Call for Papers ERASMIAN SCIENCE The infuence on Early-Modern science of Erasmus of Rotterdam and his legacy
for a special issue of the
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY HISTORY OF IDEAS
in collaboration with the
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science – MPIWG, Berlin
htp://www.jihi.eu • htp://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de
Erasmus of Roterdam stands out, in cultural history, as the main
representative of European humanism. His works infuenced
more than one generation of early modern scholars and intellectuals,
he established an international respublica literarum sharing
common humanistic values, and his editorial activity set unprecedented
high standards of scientifc quality. His oeuvre radiated
out particularly from major printing centers (Venice, Basel and Paris), and was
immediately echoed in Britain and throughout continental Europe. Te aim of this special
issue of the Journal of Interdisciplinary History of Ideas is to answer the many relevant
questions concerning whether the label “Erasmian Science” can be extended beyond the
spheres of rhetoric, pedagogy, and the edition of religious texts: Are there signifcant
Erasmian components in the dawn and development of Renaissance and Early-Modern science? Apart from his role as a public intellectual in the turmoil of his time (e.g., his irenic
batle), did Erasmus infuence scholarship in disciplinary felds that have so far escaped our
atention? Were his activity, legacy, and networks connected with the development of early modern natural, mathematical and empirical sciences?
Te most general interrogation that is to be dealt with in this special issue concerns the relationship between humanistic culture and early modern science. Te relevance of philology for the Italian Renaissance of mathematics, as well as for Peurbach’s and Regiomontanus’s revival of Ptolemaic astronomy is beyond doubt. A desideratum in the history of science is an assessment of how Erasmus’s commitment was transmitted to the following generation of humanist scientists, for instance through his publication of the other Ptolemy, namely of the Geographia
(1533).
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY HISTORY OF IDEAS
in collaboration with the
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science – MPIWG, Berlin
htp://www.jihi.eu • htp://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de
Erasmus of Roterdam stands out, in cultural history, as the main
representative of European humanism. His works infuenced
more than one generation of early modern scholars and intellectuals,
he established an international respublica literarum sharing
common humanistic values, and his editorial activity set unprecedented
high standards of scientifc quality. His oeuvre radiated
out particularly from major printing centers (Venice, Basel and Paris), and was
immediately echoed in Britain and throughout continental Europe. Te aim of this special
issue of the Journal of Interdisciplinary History of Ideas is to answer the many relevant
questions concerning whether the label “Erasmian Science” can be extended beyond the
spheres of rhetoric, pedagogy, and the edition of religious texts: Are there signifcant
Erasmian components in the dawn and development of Renaissance and Early-Modern science? Apart from his role as a public intellectual in the turmoil of his time (e.g., his irenic
batle), did Erasmus infuence scholarship in disciplinary felds that have so far escaped our
atention? Were his activity, legacy, and networks connected with the development of early modern natural, mathematical and empirical sciences?
Te most general interrogation that is to be dealt with in this special issue concerns the relationship between humanistic culture and early modern science. Te relevance of philology for the Italian Renaissance of mathematics, as well as for Peurbach’s and Regiomontanus’s revival of Ptolemaic astronomy is beyond doubt. A desideratum in the history of science is an assessment of how Erasmus’s commitment was transmitted to the following generation of humanist scientists, for instance through his publication of the other Ptolemy, namely of the Geographia
(1533).