Andrew Janiak
Space and its Relationship to God
Janiak, Andrew; Thomas, Emily
Authors
Professor Emily Thomas emily.e.thomas@durham.ac.uk
Head of Department
Contributors
David Miller
Editor
Dana Jalobeanu
Editor
Abstract
During the Scientific Revolution, philosophers wondered how best to understand space. Many debates revolved around the account advanced in Descartes’s Principles of Philosophy (1644), and this chapter treats it as a focal point. Descartes argued for a return to the Aristotelian view that there is no difference in reality between space and matter, entailing that empty space—space empty of matter—is impossible. Over the next century, all kinds of philosophers attacked this position, and this chapter takes their rejections of Cartesian space as a starting point for exploring alternative views. A varied selection of philosophers who reject Cartesian space are discussed, in chronological order: Henry More, Samuel Clarke, Isaac Newton, Catharine Cockburn, and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. The sheer breadth of alternative theories of space they advance demonstrates the metaphysical richness of this era. Nonetheless, there is a deep agreement among their alternatives: all the accounts agree on the features of space. This base agreement set the scene for Kant’s theory of space, advanced after the Scientific Revolution ended.
Citation
Janiak, A., & Thomas, E. (2022). Space and its Relationship to God. In D. Miller, & D. Jalobeanu (Eds.), The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution (424-438). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108333108.025
Online Publication Date | Jan 14, 2022 |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2022 |
Deposit Date | Feb 27, 2020 |
Publicly Available Date | Feb 28, 2020 |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 424-438 |
Book Title | The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108333108.025 |
Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1657607 |
Contract Date | Feb 26, 2020 |
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Copyright Statement
This material has been published in Janiak, Andrew & Thomas, Emily (2022). Space and its Relationship to God. In Cambridge History of the Scientific Revolution. Miller, David & Jalobeanu, Dana Cambridge Cambridge University Press. 424-438. This version is free to view and download for personal use only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works.
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