De Maupertuis Research Articles

Отставной королевский мушкетер между наукой, салоном и будуаром

The present paper aims to examine the biological works of Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698–1759), a prominent French scientist and philosopher, on the problems of animal reproduction and heredity. His scientific career exemplifies how, in mid-eighteenth-century Europe, various scientific disciplines were intertwined with literature, art, and philosophy. In one of his major publications dealing with these issues, “Venus physique” (1745), from one role to another time and again, combining theory, observation, everyday experience, and literary narrative. His objections to preformationism unfold in a stylized literary context that itself references the more personal context of salon conversation and flirtation. Maupertuis’s epigenetic conception of reproduction (with its origins in Antiquity) drew on a wide range of arguments from a variety of sources: anatomy and monster studies, observations of racial differences and family resemblance, analysis of the breeding experience of animal breeders, microscopic observations, and chemical insights. The French scientist presented the dynamics of processes in living nature in terms of naturalized desire and aversion, which function as guiding inclinations inherent in the smallest units of organic matter. In “Venus physique”, Maupertuis, in presenting his biological views, played on the appeal in certain Parisian circles of socially acceptable epathetics associated with philosophical texts, eroticism, unorthodox religious beliefs, and illicit sexual liaisons.

Briefwechsel zwischen Christian Wolff und Ernst Christoph von Manteuffel: 1738–1748. Historisch-kritische Edition ed. by Jürgen Stolzenberg et al.

Reviewed by: Briefwechsel zwischen Christian Wolff und Ernst Christoph von Manteuffel: 1738–1748. Historisch-kritische Edition ed. by Jürgen Stolzenberg et al. Corey W. Dyck Jürgen Stolzenberg Detlef Döring Katharina Middell, and Hanns-Peter Neumann, editors. Briefwechsel zwischen Christian Wolff und Ernst Christoph von Manteuffel: 1738–1748. Historisch-kritische Edition. 3 vols. Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, 2019. Cloth, €248.00. These three robust volumes make available in its entirety a collection of correspondence, held at the University of Leipzig library and comprising nearly five hundred letters, between Christian Wolff (1679–1754) and Ernst Christoph, Graf von Manteuffel (1676–1749). At the time of the correspondence, Wolff was the most famous philosopher of the German Enlightenment, having taken a position in Marburg after his exile from Prussia in 1723. Manteuffel was a Saxon diplomat, advocate for the Wolffian philosophy at the Prussian court, and a cofounder of the Societas Alethophilorum, a group of thinkers devoted to propagating and defending the Leibnizian-Wolffian philosophy. The decade covered by the correspondence would see the death of Friedrich Wilhelm I, the ascension of Friedrich II (the Great), and ultimately Wolff's triumphant return to Halle in late 1740. Perhaps unsurprisingly given his prolific output, Wolff was an active letter-writer, even inviting comparisons (immodest to be sure) to Leibniz; yet little of his correspondence has been preserved. One exception is his correspondence with Leibniz early in his career, which continued until Leibniz's death in 1716, though this only rarely touched on philosophical issues. By contrast, the correspondence with Manteuffel routinely concerns matters of philosophical interest, including topics in natural philosophy, metaphysics, natural theology, ethics, and political philosophy, but also provides a window into Wolff's efforts to expand the appeal of his thought and to defend his legacy against the hostile and encroaching influence of Newtonianism. For example, we find Manteuffel urging Wolff to offer a presentation of his thought pour les dames, on the model of Francesco Algarotti's recently published popular digest of Newtonianism. This issues in a remarkable draft of a letter (1:601–6) by Wolff to a fictional young noblewoman in which he outlines a new, and recognizably Cartesian, methodology for grasping the basic concepts and principles of his metaphysics (though the project would be abandoned, despite considerable interest from the Queen of Prussia). Similarly of interest are Wolff's reports to Manteuffel of his correspondence with Émilie du Châtelet, who took an interest in Wolff's metaphysics, to such an extent that she volunteered to serve as his "apostle in France" (1:371), and for whom a French translation of the Deutsche Metaphysik was procured (through then crown-prince Friedrich). Wolff recognized du Châtelet's expertise in physics and mathematics, even lauding her philosophical understanding above that of her companion Voltaire (see 1:419), and he heaped praise on her presentation of his metaphysics in the Institutions de physique, which he says was just like "hearing myself in one of my lectures" (1:420). Du Châtelet's support was relatively short-lived, however, as Wolff was unable or unwilling to support her in the dispute with Samuel König, her tutor and a former student of Wolff's, regarding the authorship of that text (see 1:535–36). Her support may have been sorely missed as Wolff's legacy came under fire from the revived Berlin Academy, whose presidency he was once offered (and which had to be turned down delicately to negotiate the return to Halle). Now under the hostile leadership of Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis and Leonhard Euler, the Academy announced that [End Page 332] the doctrine of monads would be the topic of the prize essay competition for 1747. The ensuing Monadenstreit became a matter of widespread public interest and saw an anonymous anti-Wolffian essay contentiously awarded with the prize. The letters between Wolff and Manteuffel during this period range over the metaphysical details of the doctrine of monads, but also the identity of the author of the winning submission (at one point thought to be Euler himself, but later revealed to be Johann Heinrich Gottlob Justis), and the organization of the Wolffian response. The Wolff...

