![]() Frontispiece dedicated to Charles I Louis, Count Palatine of the Rhine | |
Authors | Gaspar Schott |
---|---|
Illustrator | Susanne Maria von Sandrart |
Cover artist | Jacob von Sandrart |
Country | Holy Roman Empire |
Language | Latin |
Series | 12 volumes |
Subject | Natural History |
Published | 1662, 1667, 1686 |
Physica Curiosa written by scholar, Jesuit priest and scientist Gaspar Schott is a seventeenth century encyclopedia, published first in 1662, is divided into twelve books and has been richly illustrated with prints of copper engravings. It is the first part of a two-volume work, the other being Technica Curiosa , published in 1664. [1] [2]
Schott compiled his volumes from previously published and widely known works of authors, scholars and naturalists such as Conrad Gesner, Ulisse Aldrovandi, Joannes Jonstonus, Ambroise Paré, Conrad Lycosthenes and many others, including many of the immensely popular illustrations of monsters and physical deformities. [3] [4] Schott summarized: ...what was either left out in the Magia and other works, was published later by learned men, or has only recently reached me. For his own research he extensively relied on the libraries and Jesuit universities of Europe. Like most natural history publications during the early stages of the Scientific Revolution, the work is a curious conjunction between the beliefs and superstition of the time and pioneering scientific texts. The frontispiece was designed by Jacob von Sandrart. [5] Between 500 and 1000 copies were printed in several editions by J. A. Endter & Son from Nürnberg. [2]
The Physica Curiosa represents a small, but critical step towards the adoption of scientific reasoning as the preferred method of scholarly work. [6]
The first six books, mainly aggregations of the writings of previous authors, are dedicated to magic, perceived oddities and miracles of the spiritual world. [7]
As mathematician and physicist Schott had developed a great interest in Otto von Guericke's work on air pressure and the vacuum pump. Both men would eventually correspond and cooperate as Schott immersed himself into extensive experiments and studies on his own and became accustomed to scientific work and observation based on reason. [8] Thus, the second half of the Physica Curiosa is, although still full of misconceptions, an attempt to produce an account of observation of and reflection on real natural phenomena, marvels of real life, exotic animals and foreign lands. In his foreword Schott writes, that: other people have reported the wondrous things, that I am writing down here - yet they only tell. But I put most of it on the scales of truth and separate the true from the false, the real from the fake, and then I try to investigate the causes of the individual phenomena. [9]
Books I to VI are a summary of all natural and supernatural monstrosities known at that time, including bizarre animals and physical abnormalities and abstract ideas of the mind.
Books VII to XII concentrate on physical nature and phenomena.
Although he still makes some incorrect assumptions and false explanations associated with the natural world, his clear division within the encyclopedia suggests, that Schott was able to reasonably distinguish between fantasy phenomena and creatures and those found naturally. Summing up his view, he writes: I do not approve of all because I know that some are doubtful, if not false. Others are superstitious and perhaps even manifestly false. [9]
The Physica Curiosa alongside many other contemporary books of curiosities, that flourished during the 16th and 17th centuries, which contained a comprehensive body of text on fanciful beliefs of the past in a single publication, turned out to serve as an excellent subject of reference that made it easier for future enlightened scientists to pinpoint, address and argue against widespread, unscientific ideas. [10] [3] [11]
Otto von Guericke was a German scientist, inventor, mathematician and physicist. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental methods and repeatable demonstrations on the physics of the vacuum, atmospheric pressure, electrostatic repulsion, his advocacy for the reality of "action at a distance" and of "absolute space" were noteworthy contributions for the advancement of the Scientific Revolution.
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific laws and accordingly gets attributed to some supernatural or praeternatural cause. Various religions often attribute a phenomenon characterized as miraculous to the actions of a supernatural being, (especially) a deity, a miracle worker, a saint, or a religious leader.
Scientific realism is the view that the universe described by science is real regardless of how it may be interpreted. A believer of scientific realism takes the universe as described by science to be true, because of their assertion that science can be used to find the truth about both the physical and metaphysical in the Universe.
Ivan Terence Sanderson was a British biologist and writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland, who became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Sanderson wrote on nature and travel, and was a frequent guest on television talk shows and variety shows of the 1950s and '60s, displaying and discussing exotic animals.
A weeping statue is a statue which has been claimed to have shed tears or to be weeping by supernatural means. Statues weeping tears which appear to be blood, oil, and scented liquids have all been reported. Other claimed phenomena are sometimes associated with weeping statues such as miraculous healing, the formation of figures in the tear lines, and the scent of roses. These events are generally reported by Catholics, and initially attract pilgrims, but are in most cases disallowed by the Church as proven hoaxes.
The Genesis, Miracles and Premonition According to Spiritism was the last book published (1868) by Allan Kardec, just before his death. It tries to reconcile science and religion, and develops a series of important scientific and philosophical topics, relating them to Spiritism.
