"Matter and Life in the Natural Philosophy of Daniel Sennert"

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Place: 6th Floor Conference Room, Chemical Heritage Foundation

Daniel Sennert, a professor of medicine at the Lutheran University of Wittenberg (Germany), tried to establish a synthesis of Aristotelian hylomorphism and Democritean atomism. He developed his idea of “living atoms,” especially in the fields of biology and embryology. The leading minds of the next generation of scholars, like Pierre Gassendi and Robert Boyle, eagerly read Sennert’s works. This talk explains Sennert’s conceptions of matter and life that provide the framework for Hiro’s research project at CHF.

Hiro Hirai is the Edelstein senior research fellow at CHF (2008–2009). He is particularly interested in early modern ideas on the origin of life. His first book, titled Concept of Seeds in Renaissance Matter Theories, was published in 2005 (Brepols: Turnhout). He is currently preparing his second book, Senior Medicine and Philosophy in the Renaissance.