The overall aim of this project is contributing to the awareness of the reception of modern philosophy and science in Portugal, through the characterisation, analysis and study of the scientific and philosophical collections of the Historical Library of the National Museum of Natural History and Science. In the 18th century, new libraries were created in Portugal and the existing ones were significantly enriched.

Given the importance attached to science during this period, much of this enrichment is directly linked to the dissemination of the ‘new philosophy’ and the ‘new science’ and to the dissemination of the theoretical conflicts triggered by these new knowledges. Hence, an adequate understanding of how modern philosophy and science were received in Portugal will inevitably have to consider the imported works and how they disseminated the new theories among us.

Goals

The overall objective involves more restricted goals, which are to some extent conveyed by the various tasks envisaged during the execution of the project:

a) identifying the authors and works disseminated among us;

b) identifying the moment of reception of the theories, controversies, and hypotheses circulating in the Europe of knowledge during this period;

c) getting to know their influence on the contemporaneous Portuguese scientific and philosophical production.

Start: 2017

Duration: 12 months

Principal Investigator: Marta Mendonça (CHAM)

 

Funding

- Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian

Main Research Unit

- CHAM — Centro de Humanidades / Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas/Universidade Nova de Lisboa | Universidade dos Açores