A committed supporter of mechanism, Christian Wolff mentions the vegetative soul as a notable example of an “empty term” or meaningless expression. In spite of this unconditional rejection of the vegetative soul, his major disciple in the field of natural philosophy felt the need to reintroduce something similar. In the 1760s, Michael Christoph Hanov revised Wolff’s account of vegetation and life by claiming that life is the product of a vegetative force and not of pure mechanism. After reconstructing both Wolff’s and Hanov’s accounts, this paper explores the reasons and implications of the latter’s revival of vegetative powers and argues for its relevance to the early history of biology.
Vegetation and Life from Wolff to Hanov
Favaretti Camposampiero Matteo
2021-01-01
Abstract
A committed supporter of mechanism, Christian Wolff mentions the vegetative soul as a notable example of an “empty term” or meaningless expression. In spite of this unconditional rejection of the vegetative soul, his major disciple in the field of natural philosophy felt the need to reintroduce something similar. In the 1760s, Michael Christoph Hanov revised Wolff’s account of vegetation and life by claiming that life is the product of a vegetative force and not of pure mechanism. After reconstructing both Wolff’s and Hanov’s accounts, this paper explores the reasons and implications of the latter’s revival of vegetative powers and argues for its relevance to the early history of biology.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
2021_Vegetation and Life from Wolff to Hanov.pdf
non disponibili
Tipologia:
Versione dell'editore
Licenza:
Accesso chiuso-personale
Dimensione
329.79 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
329.79 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in ARCA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.