Gassendi the Atomist : Advocate of History in an Age of Science (Paperback)

Preface; List of illustrations; Introduction; 1. Other atomists, other skeptics, and other Epicureans: the problem of determining the context of Gassendi's career; Part I. Humanist Historiography: 2. Refuting Aristotle is not enough: how to acquire the skills of a French humanist; 3. Gassendi's Life of Peiresc: the humanist's unattainable goal of writing a universal history; 4. The growth of Gassendi's Epicurean project: from biography and commentary to a history of philosophy; Part II. Physics and the History of Philosophy: 5. Unrecognized cultural baggage: the incoherence of contemporary debates about atoms; 6. Uncertainties of observation and explanation: the role of optical anomalies in astronomy; 7. Skepticism is based on bad history: Gassendi interprets Epicurus' arguments concerning the existence and qualities of atoms; 8. Epicurus' conception of proof and Gassendi's historical justification of an atomist metaphysics and physics; 9. Between culture and nature: was Gassendi a historian, a scientist, an empiricist?; List of abbreviations used in the notes; Notes; Index of names.