History of Science Society, 2007 Meeting, Arlington, Virginia

History of Science Society

2007 Meeting, 1-4 November

Arlington, Virginia

Vera Keller (Princeton University)

Cornelis Drebbel (1572-1633): Artisan and Natural Philosopher

In this paper I re-examine who could be considered a natural philosopher in early modern Europe by excavating a surprising academic philosophical reception for the Dutch engraver, alchemist, inventor, and engineer, Cornelis Drebbel (1572-1633). As others such as Rosalie Colie have noted, Drebbel the artisan provided matters of fact to serve as material for natural philosophers such as Bacon and Boyle. Yet, much more radically, Drebbel himself was considered a natural philosopher in some surprising quarters. Although Drebbel never attended university, he was quoted as an authority in academic disputations and works of natural philosophy. His short vernacular On the Nature of the Elements was reprinted in philosophical compendia and favorably cited in academic textbooks. His works were printed twenty-five times in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and translated into German, Latin, and French. I demonstrate Drebbel's philosophical reception and attempt to answer the question of why professional natural philosophers turned to the seemingly unsophisticated vernacular work of a poorly educated artisan.