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Empirical Philosophy, Invention and the Hartlib Circle Paris–Londres : Le Cercle Hartlib, La Philosophie Empirique Et L’Invention

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Empirical Philosophy, Invention and the Hartlib Circle Paris–Londres : Le Cercle Hartlib, La Philosophie Empirique Et L’Invention View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OpenEdition Artefact Techniques, histoire et sciences humaines 7 | 2018 Os, bois, ivoire et corne : l’exploitation des matières dures d’origine animale Paris – London: empirical philosophy, invention and the Hartlib Circle Paris–Londres : le cercle Hartlib, la philosophie empirique et l’invention Anthony Turner Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/artefact/1286 DOI: 10.4000/artefact.1286 ISSN: 2606-9245 Publisher: Association Artefact. Techniques histoire et sciences humaines, Presses universitaires du Midi Printed version Date of publication: 30 May 2018 Number of pages: 123-150 ISBN: 978-2-7535-7494-6 ISSN: 2273-0753 Electronic reference Anthony Turner, « Paris – London: empirical philosophy, invention and the Hartlib Circle », Artefact [Online], 7 | 2018, Online since 30 January 2019, connection on 20 April 2019. URL : http:// journals.openedition.org/artefact/1286 ; DOI : 10.4000/artefact.1286 Artefact. Techniques, histoire et sciences humaines Paris – London: empirical philosophy, invention and the Hartlib Circle Anthony TURNER * Abstract Using the papers of Samuel Hartlib, the author examines the empirical research into the natural world affected in France and England during the early 17th century, the making of the instruments needed for this research, and the transmission of technical ideas between France and England. Keywords : Hartlib, Gassendi, Mersenne, Oldenburg, making of instruments, trans- mission, magnetism, music. 123 Résumé. Paris – Londres : le cercle Hartlib, la philosophie empirique et l’invention À travers les papiers de Samuel Hartlib, l’auteur examine les recherches empiriques sur la nature menées en France et en Angleterre dans la première moitié du xviie siècle, la production des instruments nécessaires pour de telles recherches, ainsi que la trans- mission des idées techniques entre la France et l’Angleterre. Mots-clés : Hartlib, Gassendi, Mersenne, Oldenburg, fabrication d’instruments, trans- mission, magnétisme, musique. *. Historien indépendant, Anthony Turner travaille actuellement sur un dictionnaire bio-biblio- graphique des facteurs d’instruments de précision français et suisses, 1430-1930 ; sur une histoire des montres émaillées au xviie siècle (avec Catherine Cardinal) et sur les astrolabes en France au xvie siècle. Son catalogue d’instruments mathématiques dans les collections de la Bibliothèque nationale de France est sous presse. Contact : [[email protected]]. Anthony Turner “Seeing you care not much for he was not always well-informed5, there ye philosophicall discourses of our was a great deal happening in Paris to Club, you are not hold his interest. looke for many reall Experiments Less so perhaps for Samuel Hartlib. from Frenchmen” Oldenburg’s remark quoted at the beginning is clearly a response to a Henry Oldenburg’s remark, in one of reflection by Hartlib in a now lost his regular letters to Hartlib reporting letter (probably that of 13 June 1659), philosophical and cultural news and a disgruntled comment no doubt events garnered while living in Paris on the penchant for philosophising during 1659 as tutor to Robert Boyle’s that Oldenburg had reported from nephew Richard Jones, seems dismissive the Montmor Academy. The “reall but is perhaps only ironic. Oldenburg, Experiments” that were not to be who had been in the city since April, had expected in France were experiments already had time to discover the range such as Hartlib would accept as ‘reall’, of possibilities it offered, and was just which was not necessarily the same as beginning to be accepted in its cultural those that savants in the French capital circles. On 18 June, a week before his thought they needed. Other slightly letter to Hartlib, he had described to the jaundiced remarks by Oldenburg are lawyer Pierre Saporta (1613-c. 1685), in also not automatically to be taken Castres, meetings that he had attended at face value. To Boyle on 23 July he 124 at the private, but nonetheless, regular wrote that “We have severall meetings semi-permanently structured discussion here of philosophers and statists6 wch circle that met in Habert de Montmor’s I carry yr nevew to, for to study men, town residence for philosophical as well as books; though ye French discourse and discussion, and at the daily naturalists are more discursive, yn assemblies in the Hôtel of the President active or experimentall. In the meane de Thou “where everything indifferently time the Italian proverb is true: le parole is discussed, but mainly what goes sono femine, le fatti maschii7.” Like