Duner The Natural philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg

A Study in the Conceptual Metaphors of the Mechanistic World-View
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-94-007-4560-5
Verlag: Springer Netherland
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band 11, 476 Seiten, eBook

Reihe: Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind

Although Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) is commonly known for his spiritual philosophy, his early career was focused unnatural science. During this period, Swedenborg thought of the world was like a gigantic machine, following the laws of mechanics and geometry. This volume analyzes this mechanistic worldview from the cognitive perspective, by means of a study of the metaphors in Swedenborg’s texts. The author argues that these conceptual metaphors are vital skills of the creative mind and scientific thinking, used to create visual analogies and abstract ideas. This means that Swedenborg’s mechanistic and geometrical worldview, allowed him to perceive the world as mechanical and geometrical. Swedenborg thought ”with” books and pens. The reading gave him associations and clues, forced him to interpret, and gave him material for his intellectual development.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Duner, David

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction.- 2. The space.- 3. The Sign.- 4. The wave.- 5. The sphere.- 6. The point.- 7. The spiral.- 8. The infinite.- 9. Conclusion.