Nuncius-journal of The History of Science 

About: Nuncius-journal of The History of Science is an academic journal published by Brill. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): History of science & Context (language use). It has an ISSN identifier of 0394-7394. Over the lifetime, 554 publications have been published receiving 1482 citations.

The heritage of dugald stewart: oxford philosophy and the method of political economy

Abstract: L'articolo esamina il dibattito sulla metodologia dell'economia politica che anima i circoli intellettuali anglicani degli inizi del diciannovesimo secolo. Ad Oxford, l'approccio all'economia politica era fortemente condizionato dalla riflessione critica sulle proposte epistemologiche avanzate da Dugald Stewart nel suo Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind. I pensatori dell'Oriel College che presero parte al dibattito erano preoccupati dal processo di rapida trasformazione della societa inglese, e dall'emergere di fonti di autorita culturale indipendenti dalla, se non apertamente contrarie alla Chiesa Anglicana ed alle Universita. La discussione della metodologia dell'economia politica investiva dunque diversi aspetti dalla vita sociale ed intellettuale del tempo.

Greek Alchemists at Work: 'Alchemical Laboratory' in the Greco-Roman Egypt

Abstract: The paper focuses on the alchemical laboratory of ancient Greco-Egyptian alchemists, by taking into account especially the earliest alchemical texts (both in the Greek and in the Syriac tradition), ascribed to Pseudo-Democritus, Maria the Jewish and Zosimus. The first part analyzes the possible relationships between the workshops of Egyptian craftsmen (first of all, dyers, metals workers and glass workers) and the activity of the alchemists. The second part gives a general overview on the alchemical instruments described in the Corpus alchemicum.

Le immagini della natura: scale, mappe, alberi 1700-1800

Abstract: SUMMARY The eighteenth century images of nature do not all refer to the traditional « scale » model but they rather belong to three distinguished types.The concept of the « scale » was reformulated by some very important philosophers between the seventeenth and the eighteenth century (Locke, Leibniz) and spread by the most eminent naturalists (Tyson, Vallisnieri, Bonnet). It is based on the continuity and fullness of nature and consists in lining up bodies, from the simplest to the most complex, according to an order that is also hierarchical. The popularity of the scale starts decreasing in the first half of the eighteenth century; around 1770 the scale loses all its morphological characteristics and ideological functions and it disappears within a few years.The « map », as the first alternative to the scale, was conceived and put forth by Donati and Linnaeus around 1750. From the empirical point of view it represents the discovery that nature is a much more complex field than was traditionally assumed and, in particular, it shows that the multiple and differentiated affinities existing between living bodies make it necessary to group them " in bunches ". From the theoretical point of view, the map that was popular in the second half of the eighteenth century is the two-dimensional image of any possible type of element, according to the principle that « all what can be, is » (Buffon).The « tree » is different from both the previous images; its history is more complex also because, unlike the scale and the map, the principles it is based upon and the concepts it suggests are different and sometimes in contrast with the previous ones. It was conceived by Pallas (1766) to represent the discontinuity of nature and the separation of the biological world. It became the « genealogical tree » only with great difficulty in 1801, that is the three-dimensional image of evolution: it was Lamarck who, after rejecting the « scale » and the « map », definitively decreed its success in the nineteenth century.

Guidobaldo dal monte and the archimedean revival

Abstract: RIASSUNTO Questo saggio esamina il ruolo di Guidobaldo dal Monte all'interno del rinascimento di studi matematici in Italia nella seconda meta del '500. Le sue posizioni vengono confrontate brevemente con quelle di Giovanni Battista Benedetti e soprattutto di Federico Commandino. Mentre Benedetti sviluppa un atteggiamento fortemente critico di Aristotele e della filosofia in generale, e Commandino mostra di concepire il rinascimento matematico come una profonda riforma del sapere e ristrutturazione della gerarchia tra le varie discipline, dal Monte si limita a promuovere matematica e soprattutto meccanica con scopi molto piu limitati; obiettivi filosofici e critica anti-aristotelica rimangono al di fuori della portata della sua azione. Queste osservazioni mostrano l'esistenza di una ampia gamma di posizioni nell'ambito del revival archimedeo in Italia e della stessa scuola matematica urbinate: nonostante alcuni innegabili punti di contatto, i progetti culturali rintracciabili nelle opere di Commandino e dal Monte sono profondamente diversi.