Meeting at the Philosopher’s Stone: The Encounter of Enlightenment and Indigenous Religion in Maupertuis‘ Expedition to Lapland (1736–1737)

Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis’ famous scientific expedition to Lapland (1736-1737) had a considerable impact on Enlightenment thought, but not only due to its groundbreaking results in the fields of geodesy and physics. Given the popularity of his journey, the few and rather prejudiced references to the Sámi people and their religion also gained some significance. In his reports and in his self-presentations, Maupertuis used certain elements of Sámi life and religiosity in order to communicate his scientific and social message to the academies and the salons of Paris. Accordingly, the references to the Sámi are indispensable elements of the self-representation and self-reference of Enlightenment mind, intended to enhance and clarify its own standing. The article examines a situation of contact of a formally and religiously operating language of scientific polemics with religious phenomena that it interprets as ‘primitive’ or ‘curious’ and that it appropriates to its particular form of discourse. Here, intellectual religion meets a ‘primitive’ one as an object of description, and makes an innovative use of its alien elements. The case study is concerned in particular with a special kind of application of the transcendence-immanence distinction involved in the contact situation, relating to the phenomenon of knowledge in form of the relation of the known and the unknown.

Geometria e Astronomia nos livros de Maupertuis no acervo bibliográfico da Comissão Demarcadora da Amazônia (1750-1800)

Neste artigo caracterizo as principais ideias sobre Geometria e Astronomia presentes em três livros de Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, pertencentes ao acervo bibliográfico da Comissão Demarcadora de Limites da Região Amazônica na segunda metade do século XVIII. Nesse sentido, questionamos quais as principais ideias sobre Geometria e Astronomia contidas nos livros e como foram abordadas, para que pudessem contribuir nas práticas realizadas na Amazônia brasileira no período? Para responder a tais questões, realizei um estudo fundamentado pela análise de conteúdo, com o intuito de interpretar como as geometrias foram tomadas nesses livros ao tratar de fenômenos geográficos, astronômicos e cartográficos. Os resultados da pesquisa mostraram que a equipe fundamentou-se em produções bibliográficas atualizadas, produzidas nos séculos XVII e XVIII. Igualmente, os temas abordados nos livros de Maupertuis estavam conectados entre si, contendo informações diretamente relacionadas às pesquisas experimentais adequadas ao desenvolvimento do trabalho a ser realizado, naquele momento, na Região. Evidenciou-se, ainda, que a seleção dos livros pode ter sido realizada em função de sua importância para a ação a ser operacionalizada na Região Amazônica de modo a poder verificar aspectos já apontados pela equipe de La Condamine em suas investigações na Amazônia Peruana na primeira metade do século XVIII.

