truly abandoned the Aristotelian framework of physics
This work is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 117. In her pioneering study “Mosaic Physics and the Search for a Pious Natural Philosophy in the Late Renaissance,” Ann Blair pointed out that the 16th and 17th centuries can be described as a time of persistent attempts to undermine Aristotelianism and replace it with alternative philosophies, namely Platonism and its Neo-Platonic varieties, Epicureanism, Stoicism, experimental natural philosophy, or with the most pious philosophy that would be based on a literal reading of the Bible, i.e., Mosaic philosophy in the strict sense
The authors who can be included in the last category, Blair specifies, were mostly Reformed philosophers seeking primarily to offer a new system of natural philosophy based on a philosophical commentary on the Bible or to draw new principles of physics immediately from the Holy Scripture

Summary

Introduction

In her pioneering study “Mosaic Physics and the Search for a Pious Natural Philosophy in the Late Renaissance,” Ann Blair pointed out that the 16th and 17th centuries can be described as a time of persistent attempts to undermine Aristotelianism and replace it with alternative philosophies, namely Platonism and its Neo-Platonic varieties, Epicureanism, Stoicism, experimental natural philosophy (as in the case of Robert Boyle), or with the most pious philosophy that would be based on a literal reading of the Bible, i.e., Mosaic philosophy in the strict sense. The authors who can be included in the last category, Blair specifies, were mostly Reformed philosophers seeking primarily to offer a new system of natural philosophy based on a philosophical commentary on the Bible or to draw new principles of physics immediately from the Holy Scripture.. The author is grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their comments, corrections, and suggestions Institutio, he theologically justified the study of nature as a way to a proper understanding of the secrets of divine wisdom.. Institutio, he theologically justified the study of nature as a way to a proper understanding of the secrets of divine wisdom.4 This direct connection to Calvin can be found in the work of Johann Heinrich Alsted (1588–1638), Reformed philosopher and theologian from Herborn, since he explicitly refers to Calvin’s commentary on the Book of Genesis. Is to analyse the development of Alsted’s philosophical views on nature and to contribute towards an understanding of early modern Mosaic physics, which as yet is an underexplored part of the history of science.. Such an approach would enable us to see the emergence of modern science as a complex, labyrinthine, and painful process marked by many ( nearly forgotten) failures – in contrast to its idealized and simplified popular image.

Alsted’s Early Texts on Natural Philosophy

Conclusion