HISTORY IN THE POLYMATHIC THOUGHT OF MARTINUS SZENT-IVANY: BASIC REMARKS

• Authors: Zavarský Svorad
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article sheds light on the notion of “history” in the thinking of seventeenth-century polymath Martinus Szent-Ivany, S. J. (1633–1705). The author analyses the content and usage of this notion as represented in Szent-Ivany’s Curiosiora et selectiora variarum scientiarum miscellanea (1689–1709) as well as in his polemical theological works. It is evident that Szent-Ivany included history (chronologia) in the corpus of sciences (scientiae), putting it on the same epistemic level with the natural sciences. The bulk of Szent-Ivany’s historical (chronological) work is comprised in his chronological synopses which the author identifies as thesauri of historical data. These collections of historical data fulfil the same role for human history as observations (observationes) do for the history of nature (historical physics). The author also examines the cosmological and eschatological contexts of history in Szent-Ivany’s thought, thereby highlighting some early modern aspects of this notion. In the end, the argumentative role of history, especially in polemical theology, is pointed out.

Keywords

EN

SZENT-IVANY; HISTORICAL PHYSICS; OBSERVATION; CHRONOLOGY; COSMOLOGY; ESCHATOLOGY; POLEMICAL THEOLOGY

• Publisher: Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Historický časopis (Historical Journal)
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 72
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 967 - 982

Contributors

author

Zavarský Svorad

• Institute of History of SAS, P. O. Box 198, Klemensova 19, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovak RepublicSZENT-IVANY HISTORICAL PHYSICS OBSERVATION CHRONOLOGY COSMOLOGY ESCHATOLOGY POLEMICAL THEOLOGY

• https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6429-1048

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31577/histcaso.2024.72.5.6