La logica del vivente in Maupertuis: dall’attrazione newtoniana al determinismo psicobiologico

After successfully relaunching the epigenetic theory of generation, reinterpreted in the light of Newtonian attraction and chemical affinities (Venus physique, 1745), Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698-1759) deepened his theoretical investigations in the field of the genesis of organisms and species in the Systeme de la Nature (1754). In this work, in order to reconcile the scientific postulate of objectivity - which rejects the recourse to final causes - with the evident teleonomic properties of living beings, and at the same time recognizing inadequate for this purpose the mechanistic principles he advanced in the Venus physique, Maupertuis proposed a bold panpsychist theory of life, of Spinozian inspiration. Therefore, by postulating the matter alive, endowed with instinct and feeling, Maupertuis imagined that some form of intelligence or psychic memory, associated with matter, directed the development of living beings. In light of recent discoveries in biology, the original psychobiological determinism advanced by Maupertuis in the Systeme de la Nature appears to be a brilliant intuition of the logic of genetic and evolutionary processes.

The logic of life in Maupertuis: from Newtonian attraction to psychobiological determinism

After successfully relaunching the epigenetic theory of generation, reinterpreted in the light of Newtonian attraction and chemical affinities (Venus physique, 1745), Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698-1759) deepened his theoretical investigations in the field of the genesis of organisms and species in the Systeme de la Nature (1754). In this work, in order to reconcile the scientific postulate of objectivity - which rejects the recourse to final causes - with the evident teleonomic properties of living beings, and at the same time recognizing inadequate for this purpose the mechanistic principles he advanced in the Venus physique, Maupertuis proposed a bold panpsychist theory of life, of Spinozian inspiration. Therefore, by postulating the matter alive, endowed with instinct and feeling, Maupertuis imagined that some form of intelligence or psychic memory, associated with matter, directed the development of living beings. In light of recent discoveries in biology, the original psychobiological determinism advanced by Maupertuis in the Systeme de la Nature appears to be a brilliant intuition of the logic of genetic and evolutionary processes.

Maupertuis’s Principle of Least Action: Epistemology and Metaphysics

The paper deals with Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis’s (1698-1759) writings on the principle of least action (PLA). I discuss Maupertuis’s philosophical interpretation of the PLA by analysing three of his papers (1740, 1744, 1746), in order to assess the overall consistency of his argument. As I shall argue, Maupertuis presents the PLA as a universal principle of nature, this being at odds with the empiricist inspiration of his epistemology. Maupertuis’s attempt to introduce conceptual elements borrowed from the Leibnizian tradition into a Newtonian-inspired framework creates in fact a tension that is difficult to overcome.

Sur le progres des sciences

This paper investigates the Baconian roots of Maupertuis’s Lettre XIX. Sur le Progrès des Sciences (1752). The Letter was published almost a decade after Maupertuis had accepted Frederick II’s invitation to move from Paris to Berlin and become the new President of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. Contrary to the secondary literature that identifies a distinction between Maupertuis’s Parisian and Berliner phases, this paper argues that there is in fact greater continuity between the two. Based on a reading that empha­sizes the programmatic and methodological commonalities between Bacon’s project in De augmentis scientiarum (1623) and Maupertuis’s Lettre XIX, this paper argues that, in a Baconian fashion, Maupertuis combines the roles of the “scientist” and the “natural philosopher” into an integrated plan of action with both intellectual an institutional aims. One of Maupertuis’s aims was to highlight the importance of observation and experiment not only in the development of natural philosophy but also for some aspects of speculative philosophy, while another of his aims was to reinvigorate the structure of the Berlin Academy and to model it the fashion of other similar European intellectual projects of that time.

