Experiment and speculation in seventeenth-century Italy

The case of Geminiano Montanari

Bibliographic Data

ID10800007
AuthorsAlberto Vanzo (0000-0001-9687-0630)
Year2016
Volume56
Pages52-61
Publication date2016-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in History and Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0039-3681 • E-ISSN: 1879-2510
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.shpsa.2015.11.001
PMID27083084
OpenAlexW2214405390
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited22

This paper reconstructs the natural philosophical method of Geminiano Montanari, one of the most prominent Italian natural philosophers of the late seventeenth century. Montanari's views are used as a case study to assess recent claims concerning early modern experimental philosophy. Having presented the distinctive tenets of seventeenth-century experimental philosophers, I argue that Montanari adheres to them explicitly, thoroughly, and consistently. The study of Montanari's views supports three claims. First, experimental philosophy was not an exclusively British phenomenon. Second, in spite of some portrayals of experimental philosophy as an 'atheoretical' or 'purely descriptive' enterprise, experimental philosophers could consistently endorse a variety of natural philosophical explanations and postulate theoretical entities. Third, experimental philosophy and mechanical philosophy were not, as such, antagonistic. They could be consistently combined in a single philosophical enterprise

Archaeology · Economics · Epistemology · Experimental philosophy · Natural (archaeology · Natural Philosophy · Phenomenon · Philosophical methodology · Philosophy of science · Speculation · Variety (cybernetics · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Computer Science · Historical Philosophy and Science · History · Philosophy · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought

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