LECTURE
Lecture 16: The Mechanical Philosophy (3/20)
I. Gassendi's Alternative Mechanical Philosophy
A. Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655)
B. His Christianized Atomism
II. Science, Magic, and Religion
A. Magic, Mechanical Arts, and Mechanical Philosophy
B. 'Occult Qualities' in Aristotelian Philosophy
C. Malinowski, Thomas, Mersenne
D. Elite versus Popular
III. From Renaissance to Rebellion (and Disenchantment)
A. In Praise of Novelty
B. A 'New Method' for the 'New Science'
C. A New Image & New Ideology of Scientific Knowledge
[References: Boas 1952; Eamon 1983; Henry 1986; Horton 1970; Houghton 1942; Hutchison 1982; Hutchison 1983; Mendelsohn 1977; Millen 1985; Schuster 1990; Thorndike 1951; Webster 1982]
I. GASSENDI'S ALTERNATIVE MECHANICAL PHILOSOPHY
A. PIERRE GASSENDI (1592-1655)
I SPOKE LAST TIME ABOUT THE MECHANICAL PHILOSOPHY OF RENÉ DESCARTES
HE BELIEVED THAT HE WAS ABLE TO ERECT A SYSTEM OF NATURE BASEDON A VERY SPARSELY POPULATED ONTOLOGY; NAMELY, FIRST, SECOND,AND THIRD MATTER; VORTICES; RECTALINEAR INERTIA, AND CONSERVATION OF MOTION
BY RELYING ON STRICTLY MECHANICAL INTERACTIONS; THAT IS, ON THEMOTIONS, COLLISIONS, AND VIBRATIONS OF MATTER, DESCARTES BELIEVES HE IS ABLE TO CONSTRUCT EXPLANATIONS FOR ALL THE PHENOMENA OF THE NATURAL WORLD
AND BY REDUCING NATURE TO ITS GEOMETRIC ESSENCE -- THAT IS, TO JUST THOSE PROPERTIES THAT CAN BE REPRESENTED GEOMETRICALLY -- DESCARTES HAS ACHIEVED WHAT HE SET OUT TO DO; CONSTRUCT A NATURAL PHILOSOPHY BASED ON CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE
I ALSO SUGGESTED THAT THE ESSENTIALS OF HIS NATURAL PHILOSOPHYCOULD BE REDUCED TO THREE BASIC CHARACTERISTICS:
1) FIRST, HE BELIEVED THAT ALL NATURAL PHENOMENA COULD BE REDUCED TO MATTER IN MOTION
2) SECOND, ALL CAUSATION MUST OCCUR THOUGH CONTACT BETWEENMATERIAL BODIES -- IN OTHER WORDS, THERE CAN BE NO OCCULT, OR HIDDEN, AGENCIES IN NATURE
THE ONLY FORM OF EXPLANTION ACCEPTABLE TO DESCARTES IS ONE THAT RESTS ON CLEAR AND DISTINCT IDEAS OF THE GEOMETER
3) THIRD, THERE EXISTS A FUNDAMENTAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY QUALITIES
AND IC ONCLUDED BY STATING THAT ONE COULD REJECT VIRTUALLY ALL THE DETAILS OF DESCARTES MECHANICAL EXPLANATIONS AND STILLBE A MECHANICAL PHILOSOPHER BY ADHERING TO THESE THREE POINTS
AN EXAMPLE OF AN ALTERNATIVE MECHANICAL PHILOSOPHY COMES FROM A FRENCHMAN AND CONTEMPORARY OF DESCARTES, NAMED PIERRE GASSENDI
GASSENDI WAS BORN IN 1592 IN SOUTHERN FRANCE, THUS MAKING HIM ONLY 4 YEARS OLDER THAN DESCARTES
