Biographical Notes

Biographical Notes Antoine Arnauld (1612-1694), philosopher, theologian, logician, and grammarian. He was a central Jansenist figure and became the leader of Port-Royal after publishing his first book, De la fréquente communion (1643). Professor of Philosophy at the Sorbonne from 1641 to 1656, he was expelled by instigation of the Jesuits, with whom he was engaged in an intense political and theological dispute, which led to the inclusion of his work in the index (1663). In spite of the hostility of his colleagues of Port- Royal to modern thought, especially to Cartesianism, Arnauld adopted a basically Cartesian stance. A brilliant polemicist, he wrote, through Mersenne’s mediation, the Fourth Objections against Descartes's Meditations (1641). He also conducted a twenty years long philosophical and theological debate with Malebranche. He corresponded with Leibniz in two crucial moments in Leibniz's intellectual development: the elaboration of his early physics (1670-1671) and the elaboration of his mature metaphysics (1686-1690). The latter interaction, initiated with Leibniz's submission to Arnauld's consideration of the Discourse on Metaphysics (1686), yielded a sharp polemical correspondence, which remains to this day crucial for understanding Leibniz's central metaphysical views. Arnauld cooperated with Isaac Le Maître in the first translation of the Bible into French. Apart from an extensive theological work, Arnauld co- authored two books that were influential in the 17th and 18th centuries: Grammaire générale et raisonnée (1660), with Lancelot, and La logique, ou l’art de penser (1662), with Nicole. Pierre Bayle (1647-1706), philosopher, historian of ideas, and polemicist. His writings were marked by his sharp critical ability, which led to a sceptical attitude and, ultimately, to fideism. Born a Calvinist, he converted early in his life, under the influence of the Jesuits, to Catholicism and then back to Calvinism – a sure indication of a searching mind. Since 1675, he taught Aristotelian Philosophy at the Protestant Academy of Sedan, at the invitation of his friend, the Calvinist theologian Pierre Jurieu, with whom he later held a bitter theological, political, and philosophical 455 456 Biographical Notes controversy. After the closing of the Academy (1681) – one of the initial steps in the suppression of religious tolerance in France, which culminated with the revocation of the Edit of Nantes (1685) – he went into exile along with many other Huguenots and settled in Rotterdam, where he was a professor at the Ecole Illustre until his death. Bayle held a basically Cartesian philosophical stance, especially regarding dualism, and favored Malebranchian occasionalism as a solution to the problem of the interaction between mind and body. He corresponded with Leibniz (1687-1702), and his critique of Leibniz’s “bizarre” hypothesis of pre-established harmony in the article “Rorarius” of his Dictionary provoked Leibniz’s reaction and led to a controversy that culminated in the Théodicée – which is largely an attempt to refute Bayle’s contention that there is no possible conciliation between faith and reason. He founded and edited the important journal Nouvelles de la République des lettres (1684-1687), where he stimulated a critical exchange of ideas in all disciplines. His densely argued Commentaire philosophique (1686) remains a mainstay of the doctrine of religious tolerance and his Réponse aux questions d’un Provincial (1703-1706) argues for the views with which Leibniz most directly contends in the Théodicée. Bayle’s most influential work was the Dictionnaire historique et critique, first published in 1696, followed by many expanded and revised editions. Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704), theologian, preceptor of the royal dauphin since 1670, Bishop of Meaux since 1681, was the éminence grise of Louis XIV’s religious politics. A prolific writer and scholar, he became a member of the French Academy in 1669. A sharp polemicist, very influential in Catholic policy, he was a severe doctrinal critic of Protestantism, against whom he wrote a series of fundamental texts, among which: Réfutation du catéchisme du pasteur Ferry (1655), Histoire des variations des Églises protestantes (1688), Avertissement aux protestants (1689-1691). He defended the view that there is a sharp contrast between the perennial truths of the Catholic Church and the unsteady course of Protestant doctrine, which demonstrates the superiority of the former. In his Relation sur le quiétisme (1698), he attacked Fénelon and Madame de Guyon and contributed to the papal condemnation of quietism in 1699. He wrote a Cartesian-inspired philosophical treatise, Traité de la connaissance de Dieu et de soi-même (publ. 1741), and his non-theological work of most impact in