Original scientific paper
The Natural Philosophy Views of Hermann the Dalmatian on the Harmony of Planets and the Nature of Matter
Snježana Paušek-Baždar
; Zavod za povijest i filozofiju HAZU, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
It has been demonstrated that Hermann the Dalmatian's views concerning the nature of matter assent to Platonic, Neo-Platonic and Aristotelian views, as well as to the conceptions of Arab alchemists. That enabled him to develop an original alchemic cosmology in which he established the connection between the heavenly and earthly worlds on the basis of certain »parental« laws. Hermann's description of the seven heavenly spheres is expounded; according to it, the spheres are the »nursery-garden« or the »seminary« of the inorganic and organic matter of the earthly world. Emphasizing the »parental« influence of the heavenly speheres, Hermann - along with the Arabian alchemist and physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna) - was one of the few medieval authors who denied the possibility of change of the imperfect matter of the earthly world, metals in particular, into a perfect one. That change is only possible by a vis major of the heavenly spheres.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
81954
URI
Publication date:
5.12.1994.
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