HE WAS ALSO EDUCATED BY JESUITS, WAS A CHILD PRODIGY, AND ADVANCED THROUGH THE ACADEMIC SYSTEM SO RAPIDLY THAT HE RECEIVED HIS DOCTORATE IN THEOLOGY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF AVIGNON AT THE AGE OF 22 -- THE MORE TYPICAL AGE WAS AROUNF 35
IN 1616 HE TOOK HOLY ORDERS AND BECAME A SECULAR PRIEST -- THAT IS, HE WAS A CLERIC BUT UNATTACHED TO ANY FORMAL RELIGIOUS ORDER
FROM 1617 UNTIL 1623, GASSENDI WAS A TEACHER OF PHILOSOPHY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF AIX-EN-PROVENCE IN SOUTHERN FRANCE
B. HIS CHRISTIANIZED ATOMISM
IN THE COURSE OF HIS STUDIES, GASSENDI BECAME FASCINATED WITH THE THEORIES OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ATOMISTS
AS A MATURE AND ERUDITE SCHOLAR, GASSENDI SET OUT TO REVIVE AND MODIFY ANCIENT ATOMISM AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO HERMETICISM
LIKE DESCARTES, GASSENDI DISLIKED THE HEREMTIC PHILOSOPHER'S UNSATISFYING RECOURSE TO OCCULT POWERS AND HIDDEN FORCES TO EXPLAIN THE WORKINGS OF NATURE
THE DETAILS OF GREEK ATOMISM HAD BEEN AVALIABLE IN EUROPE FORAT LEAST 150 YEARS PRIOR TO GASSENDI'S WORK, BUT ITS ACCEPTANCE AS A GENERAL NATURAL PHILOSOPHY HAD BEEN IMPEDED BY TWO OBSTACLE
1) FIRST, ARISTOTLE HAD CAREFULLY SUMMARIZED AND ROUNDLY CONDEMNED THE IDEAS OF DEMOCRITUS, THE BEST-KNOWN OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ATOMISTS
2) THE THE ATOMIC THEORY WAS THOROUGHLY MATERIALISTIC AND THUS CARRIED WITH IT THE STIGMA OF ATHEISM
THE ANCIENT GREEK ATOMISTS HAD NO PLACE FOR GREEK GODS IN THEIR UNIVERSE; THERE EXISTED FOR THEM ONLY ATOMS, THE VOID, ANDMOTION
AND A NATURAL PHILOSOPHY THAT HAD NO PLACE FOR SPIRITUAL ENTITIES WAS WHOLLY UNACCEPTABLE TO CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS
AND, THOUGH WESTERN SCHOLARS KNEW OF GREEK ATOMISM THROUGH THE NEGATIVE ACCOUNTS OF ARISTOTLE FROM THE 13TH CENTURY ONWARD, ALMOST NO PHILOSOPHER HAD EVER TRIED TO EMPLOY ATOMISM AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO ARISTOTELIAN MATTER THEORY
BUT GASSENDI CLEARLY SAW THE POTENTIAL OF ATOMISM AS A SYSTEMOF MECHANICAL EXPLANATION AND SOUGHT TO REMOVE THE TAINT OFATHEISM
GASSENDI SUCCEEDS IN 'CHRISTIANIZING' ANCIENT ATOMISM BY MAKING THE CHRISTIAN GOD THE CREATOR OF ATOMS, THUS DENYING THE ANCIENT PREMISE THAT ATOMS ARE UNCREATED AND ETERNAL
IN HIS VIEW, THE EXISTENCE OF ATOMS IN THE ABSENCE OF GOD IS IMPOSSIBLE
AND, NOT SUPRISINGLY, HE ADDS TO THE STARK ONTOLOGY OF ATOMISM, THE EXISTENCE OF A NON-MATERIAL SUBSTANCE, THE HUMANSOUL
ALTHOUGH THIS MAY NOT BE A PROFOUND RE-WORKING OF ANCIENT ATOMISM, IT IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT GIVES ATOMISTIC IDEAS A CURRENCY AND LEGITIMACY THEY DID NOT PREVIOUSLY POSSESS
