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A Subtle and Mysterious MachineConclusions

A Subtle and Mysterious Machine: Conclusions CHAPTER VIII For decades Walter Charleton has been characterised by historians as an exper- imental natural philosopher, a portrayal rooted in a view of the scientific revo- lution that has been increasingly reviled. The significance of this depiction for our understanding of Charleton’s identity is one of the themes of this book. He has been categorised as an experimentalist within the mode of ‘virtuoso’ natu- ral philosophers (by Shapin, Dear et al ), and as a promoter of mechanist phi- losophy in medicine (by Brown). I argue that both portrayals neglect crucial aspects in their attempts to understand this complex character. First, they fail to recognise the importance of Charleton’s eclecticism, and the reasons behind it. While both groups of scholars have aimed to demonstrate the presence of a coherent philosophy in Charleton’s work, I argue that eclecticism was vital to his authoritative identity as a practising physician. He constructed himself as a modest, solitary, reclusive, melancholy and meditative scholar. His works affirmed the necessity of classical learning, and the coherence of ancient textual and modern empirical knowledge. He presented himself as a syncretist rather than an innovator. Second, scholarship on Charleton has ignored the discrepancy between his practices http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Subtle and Mysterious MachineConclusions

Part of the Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Book Series (volume 18)
Editors: Booth, Emily
Springer Journals — Jan 1, 2005
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Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Copyright
© Springer 2005
ISBN
978-1-4020-3377-3
Pages
216 –222
DOI
10.1007/1-4020-3378-8_8
Publisher site
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Abstract

CHAPTER VIII For decades Walter Charleton has been characterised by historians as an exper- imental natural philosopher, a portrayal rooted in a view of the scientific revo- lution that has been increasingly reviled. The significance of this depiction for our understanding of Charleton’s identity is one of the themes of this book. He has been categorised as an experimentalist within the mode of ‘virtuoso’ natu- ral philosophers (by Shapin, Dear et al ), and as a promoter of mechanist phi- losophy in medicine (by Brown). I argue that both portrayals neglect crucial aspects in their attempts to understand this complex character. First, they fail to recognise the importance of Charleton’s eclecticism, and the reasons behind it. While both groups of scholars have aimed to demonstrate the presence of a coherent philosophy in Charleton’s work, I argue that eclecticism was vital to his authoritative identity as a practising physician. He constructed himself as a modest, solitary, reclusive, melancholy and meditative scholar. His works affirmed the necessity of classical learning, and the coherence of ancient textual and modern empirical knowledge. He presented himself as a syncretist rather than an innovator. Second, scholarship on Charleton has ignored the discrepancy between his practices

Published: Jan 1, 2005

Keywords: Royal Society; Classical Tradition; Classical Learning; Chapter VIII; Natural Philosopher

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