Gaspar Schott was a German Jesuit and scientist, specializing in the fields of physics, mathematics and natural philosophy, and known for his industry.
The Miracle of the Sun, also known as the Miracle of Fátima, is a series of events reported to have occurred miraculously on 13 October 1917, attended by a large crowd who had gathered in Fátima, Portugal in response to a prophecy made by three shepherd children, Lúcia Santos and Francisco and Jacinta Marto. The prophecy was that the Virgin Mary, would appear and perform miracles on that date. Newspapers published testimony from witnesses who said that they had seen extraordinary solar activity, such as the Sun appearing to "dance" or zig-zag in the sky, advance towards the Earth, or emit multicolored light and radiant colors. According to these reports, the event lasted approximately ten minutes.
In Islam, ’i‘jāz or inimitability of the Qur’ān is the doctrine which holds that the Qur’ān has a miraculous quality, both in content and in form, that no human speech can match. According to this doctrine the Qur'an is a miracle and its inimitability is the proof granted to Muhammad in authentication of his prophetic status. It serves the dual purpose of proving the authenticity of its divineness as being a source from the creator as well as proving the genuineness of Muhammad's prophethood to whom it was revealed as he was the one bringing the message.
Erlendur Haraldsson was a professor emeritus of psychology on the faculty of social science at the University of Iceland. He published in various psychology and psychiatry journals. In addition, he published parapsychology books and authored a number of papers for parapsychology journals.
A number of terms are used in Islam to refer to the claims of events happening that are not explicable by natural or scientific laws, subjects where people sometimes invoke the supernatural. In the Quran the term āyah refers to signs in the context of miracles of God's creation and of the prophets and messengers. In later Islamic sources miracles of the prophets were referred to by Muʿjiza (مُعْجِزَة), literally meaning "that by means of which [the Prophet] confounds, overwhelms, his opponents"), while miracles of saints are referred to as karamat (charismata). I'jaz al-Quran – literally the inimitability of the Quran – refers to the Quranic claim that no one can hope to imitate its perfection, this quality being considered the primary miracle of the Quran and proof of Muhammad's prophethood. In recent decades, the term I'jaz has also come to refer to the belief that the Quran contains "scientific miracles", i.e. prophecies of scientific discoveries. Kharq al'adad – "a break in God's customary order of things" – was a term used in "theological or philosophical discussions" to refer to miraculous events. Karamat – "gifts or graces" – was usually used for miraculous performances of Sufi saints often used to convert unbelievers to Islam.
Benjamin Radford is an American writer, investigator, and skeptic. He has authored, coauthored or contributed to over twenty books and written over a thousand articles and columns on a wide variety of topics including urban legends, unexplained mysteries, the paranormal, critical thinking, mass hysteria, and media literacy. His book, Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment, was published in the summer of 2014 and is a scientific investigation of famous legends and folklore in the state of New Mexico. In 2016 Radford published Bad Clowns, a 2017 IPPY bronze award winner, and he is regarded as an expert on the bad clowns phenomenon.
Caspar was one of the 'Three Kings', along with Melchior and Balthazar, representing the wise men or Biblical Magi mentioned in the Bible in the Gospel of Matthew, verses 2:1-9. Although the Bible does not specify who or what the Magi were, since the seventh century, the Magi have been identified in Western Christianity as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. Caspar and the other two are considered saints by the Catholic Church.
In folklore, the lepus cornutus or horned hare is a type of hare or rabbit that in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries was believed to exist, but is now considered to be fictional.
Johann Sperling was a German physician, zoologist and physicist, deacon and Rektor of the University of Wittenberg. He was among the first to practise zoology as a natural science, writing a first handbook about animals, Zoologia physica.
Technica Curiosa was an early compendium of scientific and medical technologies. It was one part of a two-volume work, the other being Physica Curiosa, authored by the Jesuit scholar Gaspar Schott and published in 1664 during the early stages of the Scientific Revolution. Schott was an attentive spectator at the demonstrations of Otto von Guericke's vacuum pump and subsequently began extensive experiments and studies on his own. He established a fruitful correspondence with von Guericke and published the earliest account on von Guericke's experiments on air pressure and the vacuum in 1657, titled Experimentum Novum Magdeburgicum as an appendix of his Mechanica Hydraulico-pneumatica. With von Guericke as co-author, he published a reviewed and more detailed account in the Technica Curiosa. The work ranks among the early popular science publications and did much to inspire widespread interest in the sciences.
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Is There a God? is a 1996 book by British philosopher of religion Richard Swinburne, claiming the existence of the Abrahamic God. The argument rests on an updated version of natural theology with biological evolution and Big Bang theory using scientific inference. In 2010, a revised version of the original book was released under the same title.
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This frontispiece by Ole Worm titled Ole Worm’s Cabinet of Wonder: Natural Specimens and Wondrous Monsters is an engraving depicting various animal taxidermy, shells, and many other oddities. The piece was finished in 1655 and printed by G Wingendrop.