WHAT ESPECIALLY APPEALED TO GASSENDI, WAS THE POSSIBLITY OF USING ATOMISM TO WORK OUT STRICTLY MECHANICAL EXPLANATIONS OFNATURAL PHENOMENA
IN THIS SENSE, BOTH GASSENDI AND DESCARTES WERE PURSUING THE SAME ENDS; AND IN GENERAL THEY AGREED UPON THE THREE POINTS MENTIONED EARLIER
HOWEVER, GASSENDI DENIED SEVERAL OF THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF THECARTESIAN MECHANICAL PHILOSOPHY
1) FIRST, HE DID NOT ACCEPT THE IDENTITY OF MATTER AND EXTENSION
2) SECOND, HE REJECTED THE PLENUM AND ALSO THE VORTICES
3) AND THIRD, HE DENIED THAT MATTER WAS INFINITELY DIVISIBLE
IN OTHER WORDS, HE ACCEPTED THE FUNDAMENTAL PRECEPT OF ATOMIC THEORY; THAT THE SMALLEST CHUNKS OF MATTER, ATOMS, ARE A PRIORI INDIVISIBLE
NOW GASSENDI'S ATOMS, LIKE THE ATOMS OF DEMOCRITUS, WERE TINY IMMUTABLE PIECES OF MATTER OF VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES
THEY POSSES ONLY THE PROPERTIES OF SHAPE, HARDNESS, IMPENETRABILITY, AND INDIVISIBILITY
ALTHOUGH THE ATOMS THEMSELVES ARE NOT SUBJECT TO ANY PHYSICAL CHANGE EXCEPT CHANGE OF PLACE -- THAT IS, THEY MOVE --, THEIR CONFIGURATIONS AND MOTIONS ACCOUNT FOR ALL THE PHENOMENA OF THE NATURAL WORLD
UNLIKE DESCARTES' SWIRLING MASS OF MATTER, GASSENDI'S ATOMS MOVE IN A VOID: AN INFINITELY EXTENDED, THREE-DIMENSIONAL, PERFECTLY EMPTY EUCLIDEAN SPACE
VOID SPACE EXISTS WHETHER OR NOT ANYTHING RESIDES 'IN' IT
INDEED, GASSENDI OFFERS ONE OF THE FIRST STATEMENTS OF WHAT, INTHE MIND OF NEWTON, WOULD BE COME TO BE CALLED ABSOLUTE TIME AND ABSOLUTE SPACE
FOR BOTH GASSENDI AND NEWTON, SPACE POSSESSED AN EXISTENCE QUITE INDEPENDENT OF THE EVENTS THAT OCCUR WITHIN IT
GASSENDI COULD EXPLAIN THE VARYING DEGREES OF HARDNESS, SOFTNESS, AND DENSITY OF OBJECTS IN THE NATURAL WORLD THROUGHAPPROPRIATE MIXTURES OF ATOMS OF VARIOUS SHAPES AND THE VOID SPACE BETWEEN ATOMS
REMEMBER, ONE OF THE OBJECTIONS I RAISE AGAINST CARTESIAN MATTER THEORY WAS THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND HOW ANY COMBINATION OF CARTESIAN MATTER (FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD) CAN ACCOUNT FOR OBJECTS OF DIFFERENT DENSITIES SINCE ALL THREE TYPESOF MATTER ARE OF THE SAME DENSITY
INDEED, TO GASSENDI'S WAY OF THINKING, THE VERY ACT OF MOTION INTHE CARTESIAN WORLD IN IMPOSSIBLE
FOR IN ORDER TO MOTION TO COMMENCE IN THE CARTESIAN PLENUM ALL THE MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE WOULD HAVE TO BEGIN MOVING AT EXACTLY THE SAME INSTANT -- AND THAT WOULD REQUIRE AN ABSURDLYLARGE INITIAL FORCE
MOTION IN THE ATOMIC WORLD IS EASY SINCE ATOMS MOVE EFFORTLESSLY THROUGH A NON-RESISTING VOID SPACE
AT A MORE MUNDANE LEVEL OF EXPLANATION, GASSENDI CAN EXPLAINWHY IT IS THAT ADDING SALT TO A GLASS OF WATER DOES NOT RAISE THE LEVEL OF THE WATER
