סמינר מחקר 5 ביוני: Luca Guzzardi - Jesuit Physico-Mathesis after Clavius: The Shaping of a Mathematical Style
סמינר מחקר 5 ביוני: Luca Guzzardi - Jesuit Physico-Mathesis after Clavius: The Shaping of a Mathematical Style
The variety of positions regarding the role of mathematics emerged within the Roman
College since the last decades of the 17 th century can be considered as a late result of a
more ancient debate which usually goes under the name of Quaestio de Certitudine
Mathematicarum. The debate, characterizing much of the 16 th century “philosophy of
mathematics” particularly in Italy, has been described more times and with different
emphases and purposes. For many reasons ― and particularly because of its importance
for Galilei ― scholarship has chiefly concentrated on the age of Clavius. However, it is not
clear whether it really was a “monolithic” controversy with a well recognizable and stable
core or it was instead a multifaceted discussion around a plurality of issues pertaining the
status of mathematics and the relevance of mathematical methods to other disciplines.
In the present paper, I contend that the quaestio and its consequences, in their multiple
threads, would leave at least an important legacy in the post-Clavius era. For, a renewed
formulation of its main themes played a crucial role in shaping a physico-mathematical
tradition, which became peculiar to most of the successors of Clavius and initiated novel
epistemological trends within the Roman College. So, in this paper I will: (i) outline the
main treats of this tradition; (ii) assess its effects in the renewal of mathematical teaching
and practice at the Roman College during the 18 th century; (iii) show how crucial this
context was for one of the most prominent Jesuit scientists since 1740s, namely Ruggiero
Boscovich, whose theoretical and epistemological approach was the final result of this tradition.