Systematic Thought and the Early French Enlightenment

The Enlightenment critique of the esprit de systeme and its tendency towards eclecticism have often been interpreted as symptoms of speculative shallowness. The article analyses the origins of this prejudice, with special reference to the early French Enlightenment (1700-1750). It then attempts to counter such a preconception by providing a relevant counterexample. The case study presented is that of Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, usually considered a typical instance of the anti-systematic proto-positivist philosophe. In discussing his philosophy, epistemological and cosmological issues in particular are emphasized, showing how Maupertuis’ thoroughly empiricist theory of knowledge led him to apply mathematics to all domains of human knowledge in order to reduce their uncertainty. It is concluded that Maupertuis is the author of a rich and interesting work, which brings some novelty to the philosophical scene of his own times, if not to the whole history of modern philosophy.

The Tension Between the Mathematical and Metaphysical Strands of Maupertuis’ Principle of Least Action

Without doubt, the principle of least action is a fundamental principle in classical mechanics. Contemporary physicists, however, consider the PLA as a purely mathematical principle – even an axiom which they cannot completely justify. Such an account stands in sharp contrast with the historical meaning of the PLA. When the principle was introduced in the 1740s, by Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, its meaning was much more versatile. For Maupertuis the principle of least action signified that nature is thrifty or economical in all its actions, i.e., that nature avoids to do anything unnecessary. Maupertuis understood the principle in teleological terms and even considered the principle as an expression of God’s wisdom. It has been correctly pointed out by historians that Maupertuis in his later years moved towards a more speculative and metaphysical approach, whereas his contemporary Euler and later Lagrange, wanted to avoid such theological and metaphysical implications and frame the PLA (in line with contemporary standards) in purely mathematical terms. Such readings, however, have had the unintended side-effect that they lose out of sight the question how the mathematical and metaphysical aspect of the principle of least action fit together within Maupertuis’ own work. Investigating if and how the mathematical and metaphysical aspects of the PLA are compatible within Maupertuis’ thought will be the main goal of this paper. Keywords : mathematics, metaphysics, Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis , principle of least action, theology DOI : 10.14640/NoctuaIV3

Maupertuis et le mathématisme philosophique

One of the greatest philosophical controversies of the eighteenth century was the competition organized in 1746 by the Berlin Academy of Sciences. Although the specific object of the competition was the theory of monads, this particular question nevertheless referred to a deeper and more radical opposition between the two contending parties, Newtonians and Wolffians. In this contribution, we will first focus on the reasons for Newtonian opposition to Wolff’s philosophy. In this context, particular attention will be paid to the positions of Euler and Maupertuis. We will then proceed to a comparison between the positions of Wolff and Maupertuis on the crucial question of the relationship between mathematical and philosophical method. Our analysis will attempt to show the existence, in Maupertuis’s thought, of an effort to apply the mathematical method to disciplines other than mathematics itself, which will allow us to determine his opposition to Wolffian philosophy. Finally, we will clarify the affinities and divergences between Wolff and Maupertuis, trying to show that the real reasons for their opposition should be sought in their respective epistemologies and metaphysics. Keywords : Berlin Academy of Sciences, mathematics, metaphysics, Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, Christian Wolff English title : Maupertuis and Philosophical Mathematicism DOI : 10.14640/NoctuaIV4

Ciencia y ejército en un mundo ilustrado y galante: en torno a los eruditos de José Cadalso

The scientific interests of the Spanish Crown were satisfied by the University, the Church and the Armies. The aim of this article is to underline the characteristics of the new “savant” emerging from the enlightened institutions. Thus, a comparison is traced between two distinguished officers, the French Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis and the Spanish Jose de Cadalso. New approaches to learning and teaching and a growing interest in science, coming from both the Crown and European enlightened societies, are presented. Even the new roles of women in scientific fields have been necessarily taken into account: these are shown in new books, institutions and social relations.

Theorizing epigenesis in a time of preexistence: From the end of the seventeenth century to the 1720s.