IT IS BECAUSE THE ATOMS OF SALT SETTLE INTO THE EMPTY SPACES BETWEEN THE ATOMS THAT MAKE UP THE WATER
HOW CAN DESCARTES EXPLAIN THIS? IN HIS WORLD, THERE ARE NO PLACES FOR THE SALT TO HIDE IN THE WATER
BY POSTULATING ATOMS OF VARIOUS SIZES AND SHAPES, AND BY ARRANGING THEM ACORDING TO VARIOUS SPATIAL CONFIGURATIONS, GASSENDI CAN EXPLAIN A WIDE RANGE OF PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPOERTIES
OPAGUE AND RIGID OBJECTS RESULT FROM PACKING ATOMS CLOSELY TOGETHER AND GIVING THEM SHAPES THAT ALLOW THEM TO INTERLOCK,LIKE PIECES OF A JIG-SAW PUZZLE
SOUR TASTING FOODS ARE COMPOSED OF SHARP, POINTED ATOMS; SWEET FOODS FROM SMOOTH, SPHERICAL ATOMS
ONE COULD EASILY MULTIPLY EXAMPLES, BUT THERE IS NO NEED; I THINK GASSENDI'S PRINCIPLE OF EXPLANATION IS CLEAR
GASSENDI MUST ESTABLISH A ONE-TO-ONE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEENA DATUM OF SENSE-EXPERIENCE AND A CERTAIN GEOMETRIC PROPERTYOR CONFIGURATION OF ATOMS
HIS EXPLANATIONS ARE SIMPLY THE IDENTIFICATION OF A ATOM OF A PARTICULAR SHAPE -- OR GROUP OF ATOMS OF A PARTICULAR CONFIGURATION -- WITH A PARTICULAR PHENOMENON OR SENSATION
YET EXACTLY HOW THE SHAPES AND CONFIGURATIONS OF ATOMS GIVE RISE TO SENSATION IS NEVER DIRECTLY ADDRESSED
AND SINCE OUR SENSATIONS CONSIST OF SECONDARY QUALITIES AND THE ATOMS THEMSELVES OF PRIMARY QUALITIES, IT WOULD SEEM THAT WE ARE PERMANENTLY CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD OF ESSENCES
INDEED, THIS IS ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCLUSIONS THAT GASSENDI HIMSELF ACCEPTED
THERE IS A DEFINITE LIMIT TO THE ABILITY OF THE HUMAN MIND TO APPREHEND ULTIMATE REALITY
HE ADMITS THAT HE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE ESSENCE OF MATTER IS;HE CLAIMS TO BE ABLE TO APPREHEND SOME OF ITS PROPERTIES, BUT HEDOES NOT PRETEND TO KNOW ESSENCES
THE HUMAN MIND, IN GASSENDI'S VIEW, IS INCAPABLE OF PENETRATINGTO THE UNDERLYING REALITY
CONTRAST THIS, FOR A MOMENT, WITH DESCARTES' CLAIMS
FOR DESCARTES, MATTER IS EXTENSION, THUS HE BELIEVES THAT HE UNDERSTANDS THE VERY ESSENCE OF MATTER
INDEED, IT WAS PRECISLE BECAUSE THE EQUATION, MATTER = EXTESNION, PRESENTED ITSELF CLEARLY AND DISTINCTLY TO HIS MIND THAT HE KNOWS IT IS TRUE
AND IT IS UPON THIS INDUBITIBLE AXIOM THAT HE IS ABLE TO CONSTRUCT A COMPLETE NATURAL PHILOSOPHY FOUNDED UPON CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE
GASSENDI DENIED THE TRUTH OF THAT EQUATION AND THUS FOR HIM ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY CANNOT BE ACHIEVED
