Thinking on Earthquakes in Early Modern Europe

Firm Beliefs on Shaky Ground

Rienk Vermij

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Hardback

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English

Routledge
17 November 2020

This book is the first extensive study of ideas on earthquakes before the Lisbon earthquake in 1755. The earthquake had a deep impact on European culture, and the reactions to it stood in a long tradition that, before this study, had yet to be explored in detail.

Thinking on Earthquakes investigates both scholarly theories and views that were propagated among the early modern European population. Through a chronological approach, Vermij reveals that in contrast to the Ancient and medieval philosophers who suggested rational explanations for earthquakes, supernatural ideas made a powerful comeback in the sixteenth century. By analysing a variety of sources such as pamphlets, sermons, and treatises, this study shows how changes in the ideas on earthquakes were a result of social and political demands as well as from improvements in the means of communication, rather than from scientific methods. Thus, Vermij presents an illuminating case for the production of knowledge in early modern Europe.

A range of events are explored, including the Ferrara earthquake in 1570 and the Vienna earthquake in 1590, making this study an invaluable source for students and scholars of the history of science and the history of ideas in early modern Europe.

By: Rienk Vermij
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9780367492199
ISBN 10: 0367492199
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 17 November 2020
Audience: College/higher education , Primary , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Part I: Scientific, philosophical, and religious traditions up to the Renaissance 1. Experiencing earthquakes 2. Reading on earthquakes: explanations and interpretations up to the end of the Renaissance 3. Writing on earthquakes: the available information 4. Earthquakes in Renaissance scholarship Part II: Early modern confessionalized science 5. The assault on naturalism 6. The emergence of a science of signs 7. Prodigies in Reformation scholarship 8. Miracles and meteorology among Catholic scholars 9. Reactions to earthquakes in the sixteenth century: the emergence of a discourse 10. Interpreting earthquakes in the seventeenth century 11. Marginalized approaches Part III: The rise of modern empiricism 12. New sources of information and the rise of a scientific public 13. New observations and theories: the non-confessional investigation of nature 14. Confessionalized natural philosophy in the age of the new sciences 15. Earthquakes in the religious discourse of the late seventeenth century

Rienk Vermij obtained his PhD in 1991 at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and is presently Professor at the Department of History of Science of the University of Oklahoma. He has published on several aspects of early modern intellectual culture. Among his books is The Calvinist Copernicans. The Reception of the New Astronomy in the Dutch Repbublic 1575–1750 (2002).

Reviews for Thinking on Earthquakes in Early Modern Europe: Firm Beliefs on Shaky Ground

'Following a chronological development, this volume represents an important synthesis of the scientific opinions and theories that have matured over the centuries in the European cultural sphere, showing how the ancient and medieval philosophers, who provided rational hypotheses for the origin of earthquakes, both switched to supernatural and sectarian explanations, diverting science towards social, political and religious needs.The analysis carried out by Rienk Vermij testifies to the cultural and knowledge development in modern Europe and represents a fundamental source for scholars of the history of geology and science.' Marco Pantaloni, Geological Society of Italy, 2020 (https://www.socgeol.it/N2838/thinking-on-earthquakes-in-early-modern-europe.html) 'In short, Vermij offers a fascinating study on confessionalized science and the study of earthquakes. His sensitivity to the political and social use of earthquake explanations is commendable and a welcome addition to disaster studies. [...] His intention to also look at explanations among the wider populace and his inclusion of different media are innovative for a history of science.' Marieke van Egeraat, Early Modern Low Countries, 2021 'Thinking on Earthquakes is a solid piece of historical research [...] this book fills a long-standing gap in the literature on the early modern understanding of earthquakes, and it will prove a valuable reference work for historians and philosophers of science as well as for geologists, teachers, and science communicators.' Francesco Luzzini, Early Science and Medicine, 2021 '[...] As the book demonstrates, the subject of earthquakes can certainly serve as an excellent point of entry for inquiring into the shifting configurations of science and religion in early modern Europe. [...] Thinking on Earthquakes fills a gap in scholarship. It makes a valuable contribution to the history of geology, the history of science and religion, and disaster studies.' Fa-ti Fan, Isis, The Journal of the History of Science Society, vol. 113, no.1, 2022