学术报告
讲题：Defining Nature’s Limits: The Roman Inquisition and the Boundaries of Science
主讲人：
Neil Tarrant
约克大学文艺复兴与近代早期研究中心副研究员
主持人：
Daniele Macuglia马大年
北京大学科技医史系助理教授
时间地点：
2024年5月9日 15:10-17:00
北京大学静园一院201
腾讯会议：673-585-769
ZOOM 会议号: 401 953 1691密码: 556557
摘要
In this lecture I discuss a number of the key themes from my recently published monograph Defining Nature’s Limits: The Roman Inquisition and the Boundaries of Science. Drawing on innovative scholarship in the history of the Catholic Church and the history of science and magic, I explain why the Roman Inquisition prosecuted practitioners of learned operative arts such as alchemy, astrology and various forms of natural magic in sixteenth century Italy. These arts have often been considered peripheral to the development of modern science. Consequently, the Church’s efforts to censor them have been seen to have a marginal, or perhaps even a positive impact on modern science. In this lecture I will contest this idea. The operators of these magical arts argued that since they functioned by natural means they were entirely legitimate. I suggest that the Church understood the boundaries of the natural order differently and disputed whether unaided humans could use these arts to produce their claimed effects. The Roman Inquisition’s prosecution of learned magic thus marked an important stage in the Church’s efforts to define the legitimate boundaries of scientific knowledge.
主讲人简介
Neil is a specialist in the intellectual and cultural history of sixteenth-century Italy, with a particular focus on the history of science and medicine. He studied in the History Department of the University of Edinburgh, the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at Imperial College London and the Centre for Intellectual History at the University of Sussex. He has subsequently worked in the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at Imperial College, the History Department at Royal Holloway University of London, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies at the University of Edinburgh and the History Department at the University of York and the School of History at the University of Leeds.