HE HAS ACCEPTED, AT LEAST PARTIALLY, THE CONCLUSIONS OF SKEPTICISM; OR MORE PRECISELY, HE HAS ACCEPTED WHAT HAS BEEN CALLED "MITIGATED SKEPTICISM"
THE TENETS OF MITIGATED SKEPTICISM MAINTAIN THAT THE QUEST FORCERTAINTY IS DOOMED TO FAILURE
BUT GASSENDI DOES NOT GIVE UP THE QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE ALTOGETHER, AS THE EXTREME SKEPTIC WOULD
IN THE ABSENCE OF THE CERTAINTY OF RATIONAL KNOWLEDGE, SENSE PERCEPTIONS TAKE ON A NEW IMPORTANCE
ALTHOUGH THE SENSE MAY NOT BE INFALLIBLE, THEY ARE THE BEST ACCESS WE HAVE TO THE PROPERTIES OF NATURE, AND SO WE MUST USE THEM CAREFULLY
AND ALTHOUGH SENSE PERCEPTIONS CANNOT LEAD US TO THE ESSENCEOF NATURE -- TO THE UNDERLYING REALITY -- THEY CAN PROVIDE US WITH SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO GAIN A USEFUL UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORKINGS OF NATURE
THUS GASSENDI IS NOT ONLY POSULATING A NEW ATOMIC THEORY, HE IS ALSO POSTULATING A NEW GOAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC ENTERPRISE
GASSENDI WRITES:
THE SOUNDING LINE OF MAN'S REASON IS MUCH TOO SHORT TO [PLUMB]THE DEPTHS OF THAT IMMENSE OCEAN, NATURE. . . . IT CANNOT [EVEN] ATTAIN TO THE BOTTOM OF HER SHALLOWS. . . . FOR IN AS MUCH AS THE TRUE IDEA OF NATURE IS PROPERLY KNOWN ONLY TO THE ETERNAL INTELLECT, WHICH FIRST CONCEIVED IT; IT CANNOT BE BUT ONE OF THE HIGHEST DEGREES OF MADNESS FOR DULL AND UNEQUAL MAN TO PRETEND TO AN EXACT OR ADEQUATE COMPREHENSION THEREOF"
INSTEAD OF PLUMBING THE DEPTHS AND SEEKING AFTER ESSENCES, MAN MUST CONTENT HIMSELF WITH THE SURFACE PHENOMENA; THAT IS,WITH WHAT HIS SENSES TELL HIM ABOUT THE WORLD
IN THIS NEW GOAL OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE, EMPIRICISM BECOMES CENTRAL
II. OCCULT QUALITIES IN THE MECHANICAL PHILOSOPHY
THE ALTERNATIVE AIM OF GASSENDI'S NATURAL PHILOSOPHY RAISES A NUMBER OF INTERESTING POINTS ABOUT THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL IMPACTOF THE MECHANICAL PHILOSOPHY ON EARLY MODERN SCIENCE
THESE POINTS CONCERN THE TRANSITION FROM THE ARISTOTELIAN TO THE MECHANICAL MODE OF EXPLANATION
A. ARISTOTELIAN VS. MECHANICAL PHILOSOPHY
IN THE ARISTOTELIAN SCHEME OF THINGS, THE IDEAS OF FORMS AND QUALITIES WERE OF CENTRAL IMPORTANCE IN EXPLAINING THE NATURALWORLD
ARISTOTLE CONCEIVED OF MATTER AS AN UNDIFFERENTIATED, UNIVERSAL, PRIMARY STUFF OR SUBSTANCE
HOWEVER, WE NEVER SEE THIS PRIMARY SUBSTANCE IN THIS UNDIFFERENTIATED STATE; WE ONLY SENSE OR EXPERIENCE SUBSTANCE ACCOMPANIED BY FORM
AS THEIR NAMES IMPLY, THE ARISTOTELIAN IDEAS OF 'SUBSTANTIAL FORMS' AND 'REAL QUALITIES' WERE REAL ENTITIES ATTACHED TO MATTER
THESE FORMS AND QUALITIES ARE WHAT GIVE UNDIFFERENTIATED MATTER ITS DISTINCTIVENESS
