Original scientific paper
The self-defence of Aristotelian natural philosophy in Galileo’s Epoch: Georgius Raguseius and Matija Frkić
Mihaela Girardi-Karšulin
Abstract
On the basis of two texts written by Croatian Aristotelians at the beginning of the seventeenth century, Georgius Raguseius (?–1622) and Matija Frkić (Matthaeus Ferchius, 1583–1669), this article aims to interpret Aristotelianism of that period in its attempt to defend itself against the challenges of early modern natural science, i.e. to defend itself against the threats posed to Aristotelianism by Galileo. The fact that neither of the two authors argued with Galileo further hampers the interpretation. Both authors observe inconsistencies in peripatetic philosophy and, in order to eliminate them, they abandon some essential concepts of Aristotelianism. They both depart from ‘orthodox’ Aristotelianism, but in so doing fail to approach each other in their views.
In order to maintain the difference between the sublunar and supralunar world in the sense of a hiatus between natural philosophy and mathematics, Raguseius abandons the concept of the analogy of being. Frkić’s task was more challenging. He admits that astrology-astronomy is at the same time both mathematics and natural philosophy. He first rejects the concept of ether or fifth substance, asserting that the sky is fire. By doing so, he defined astrology-astronomy as natural philosophy. What remained to be answered was whether astrology-astronomy is mathematics. Given that astronomy-astrology is also the science of the celestial substance, i.e. fire that is of the same kind as the terrestrial fire, it, according to Aristotle’s principle by which mathematical exactness ought be sought in immaterial beings only, should not be considered mathematics. In order to eliminate the hiatus between the fifth substance and the terrestrial substances, hiatus between the eternal and created, Frkić decides on the thesis by which the same mathematics is valid for both terrestrial and celestial domain. However, he made no attempt at further conclusions. Although neither Raguseius nor Frkić launched a polemic with Galileo, determining of the place of astronomy and mathematics in the peripatetic system in the period marked by the birth of early modern natural science no doubt called for the rethinking of some peripatetic philosophemes.
Keywords
Matija Frkić (Matthaeus Ferchius); Georgius Raguseius, astrologyastronomy; analogy of being (analogia entis); fifth substance (quinta substantia); ether; mathematics; Galileo Galilei
Hrčak ID:
217898
URI
Publication date:
12.3.2019.
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