Original scientific paper

Josip Zanchi of Rijeka on Marko Antun de Dominis of Rab

Ivica Martinović ; Institute for Philosophy, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

While teaching philosophy at the University of Vienna (1746–1749) and the elite school Collegium Theresianum (1749–1752), but also theology in the same city, Josip Zanchi, Jesuit of noble birth from Rijeka, had published four editions of his manual Physica particularis, containing also a most comprehensive meteorological treatise. In each of the four Vienna editions (1748, 1750, 1753, 1754) his elaboration on the cause of rainbow opens a historical paragraph comprising a short survey of de Dominis’, Descartes’ and Newton’s contributions to the explanation of rainbow. Search for Zanchi’s source in the works dealing with natural philosophy published after Newton’s Opticks (1704) has brought to light three Newtonians who also mentioned de Dominis: Henry Pemberton, Voltaire and Antonio Genovesi. The name of Pieter van Musschenbroek should be added to this list. He described de Dominis’ role in the history of the explanation of rainbow under the influence of Genovesi, published posthumously in his work Introductio ad philosophiam naturalem (1762).
While composing his historical paragraph on the explanation of rainbow, Josip Zanchi followed in the footsteps of Newton or a Newtonian. He exceeded Newton by stating that de Dominis was »the first to have discovered the true cause of rainbow,« carefully employing videtur in support of his argument, his description of Descartes’ contribution being more objective than that of Newton or some Newtonians. However, in his academic lectures on rainbow, he followed the latest scientific discoveries – Newton.
Through Zanchi’s manual Physica particularis, Croatian professors and students of philosophy could also have become familiar with de Dominis’ optical and meteorological contribution. This manual was available in the libraries of two Jesuit philosophical schools: Zagreb College or Collegium Zagrabiense, not later than 1758, and in Požega College or Collegium Poseganum, from 1769 at the latest.

Keywords

rainbow; experiment with glass globe; Marko Antun de Dominis; Isaac Newton; Henry Pemberton; Voltaire; Antonio Genovesi; Ruđer Bošković; Josip Zanchi; Pieter van Musschenbroek

Hrčak ID:

48489

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/48489

Publication date:

8.2.2010.

Article data in other languages: croatian

Visits: 2.301 *