Time and History in Denis Pétau: Philosophy, Science, and Religion in Early Modern France

— —

Johannes Zachhuber

Time and History in Denis Pétau

Philosophy, Science, and Religion in Early Modern France

Johannes Zachhuber

$77.95 $70.48

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

De Gruyter
17 November 2025

Philosophy; Western philosophy: Medieval & Renaissance, c 500 to c 1600; Theology

Series: Chronoi

This book offers the first comprehensive presentation and analysis of the innovative theory of time advanced by early modern French scholar, Denis Pétau. Denis Pétau (1583–1652) was the model of an early modern erudite. Proudly Catholic, the Jesuit scholar was a keen participant in the scientific and religious debates of his time. In the 1620s and 30s, he made major contributions to the burgeoning literature on scientific chronology respond-ing especially to the work of Joseph Scaliger. As part of this effort, Pétau developed a fascinating theory of time and history. Societies inevitably exist in a temporal frame and therefore develop communal practices of timekeeping. For this, they adapt cosmic time to the needs and purposes of human societies. They create calendars and arrange their historical records in chronological form. This is a scientific task but, since time is ultimately sacred reality, its study has always been assigned to priests. Pétau therefore sees science and religion as intimately connected, progress-ing jointly through history and culminating in his own time. The book will be of interest to philosophers of time, and historians of early modern science, reli-gion, and theology.

By: Johannes Zachhuber
Imprint: De Gruyter
Country of Publication: Germany
Dimensions: Height: 230mm, Width: 155mm,
Weight: 222g
ISBN: 9783119142038
ISBN 10: 3119142034
Series: Chronoi
Pages: 135
Publication Date: 17 November 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Johannes Zachhuber, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.