Construction(s) of science(s). Research Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences

Organized by Dana Jalobeanu & Mihnea Dobre

Construction(s) of science(s) is a research seminar dedicated to communicating and discussing work-in-progress, with the aim of bringing together researchers and students of the early modern thought (broadly construed). It focuses on various early modern attempts to construct (and discuss) scientific knowledge (scientia), focusing as well on the content as on the context of early modern writings. It encourages interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations. It aims to encourage students to undertake research and bring them to in the profession. The seminar meets on Thursdays, from 14.00 at the ICUB Humanities, str. Dimitrie Brandza 1, and works in a hybrid format (zoom link below). We aim to alternate presentations with informal discussions and reading groups. We especially encourage PhD students and prospective PhD students to attend and bring to our meetings their ideas, projects and work-in-progress.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82935603468?pwd=ZGlPWndiRXRXU1NpSm9lakdJbmZTQT09

Meeting ID: 829 3560 3468

Passcode: 398866

hursday, 05 June 2025, 14.00, Costel Cristian (University of Bucharest), The Ontology of the Imperceptible: Bacon’s Synthesis of Atomism and Vitalism in Natural Philosophy

The relationship between Baconian metaphysics of matter and the atomistic tradition has been a subject of controversy in contemporary scholarship. This debate stems largely from Francis Bacon’s ambiguous stance toward classical materialism particularly in his references to Democritus and the atomist school. Interpretations vary significantly: some scholars adopt the classical view, arguing that atomism was a feature of Bacon’s early thought but was later replaced by a metaphysics of spirits and their appetites in his mature works, such as Novum Organum and Sylva Sylvarum (Kargon 1966; Rees 1980).

Conversely, more recent scholarship posits a continued adherence to atomism alongside his theory of spirits and their motions (Manzo 2001). At the opposite end of the spectrum, some scholars propose an identification of atomism with the subtlety of material spirits (Giglioni 2010). To clarify Bacon’s metaphysical position, a clear distinction must be drawn between atoms—understood as imperceptible entities—and spirits, conceived as conglomerations of matter with specific structural properties. Notably, classical atomism, as articulated by Lucretius, faces similar challenges concerning the constitution of individual bodies.

To advance the discussion on Bacon’s engagement with atomism and his metaphysics of spirits, it is necessary to reassess their relationship through alternative interpretive lenses. From a theoretical standpoint, Bacon’s conception of the atom as an imperceptible yet ontologically existent entity suggests that atoms occupy a subordinate role to spirits. While spirits themselves remain elusive, they are more accessible to perception than atoms, reflecting Bacon’s broader view that the most subtle entities in nature possess real existence despite their opposition to direct observation – in this sense I will argue that Bacon is commited to levels of material reality. Simultaneously, Bacon’s vitalistic philosophy introduces spirits as dynamic conglomerations of matter, possessing distinct structures that facilitate change.