The New Science and Jesuit Science: Seventeenth Century Perspectives

Until recently, the contribution of the Society of Jesus to the Scientific Revolution remained sketchy at best, as the perception of the Jesuits as plodding pedagogues and obscurantists sanctioned the disregard of their activities. The present volume makes an important contribution toward a more nuanced appreciation of the Jesuits' interaction with "modernity", and a far greater recognition of their contribution to the two poles of modern science: the mathematization of natural philosophy and experimental science. The six essays provide a cross-section of the complex Jesuit encounter with the mathematical sciences during the seventeenth century, as well as a factor in the quandary faced by practitioners in their pursuit of science and in their ability to make their research public.