Friedman On Joachim Jungius’ Texturæ Contemplatio

Texture, Weaving and Natural Philosophy in the 17th Century
1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-3-031-40881-6
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band 249, 408 Seiten, eBook

Reihe: International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées

The book offers an analysis of Joachim Jungius’ Texturæ Contemplatio - a hitherto-unpublished manuscript written in German and Latin that deals with weaving, knitting and other textile practices, attempting to present as well various fabrics and textile techniques in a scientifical and even mathematical framework. The book aims to provide the epistemological, technical and historic framework for Jungius’ manuscript, inspecting fabrics, weaving techniques as well as looms and other textile machines in Holy Roman Empire during the Early Modern Period. It also offers a unique investigation of the notion and metaphor of ‘texture’ during this period, and explores, within the wider context of the ‘meeting’ or ‘trading zones’ thesis, the relations between artisans and natural philosophers during the 17th century. The book is of interest to historians of philosophy and mathematics, as well as historians of technology.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Friedman, Michael

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1: Introduction: textiles, texture and natural philosophy in the 17th century 1.1 On Jungius, his Nachlass and Texturæ Contemplatio 1.1.1 Texturæ Contemplatio’s history of transmission 1.2 Texturæ Contemplatio between the two narratives? 1.2.1 On Texture and Weaving Metaphors 1.3 The Structure of the Book Chapter 2: The Historical, Scientifical and Philosophical Background of Texturæ Contemplatio 2.1 Textile Practices, Looms and Textile Artisans in the 17th Century 2.1.1 Global developments in the textile industry: The Stocking frame 2.1.2 Global developments in the textile industry: The Ribbon loom 2.1.3 Local developments, unique machines, specific notations 2.1.3.1 the drum-machine and the crumb-machine 2.1.3.2 Local notational techniques 2.2 Natural philosophers and Textile Practices in the 17th century 2.2.1 Prolog in the 16th century: From Recorde’s “foundation of Geometrye” to Alcega’s “Libro de geometria” 2.2.2. The 17th century: Bacon and Descartes. Weaving between empiricism and rationalism 2.2.3. Hartlib’s “petit mystere” 2.2.4. Gassendi’s ‘woven atoms’ 2.2.5. Hooke and Power: textiles through the magnifying glass 2.2.6. Comenius, Boyle, Locke: metaphysically unfolding the notion of ‘texture’ 2.2.7. Conclusion: The (too) many ramifications of ‘texture’ Chapter 3: The translation of Jungius’ Texturæ Contemplatio 3.1 On the structure of the translation of Texturæ Contemplatio 3.2 The Translation of Texturae Contemplatio 3.3 Appendix: Glossary of German and Latin textile related terms Chapter 4. On Jungius’ Texturæ Contemplatio 4.1 Textural analysis of Texturæ Contemplatio: order, form and variations 4.1.1 The current physical arrangement 4.1.2 Macro- and micro-changes (1) Macro-variations: Reordering, recopying and inserting texts (2) Micro-variations: Self-reflecting and cutting pages 4.1.3. Conclusion: structuring and restructuring 4.2 Mathematical Reflections and Empirical Investigations 197-283 4.2.1 Jungius and the role of mathematics 4.2.2 How to practice geometry? 4.2.3 A Geometry of Weaving in Texturæ Contemplatio? 4.2.3.1 ‘Definitions’ and ‘Theorems’ 4.2.3.2 Arithmetical reflections 4.2.3.3 Jungius On ‘situs’ and ‘ad scientiam situs’ 4.2.3.4 Knitting vs. Weaving: Sinuous curves, lettered threads 4.2.3.5 Detour: Leibniz and Vandermonde on knitted structures 4.2.4 Jungius and the structure of materials 4.2.4.1 Jungius on the notion of ‘textura’ 4.2.5 Optical investigations: Microscope and optics 4.2.6 Conclusion: ‘Textura’ as a rhizomatic notion 4.3. Jungius on artisanal practices I: Classification and terminology of weaves and textiles 4.3.1. Classification of textile practices 4.3.2 Invented and unclear terminology 4.4 Jungius on artisanal practices II: Artisans in Practice 4.4.1 Places of weaving and weavers 4.4.2 The practical aspects of artisanal practices: Weaving and knitting 4.4.3. Before (preparing the loom) and After (the fabric is ready) 4.5. Citations, implicit excerpts and dictionaries 4.5.1 Explicit citations 4.5.2 Implicit references 4.5.3 Dictionaries 4.6 Conclusion: A precarious Rhizome: Weaving as a Site of Knowledge 4.6.1 Texturæ Contemplatio as precarious 4.6.1.1 The question of credibility 4.6.2. From ephemeral traces to durable theorems? 4.6.3 Texturæ Contemplatio as a collection of facts? 4.6.4. Who trades and what is traded in the ‘trading zone’? Chapter 5: Coda: Leibniz on textiles, weaving and Texturæ Contemplatio 5.1 Leibniz on Jungius 5.2 Leibniz and Texturæ Contemplatio 5.2.1. Combinatorics, “Geometria Amoenior” and the abstraction of “materia” 5.2.2. 1678-1685: Copying and Reflecting on Texturæ Contemplatio 5.2.3. From 1687 onward: an unfulfilled wish 5.3 Leibniz on tunics and Leibniz on stockings 5.3.1 Leibniz on folded tunics 5.3.2. Leibniz on the stocking frame 5.3.2.1 Johann Joachim Becher on the stocking frame 5.3.3 Leibniz on the ribbon loom 5.4 Rereading Texturæ Contemplatio: A Fabric Unraveled 5.5 Appendix: Leibniz’s Notes on the Stocking Frame Chapter 6: Conclusion. A Fabric Rewoven Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Michael Friedman is a Senior Lecturer at the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas. The focus of his research is on how material, visual and symbolical knowledge and practices in mathematics interact with each other. More specifically, his research examines the material practices of mathematics (folding, weaving, braiding, knotting, as well as three-dimensional models) and how symbolical-mathematical knowledge was prompted by them. Recent publications: A History of Folding in Mathematics. Mathematizing the Margins (Birkhäuser, 2018); Grenzen der Formalisierung. Von Leibniz bis Lacan (with Angelika Seppi. Spector, 2021); Ramified Surfaces. On Branch Curves and Algebraic Geometry During the 20th Century (Birkhäuser, 2022)