According to a classic periodization in the history of science, biological thought as it emerged in France from the last decades of the seventeenth century to the 1740s was strongly committed to the doctrine of the preexistence of germs. Nicolas Malebranche's role in disseminating this paradigm, particularly in the milieu of the Académie Royale des Sciences during the years when Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle was its secretary, has been studied in detail, especially by Jacques Roger. However, much less has been said about the authors who argued against this doctrine prior to the appearance of the relevant pieces by Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, and Denis Diderot. I aim to examine a series of French medical treatises and clandestine manuscripts that outlined a mechanist theory of epigenesis, between the end of the seventeenth century and the 1720s, to bring to light the strategies-often quite original-that allowed them to achieve this result. One interesting case is the heterodox readers of Malebranche, which use some of his own arguments (notably on the physiology of brain traces and the laws of nature) both against preexistence and to support epigenesis. I inquire into the historical worth of the positions defended by these authors as well as into the connections existing between the history of epigenesis and that of materialism in the early modern era.

Between Pleasure and Terror: Enlightenment Science and Maupertuis’ Letter on the Comet

The prospect of a comet colliding with the earth was a persistent theme in eighteenth-century natural philosophy, particularly in Britain and France. This article surveys the widespread speculations about catastrophic interactions between comets and the earth in order to open up broader questions about the Enlightenment’s imagination of global disaster. Focusing on Pierre-Louis de Maupertuis’ Letter on the Comet (1742), which presents the annihilation of the earth by comet as a remote but nonetheless real future threat, I show how a text intended as pleasing edu-tainment for an upper-class audience of educated Parisians nevertheless moves between different generic traditions and emotional registers. Maupertuis’ Letter cycled rapidly between inciting and discouraging readers’ fear, revealing a profoundly ambivalent attitude towards global disaster marked by the simultaneous airing and suppressing of a sense of cosmological disquiet.

Anders Celsius’ Contributions to Meridian Arc Measurements and the Establishment of an Astronomical Observatory in Uppsala

Abstract Astronomy has been on the curriculum of Uppsala University from at least the middle of the 15th century. However, since Uppsala also was the ecclesiastical centre of Sweden, the acceptance of new ideas, such as the Copernican heliocentric system, was slow. At the same time, more peripheral universities in the Swedish empire, including Dorpat/Tartu, enjoyed a larger freedom. It was not until the early 18th century that a ‘modern’ astronomy emerged in Uppsala. This effort was to a large extent led by Anders Celsius (1701-1744), who was able to establish good international contacts with astronomers in continental Europe. Celsius participated in De Maupertuis’ expedition to the far north of Sweden, in order to measure the meridian arc and determine the shape of the Earth. This paper explores how Celsius became involved in De Maupertuis’ expedition, and how this effort paved the way to the establishment of a fully equipped astronomical observatory, including an extensive collection of books and instruments, most of which survives up to this day.

Endowed Molecules and Emergent Organization: The Maupertuis-Diderot Debate

In his Systeme de la nature ou Essai sur les corps organists (originally published in Latin in 1751 as Dissertatio inauguralis metaphysica de universali naturae systemate, under the pseudonym Dr Baumann), Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, President of the Berlin Academy of Sciences and a natural philosopher with a strong interest in the modes of transmission of 'genetic' information, described living minima which he termed molecules, "endowed with desire, memory and intelligence." Now, Maupertuis was Leibnizian of sorts; his molecules possessed higher-level, 'mental' properties, recalling La Mettrie's statement in L'Homme-Machine, that Leibnizians have "rather spiritualized matter than materialized the soul." But Maupertuis also debated this issue with Diderot, who critiqued this theory in the additions to his 1753 Pensées sur l'interpritation de la nature. Where Maupertuis attributes higher-level properties to his living minima, Diderot argues that these can only be 'organizational', i.e., properties of the whole. At issue here is the degree of commitment to a form of materialism.

