1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910438335703321

Autore

Duner David

Titolo

The Natural philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg [[electronic resource] ] : A Study in the Conceptual Metaphors of the Mechanistic World-View / / by David Duner

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Dordrecht : , : Springer Netherlands : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2013

ISBN

94-007-4560-5

Edizione

[1st ed. 2013.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (480 p.)

Collana

Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind, , 1573-5834 ; ; 11

Disciplina

113

501

Soggetti

Philosophy

History

Philosophy of mind

History of Philosophy

History of Science

Philosophy of Mind

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Introduction -- 2. The space -- 3. The Sign -- 4. The wave -- 5. The sphere -- 6. The point -- 7. The spiral -- 8. The infinite -- 9. Conclusion.

Sommario/riassunto

Although Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) is commonly known for his spiritual philosophy, his early career was focused on natural science. During this period, Swedenborg thought the world was like a gigantic machine, following the laws of mechanics and geometry. This volume analyses this mechanistic world-view from the cognitive perspective, by means of a study of the metaphors in Swedenborg’s texts. The author argues that these conceptual metaphors are vital skills of the creative mind and scientific thinking, used to create visual analogies and abstract ideas. This means that Swedenborg’s mechanistic and geometrical world-view allowed him to perceive the world as mechanical and geometrical. Swedenborg thought "with" books and pens. The reading gave him associations and clues, forced him to interpret, and gave him material for his intellectual



development.