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Beeckman, Isaac

Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences

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Synonyms

Isaacus Beeckmannus; Isack Beeckmans; Isack Beekman

Introduction

Isaac Beeckman (1588–1637) was a Dutch philosopher and scientist, who, by combining his scholarly activities with an intimate knowledge of materials and natural processes, was able to devise a corpuscular and completely mechanical philosophy of nature, or philosophia physico-mathematica (Dijksterhuis 1961). Being exemplary of the intersection of theory and practice in the emergence of early modern science, he was able to inform important thinkers such as Descartes, Mersenne, and Gassendi. The subjects covered by Beeckman include, among many others, alchemy, architecture, astrology, atomism, candlemaking, chemistry, divination, (hydraulic) engineering, language, mathematics, mechanics, medicine, meteorology, music, optics, philosophy, physics, superstition, and theology.

Life

Isaac Beeckman was born on December 10, 1588, in Middelburg in the southwestern Netherlands, then a flourishing trade center. After...

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References

  • Beeckman I Loci communes. Zeeuwse Bibliotheek, MS. No. 6471, Middelburg

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  • Cohen HF (1984) Quantifying music: the science of music at the first stage of the scientific revolution 1580–1650. Springer, Dordrecht

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  • De Waard C (ed) (1939–1953) Journal tenu par Isaac Beeckman, 4 vols. Martinus Nijhoff, Den Haag

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  • Dijksterhuis EJ (1961) The mechanization of the world picture (trans: Dikshoorn C). Oxford University Press, Oxford

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  • Kubbinga HH (2002) L’histoire du concept de “molécule”, 3 vols. Springer, Paris. English edition: Kubbinga HH (2009) The molecularization of the world picture, or the rise of the universum arausiacum. University of Groningen Press, Groningen

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  • Long PO (2011) Artisan/practitioners and the rise of the new sciences, 1400–1600. Oregon State University Press, Orvalis

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  • Smith PH (2004) The body and the artisan: art and experience in the scientific revolution. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

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  • Van Berkel K (1983) Isaac Beeckman (1588–1637) en de mechanisering van het wereldbeeld. Rodopi, Amsterdam

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  • Van Berkel K (2013) Isaac Beeckman on matter and motion: mechanical philosophy in the making. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Warburg Institute, London, UK

    Jelle J. W. Kalsbeek

Authors
  1. Jelle J. W. Kalsbeek
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jelle J. W. Kalsbeek .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Dana Jalobeanu

  2. Dept. of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University Dept. Philosophy & Moral Sci, Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

    Charles T. Wolfe

Section Editor information

  1. Dept. of Philosophy, Paul Valéry University, Montpellier cedex 5, France

    Delphine Bellis

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Kalsbeek, J.J.W. (2020). Beeckman, Isaac. In: Jalobeanu, D., Wolfe, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_131-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_131-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Beeckman, Isaac
    Published:
    19 May 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_131-2

  2. Original

    Beeckman, Isaac
    Published:
    25 January 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_131-1

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