his time was the Discours sur l’histoire universelle (1679). He corresponded with Leibniz from 1692 to 1701, mainly debating the question of the reunification of Christian churches. Bi ographical Notes 457 Louis Bourguet (1678-1742), whose earlier interest was in ancient languages and the history of the alphabet, became later on a natural scientist and member of the academy of sciences of Berlin, as well as a professor of philosophy and mathematics in Neuchâtel. He corresponded with some of Leibniz’s correspondents, through whom he got in touch with Leibniz in 1709, and remained his friend and correspondent until 1716. Their correspondence covered a broad range of topics, including cosmological issues and an interesting critique by Leibniz of the second edition of Newton’s Principia in a letter from 1715. Bourguet defended in some publications Leibniz’s scientific and metaphysical views, and studied carefully the Théodicée, about which he asked for and obtained clarifications. Gilbert Burnet(t) (1643-1715), theologian and historian, of Scottish origin. Studied in Aberdeen, Amsterdam, and Paris. Ordained as a priest of the Scottish Church in 1665, he becomes professor of theology in Glasgow in 1669. Since 1673 in London, where he was close to John Wilmot’s Catholic party, he had to leave England in 1683, under James II. He worked out an agreement that permitted William and Mary’s return in 1688. An active supporter of the new Protestant regime, he was appointed Bishop of Salisbury in 1689 by William of Orange. An important figure in Queen Anne’s court, he was the teacher of her son, the Duke of Gloucester. Burnet was a member of the Royal Society already in 1665 and was influenced by the “Cambridge Platonists”. Being familiar with many religious denominations, he had a tolerant orientation and defended the acceptance in the high clergy of non-conformists. His An Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England (1699) contains a clear doctrinal statement that the German theologians from Berlin and Hanover considered useful for the unification of all the Protestant churches. Among his other works are The History of the reformation of the Church of England (3 volumes, 1679-1715) and An Enquiry into the measures of submission to the Supreme Authority (1688). Thomas Burnett of Kemeny [Kemnay] (1656-1729), a relative of Gilbert Burnet, was a jurist and amateur philosopher, who traveled throughout Europe. In the 1690’s he established close links with Princess Sophie of Hanover and corresponded with her and with Leibniz (from 1695 to 1715). Through him Leibniz’s attempts to contact Locke and his circle were conducted, with the help of Richard Bentley. Thomas Burnett met Malebranche in Paris and was arrested in the Bastille in 1702 due to his family links with Gibert Burnet. Leibniz intervened for freeing him. He 458 Biographical Notes supported the House of Hanover’s claim to the throne of England, which Leibniz considered his great opportunity to realize his unfulfilled dream to move to London. Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576), physician, mathematician, physicist, astrologer. Well known physician, whose services were solicited by princes and noblemen, he was the first to give a clinical description of typhus and held a chair of medicine in Pavia. His pantheistic naturalism bore the mark of neo-platonic influence, and his books on philosophical subjects were widely read. His work in algebra is a landmark in the history of mathematics. His Ars magna sive de regulis algebricis contains the solution of the cubic equation due to Niccolò Tartaglia. He was the first to provide the rudiments of a calculus of probabilities, in Liber de ludo aleae. He had the ability to write on scientific and philosophical subjects in a way accessible to a wide audience, as in De subtilitate rerum, Practica arithmetica et mensurandi singularis, and De proportionibus, numerorum, motuum, ponderum, sonorum, aliarumque rerum mensurandarum. Hermann Conring (1606-1681), physician, politician, naturalist. After studies in Leiden becomes professor of natural philosophy and then of medicine in Helmstedt. Although not a professional jurist, he is considered the founder of the history of German Law. Thanks to his broad European perspective, his services as an advisor of princes and kings were sought, including by Louis XIV. Served also as a doctor of Queen Christine of Sweden and was a supporter of Harvey’s theory of blood circulation. An Aristotelian who valued and practiced experiment, he was a vigorous opponent of hermetic, cabbalistic, astrological, and other tendencies he considered non-scientific. In Church politics, he was a Lutheran favorable to the irenic Helmstedt theologians. Through Christian von Boineburg, minister

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