on in the world and newly published his comment to Hartlib, this inelegant interesting books2”. He described remark probably applies specifically to in some detail an account of vision the Montmor and Thuanian meetings given by Jacques Rohault at one of his where emphasis was indeed placed regular weekly lecture-demonstrations, on discussion and philosophising. which had included the dissection of Nonetheless as Oldenburg would an eye and experiments with lenses3. shortly discover, experiments (though If initially Oldenburg was somewhat more often for demonstration than for disappointed by the level of activity in investigation) were performed at the chemical medicine that he found in Paris Montmor assemblies to which Rohault Hic Parisijs multa promittunt, sed pauca took his apparatus, and which, in the præstant (‘here in Paris many promise very year that Oldeburg was present was much, but few perform’)4, it is clear from turning, following the death of Gassendi some other of his remarks that even if in 1655 and the violent confrontation of Paris – London: empirical philosophy, invention and the Hartlib Circle Roberval and de Montmor in late 1658, industry, humility and dependence on away from speculations about causes God, meant that a good deal that was which could easily lead to dissension, essential to French natural philosophy in towards research into bodies, techniques the mid-century would be uncongenial and instrumentation which offered a to him. Fundamentally, it may be for neutral, non-divisive terrain for activity8. this reason that, the practical difficulties The Montmor academy however was of communication with a catholic not co-extensive with activity in natural state, language, correspondence and philosophy in mid-17th century Paris, and correspondents set apart, what was Oldenburg’s view was not entirely an drawn by Hartlib and his circle from objective one. In his letters he comments France is substantially rather little — a on what he sees in ways that he expects certain amount of news, much of it trivial, to be acceptable to his correspondents. information about publications and This means that in writing to Hartlib he research, knowledge of institutions and reports on practical discussions (such as events. It was the last that was probably that he had with Roberval concerning the most important for it was knowledge Descartes’ views on hyperbolical of institutions such as Renaudot’s Bureau lenses)9, on investigative experiments, d’adresse, of activities such as lens- on inventions, on chemical preparations polishing that were provoking serious and particularly on chemical medicines. attention in Paris, and the efficacy of Philosophising, rational discussion Mersenne’s correspondence network seeking causes, explanations, theories that provided essential inspiration, 125 seeking the reasons of things however models for emulation and much needed were less welcome. Hartlib’s utilitarian psychological and emotional reassurance orientation, his belief in the perfectibility for Hartlib’s similar undertakings. of human life in society through Approaches The world-view of the cultural been made between the old and the nation in mid-17th century France new cosmology10, but traditional galenic was a patchwork of compromise and and iatro-chemical medicine were in a contradiction. Aristotelianism, which still state of open hostility. Nonetheless this determined the categories of knowledge did not prevent a medical traditionalist and the structure of institutional such as Guy Patin from also being a learning, was only just beginning to free-thinker on amiable terms with be challenged by a thorough-going advanced mechanists such as Gassendi mechanism, and the force of this attack and Neuré11. Advanced techniques of was partly dissipated by the dissension research, of thinking or of demonstration of its two main proponents, Gassendi and could co-exist with traditional practices Descartes. Compromises had already and beliefs, creating an intellectual Anthony Turner confusion which compounded social of sources, casual or programmed and cultural insecurity. One distinctive observation, artisanal procedures, element of apparent modernity, but, controlled experimentation12. as the correspondence of Mersenne Because of the noisy propaganda of the and Theodore Haak would reveal, in self-elected followers of Francis Bacon in fact already having a long history, was mid-17th century England, historians of an increasing emphasis on empirical the development of natural philosophy methods and procedures, an emphasis in that country have been unable to that encouraged an experimental avoid empiricism. Indeed so much was approach to nature and with it an interest it vaunted by otherwise apparently in the techniques of artisans and in the unproductive enthusiasts, that there development of instruments, methods has even been a historiographical and tools
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