Nicolás Oresme (1320–1382) was a philosopher, mathematician, economist, astronomer, and renowned theologian of French origin. He is considered one of the main thinkers of the fourteenth century, belonging to the late scholastic current. He was also a musicologist, psychologist, translator, advisor to King Charles V of France and Bishop of Lisieux.
His multifaceted thinking was made up of arguments opposed to already established and respected beliefs, including many Aristotelian ones. He knew the works of this Greek philosopher in depth because he was one of the main translators of his works, allowing his legacy to reach many people when interpreting them from classical to modern languages.
Miniature by Nicolás Oresme. Source:
Among his contributions, those related to the geometric model are considered among the most outstanding. Also his cosmological approaches, in which he suggests the mobility of the Earth, the multiplicity of planets or his reasoning to discard geocentrism, are significant and clear precursors of the theories of Copernicus, Galileo and Descartes.
Biography
Early years
Although his origins and early life are not entirely clear, it is thought that around 1320 Nicolás Oresme was born in Normandy, specifically in an area near the western city of Caen (known today as the Fleury-sur-Orne commune).
It can be inferred that his family was of limited resources and that he led a humble life, since he was trained at the Colegio de Navarra, a subsidized institution sponsored by royalty.
His first university career was that of Art, at the University of Paris, together with Jean Buridan, an inspiring philosopher of skepticism. In 1342 he obtained a master's degree in that area. In 1356, the same year he was appointed Grand Master of the College of Navarra, he obtained a doctorate in Theology.
During those years he had already built a high reputation in the academic world, which perhaps helped to attract the attention of the future King of France, Charles V. So much so that in 1364 he became his chaplain and adviser.
Royalty and clergy
Oresme managed to have great influence on the political, economic, ethical and philosophical thought of the new king, with whom he had a close friendship. With the support of the maximum regent of France, Carlos V, he was archdeacon of Bayeux, canon of the Cathedral of Rouen and later dean of the institution.
Between 1370 and 1377 Oresme dedicated himself to making several translations, one of his great contributions, creating in French several scientific and philosophical terms equivalent to Latin. His work with the works of Aristotle stands out, which he translated into the modern language for the first time. In addition, his contributions and comments on Ethics, Politics and Economics and De caelo et mundo are highly recognized.
In 1377, after several years of dedication to the clergy, he was finally granted the position of bishop of Lisieux, but he did not settle in the region until the death of the king in 1380.
Nor is there detailed information on his last years of life, only that two years after arriving in Lisieux, in 1382, he died. He was buried in the city's cathedral.
Contributions
Illustration of spheres. Source: Nicole Oresme (artist unknown)
Oresme's thinking and contributions were very varied, reflecting his multifaceted interests and positioning him as one of the great intellectuals of his time, before the impact that the Black Death had on medieval Europe.
One of his great contributions was around two essential problems of the Middle Ages, which were the root of great discussions among the thinkers of the time. These were the subject of human knowledge and the degree of certainty of physical science.
He considered that human knowledge could be expressed through a significant complex or proposition, relating it to the rationalist current and thus opposing William de Ockham's nominalism. This reductionist vision, which he rejected, ensured that it only worked with singular objects, which is why science was not capable of reaching conclusive and universal demonstrations.
Cosmology
The Aristotelian argument about the uniqueness of the Earth is one of the ideas denied by Oresme, who claimed that there were no reasons to ensure that there was a fixed place of attraction at the center of the universe.
It indicated that perhaps the Earth did not tend naturally towards the center, but towards other nearby fragments, and that perhaps towards the center of it, regardless of its position within the universe, all freely abandoned stones are directed.
It also discusses the mobility of the Earth, analyzing reasons for a possible daily rotation and the need for this to happen. It refers to the change of place of sunrise and sunset among many other arguments. Finally, it raises the plurality of worlds.
These ideas, so revolutionary at the time, in which the planet is detached from uniqueness, centrality and immobility, are considered precursors of the new cosmologies of the 16th and 17th centuries and of the transcendental theories of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton.
Mathematics and physics
Oresme studied infinite mathematical series and the use of fractional numbers as bases and exponents of algebraic relationships. This represented the first attempt to establish operational rules between irrational expressions.
His works De proportionibus proportionum, Quaestiones super geometriam Euclidis and Algoritmus proportionum contain reflections and conclusions on this subject. There he uses the term proportio as a relation, fraction or ratio and also as a relation or equality of two relations or fractions.
For some, this French thinker was the inventor of analytical geometry. He introduced the coordinates to graphically represent the variation of qualities and the application of that representation to the study of uniformly accelerated motion.
In addition to these much-needed contributions in mathematical physics, it is necessary to mention his valuable considerations on the vacuum and the use of rectangular coordinates. Also its reference to a fourth dimension would allow to extend the representation of qualities to bodily elements.
Although Oresme did not develop as such the theories of accelerated motion and the fall of the bass, he raised important related reflections that are considered today significant antecedents for the later development of physics.
References
- Oresme, Nicole (c. 1320–1382). Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Recovered from Encyclopedia.com
- Kirschner, S. & Encyclopædia Britannica (2019, July 08) Nicholas Oresme. Recovered from britannica.com
- New World Encyclopedia (2018, December 03). Nicole Oresme. Recovered from newworldencyclopedia.org
- Artigas, M. (1989). Nicolás Oresme, Grand Master of the College of Navarra, and the origin of modern science. Príncipe De Viana (Science Supplement), year IX, N ° 9, 297-331. Recovered from unav.edu
- Connor, JO, & Robertson, ES (2003, April). Nicole Oresme. Recovered from history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk
- Ramírez Cruz, J. (2007). Reflections on the ideas of Nicolás Oresme. Asclepius, 59 (1), 23-34. Recovered from asclepio.revistas.csic.es