SWEDEN AND L'ACADÉMIE DES SCIENCES

This article discusses the scientific relations between Sweden and France in the 18th century and how the Swedes had access to the new international scientific community that was building up with the new science academies. Contemporary honours accorded to the Swedes indicate who acquired entrance to the European scientific elite and why. International recognition was often tied to personal relations, patrons and foreign travels. P.‐L. M. de Maupertuis' expedition to the Arctic Circle in 1736–1737 was an influential event. But also other Swedes than the academy elite were present in French translations. A common denominator behind the interest accorded to both groups often seems to be related to the northernness of Sweden as a unique place for performing experiments and observations. New explanations (apart from the often appealling exoticism) are sought from the experimental and encyclopedistic nature of 18th‐century science and the implications of the widespread climate discource.

Origem da vida e origem das espécies no século XVIII: as concepções de Maupertuis

A obra de Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis abrange os domínios da geometria, da física e da astronomia, mas também explora um tema biológico central da agenda científica e filosófica do século XVIII: o problema da geração dos organismos. No Sistema da natureza (1752), o autor apresenta uma ampla teoria que pretende explicar, a partir de um princípio gerativo universal, como os organismos atuais são gerados, como as espécies podem conservar-se ao longo do tempo e como ocorre a formação de novas espécies a partir de uma dada linhagem de organismos. Com base em tais explicações, Maupertuis apresenta certas conjecturas sobre a origem dos primeiros organismos e das primeiras espécies que serão o objeto central deste artigo. Segundo nossa interpretação, Maupertuis explorou o problema das origens da vida e das espécies a partir de dois quadros teóricos distintos, que designaremos como quadros metafísico e físico das origens. No primeiro, a ação de Deus é decisiva para a produção dos primeiros organismos e das primeiras espécies, mas no segundo essa mesma produção é explicada conjecturalmente a partir de uma concepção natural e atomista.

Eulers "Harmony" Between the Principles of "Rest" and "Least Action"

In 1751, LEONHARD EULER established “harmony” between two principles that had been stated by PIERRE-LOUIS-MOREAU DE MAUPERTUIS a few years earlier. These principles are intended to be the foundations of Mechanics; they are the principle of rest and the principle of least action.

Anders Celsius—Temperature Scale

Anders Celsius, regarded as the founder of Swedish astronomy, is best remembered as the inventor of the Celsius temperature scale (often called the centigrade scale), in which 0°C is the freezing point of water and 100°C is the boiling point. The centigrade thermometer (described in 1742) is commonly used throughout most of the world, especially in scientific laboratories. Celsius, the most distinguished member of a well-known scientific family, was born on Nov. 27, 1701, in Uppsala, Sweden (eastern Sweden, 40 miles northwest of Stockholm). He studied astronomy, mathematics, and experimental physics at the University of Uppsala, where his father was professor of astronomy. In 1726, young Anders became secretary of the Uppsala Scientific Society. In 1730, after teaching at the university for several years as professor of mathematics, he succeeded his father as professor of astronomy. He remained in that position until his death in 1744. From 1732 to 1736, Celsius traveled extensively in other countries; he visited famous astronomers and observatories in Berlin and Nuremberg (Germany), Paris (France), and Italy. While in Paris, he met a famous French mathematician-astronomer, Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698-1759). In 1736, Celsius joined Maupertuis' expedition to Tornea in northern Sweden (now Tornio, Finland). During 1736 and 1737, as an astronomer, Celsius helped with the planned meridian measurements in the polar region, measurements that confirmed the theory of Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) that the earth is flattened at its poles. Celsius was the first person to associate northern lights with the magnetic field of the earth. In 1733, he published a collection of 316 observations of the aurora borealis (northern lights) made by himself and others from 1716 to 1732. In 1735, Celsius became a fellow of the Royal Society. In 1740, he was the instigator of the building of the Uppsala Observatory, the first modern installation of its kind in Sweden, which was completed in 1742. He died in Uppsala on Apr. 25, 1744, when he was only 42 years old. He was honored on a stamp issued by Sweden in 1982.