Pierre Gassendi 1592 – 1655
Pierre Gassendi was a French Catholic priest, astronomer, and philosopher and one of the leading anti-Aristotelian voices of seventeenth-century thought. He observed the transit of Mercury in 1631, discovered the aurora borealis as a regular natural phenomenon, and corresponded across Europe on the new astronomy. His Syntagma Philosophicum revived Epicurean atomism in a Christian framework, rehabilitating Epicurus's reputation while subordinating atomic theory to divine creation and providence. He wrote a sustained set of objections to Descartes's Meditations and was a principal influence on Locke, Boyle, and the early modern empirical tradition.
Key facts
- Nationality
- French
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- Early Modern, Empiricism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Pierre Gassendi:
“Atoms and the void are the elements of the natural world.”
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Attributed to Pierre Gassendi:
“Sense is the fountain of knowledge.”
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Attributed to Pierre Gassendi:
“Reason without experience builds empty schemes.”
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Attributed to Pierre Gassendi:
“The atom is the work of God, not the product of chance.”
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Attributed to Pierre Gassendi:
“Epicurus, rightly read, may be reconciled with the Christian faith.”