A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Modern engagements with medieval science: sensing and perceiving light and sound
What information awaits us in the external world, and how is such information represented internally? Far from being solely modern reflections, these questions recur throughout intellectual history. With the present work, a step is taken towards a more accurate appraisal of medieval scientific thought and practice. The benefits of doing so lie not only in a more faithful picture of the past; by engaging with historical science we find insight and inspiration for novel research in diverse areas. This is reflected in the variety of topics and disciplines presented here, which would not surprise the well-rounded natural philosopher of the thirteenth century. The principal objects of study are light and acoustic waves, and their associated sensory phenomena of colour, rainbows, material appearance, sound, and speech. In part i, the methodologies and concepts of medieval science, relevant to this work, are introduced and discussed. The writings of Robert Grosseteste on colour, the rainbow, and speech, are contextualised within the medieval world and explored. Part ii presents research on the rainbow, as it was understood in the thirteenth century by Grosseteste. Evidence from physical experiments and optics simulations show it likely to be the first theory of its kind based on direct observation. Grosseteste’s rainbow mechanism is then compared, and found analogous to, the geometric optics of another atmospheric halo—Parry’s arc. Part iii again engages with the writings of Grosseteste. First, the medieval conceptions of perception, and their commensurability with contemporary studies are discussed. This is done through the lens of aspectus and affectus, which we find in Grosseteste’s treatise on the liberal arts. Then, his treatise on speech production, perception, and phonetics is explored with an interdisciplinary approach. His combinatorial, geometric scheme of figures—which he implicates in a multisensory framework of mental imagery, vocal tract shaping, and the letter shapes of vowels—is interpreted through ...
Modern engagements with medieval science: sensing and perceiving light and sound
What information awaits us in the external world, and how is such information represented internally? Far from being solely modern reflections, these questions recur throughout intellectual history. With the present work, a step is taken towards a more accurate appraisal of medieval scientific thought and practice. The benefits of doing so lie not only in a more faithful picture of the past; by engaging with historical science we find insight and inspiration for novel research in diverse areas. This is reflected in the variety of topics and disciplines presented here, which would not surprise the well-rounded natural philosopher of the thirteenth century. The principal objects of study are light and acoustic waves, and their associated sensory phenomena of colour, rainbows, material appearance, sound, and speech. In part i, the methodologies and concepts of medieval science, relevant to this work, are introduced and discussed. The writings of Robert Grosseteste on colour, the rainbow, and speech, are contextualised within the medieval world and explored. Part ii presents research on the rainbow, as it was understood in the thirteenth century by Grosseteste. Evidence from physical experiments and optics simulations show it likely to be the first theory of its kind based on direct observation. Grosseteste’s rainbow mechanism is then compared, and found analogous to, the geometric optics of another atmospheric halo—Parry’s arc. Part iii again engages with the writings of Grosseteste. First, the medieval conceptions of perception, and their commensurability with contemporary studies are discussed. This is done through the lens of aspectus and affectus, which we find in Grosseteste’s treatise on the liberal arts. Then, his treatise on speech production, perception, and phonetics is explored with an interdisciplinary approach. His combinatorial, geometric scheme of figures—which he implicates in a multisensory framework of mental imagery, vocal tract shaping, and the letter shapes of vowels—is interpreted through ...
Modern engagements with medieval science: sensing and perceiving light and sound
Harvey, J (author) / Siviour, C / Smithson, H
2020-01-07
doi:10.5287/ora-rv241e5mn
Theses
Electronic Resource
English
DDC:
720
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