The Natural Philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg: A Study in the Conceptual Metaphors of the Mechanistic World-View

ISBN-13: 9789400798212 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 476 str.

David Duner

Opis

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."

Spis treści

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.​

Blurb

Although Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) is commonly known for his spiritual philosophy, his early career was focused on natural science. During this period, Swedenborg thought the world was like a gigantic machine, following the laws of mechanics and geometry. This volume analyses this mechanistic world-view 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 world-view 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.