ACCORDING TO ARISTOTELIAN EPISTEMOLOGY, SINCE THESE FORMS AND QUALITIES CAN BE IMMEDIATELY PERCEIVED BY OUR SENSES, THEYCONSTITUTE WHAT CAN BE KNOWN ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD
THINK FOR A MOMENT OF THE FOUR ARISTOTELIAN ELEMENTS -- EARTH,WATER, AIR, AND FIRE -- ALL ARE COMPOSED OF THE SAME SORT OF SUBSTANCE BUT EACH IS DIFFERENTIATED FROM ALL THE OTHERS BY REASON OF THE DIFFERING COMBINATIONS OF QUALITIES
THUS EARTH IS SUBSTANCE ATTENDED BY THE QUALITIES OF DRYNESS AND COLDNESS; WATER BY THE QUALITIES OF COLDNESS AND MOISTNESS; AIR BY MOISTNESS AND HOTNESS; AND FIRE BY HOTNESS AND DRYNESS
[DIAGRAM]
THIS DIAGRAM NOT ONLY SHOWS THE SYMMETRIES OF ARISTOTELIAN MATTER THEORY, IT ALSO MAKES CLEAR HOW TRANSMUTATION CAN TAKE PLACE
THE SUBSTITUTION, SAY, OF THE QUALITY OF DRYNESS FOR THE MOISTNESS OF WATER RESULTS IN THE TRANSMUTATION OF WATER TO EARTH; JUST AS THE SUBSTITUTION OF HOTNESS FOR COLDNESS RESULTS IN THE TRANSMUTATION OF WATER TO AIR OR VAPOR
BUT OF COURSE THERE WERE MANY MORE SUBSTANTIAL FORMS AND REAL QUALITIES THAN THESE FOUR; FORMS AND QUALITIES WERE POSTULATED FOR COLOR, SOLIDITY, TASTE, VOLATILITY, CORROSIVENESS,AND SO ON
IN FACT, ALMOST ALL DISCRETE ELEMENTS OF PERCEPTION WERE ASSOCIATED WITH A CERTAIN FORM OR QUALITY -- OR PUTTING THIS THE OTHER WAY AROUND, FORMS AND QUALITIES ARE JUST THOSE PROPERTIES OF MATTER THAT CAN EXCITE SENSATION
AND SINCE THESE WERE THOUGHT TO BE REAL, INNATE COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL BODIES, THEY WERE EMPLOYED AS THE FINAL EXPLANATION OF THE PROPERTIES OF MATTER
BECAUSE QUALITITES, IN THE ARISTOTELIAN SENSE, ARE THE CAUSES OFATTRIBUTES OF MATTER, AND BECAUSE THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY ACCESSIBLE TO THE SENSES, THERE IS NO NEED TO LOOK ANY FURTHER FOR EXPLANATIONS
IF I PUT MY FINGER IN A GLASS OF WATER, I SENSE IMMEDIATELY AND DIRECTLY THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF THE WATER; NAMELY, ITS COLDNESS AND MOISTNESS; IF I PLACE MY HAND NEAR A FLAME, I AGAINSENSE DIRECTLY ITS REAL QUALITIES -- HOTNESS AND DRYNESS
THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO EXPLAIN ABOUT MY SENSE PERCEPTIONS OR THE PROPERTIES OF THE BODIES UNDER QUESTION SINCE I AM IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH ESSENCES OF THOSE BODIES
HOWEVER, THE PROPERTIES OF NATURE ARE NOT ALWAYS AS ACCESSIBLE OR TRANSPARENT TO OUR SENSES AS A GLASS OF WATER
IN FACT, QUALITIES WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO BROAD CATEGORIES; MANIFEST AND OCCULT
'MANIFEST' QUALITIES ARE SIMPLY THOSE THAT ARE SENSIBLE, OR DIRECTLY PERCEIVED BY OUR SENSES