X-Nico

Henri de Boulainvilliers

In 1683 Boulainvilliers wrote " l'Idée d'un Système Géneral de la Nature" based on his reading of Jan Baptist van Helmont and Robert Boyle, followed by "Archidoxes de Paracelsus, avec une préface sur les principes de l'art chimique".

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He described his method as experimental philosophy and closely preceded the Dutch experimentalists led by Anthony Leeuwenhoek (Nieuwentijt, Boerhave, Volder)

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The education at Juilly had great impact on Boulainvilliers: a special accent on critical history had been introduced into the Oratory by Caesar Baronius and Richard Simon, and through the science classes he became familiar with the works of Jean Baptist van Helmont, Robert Boyle and Edme Mariotte.

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For instance, when stressing the importance of sources in developing fact, he contrasted Thomas Rymer's way of access to the London archives to that of his own where he had to bribe the keepers of the French archives.

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By 1715-1720, he wrote his "Traité d'astronomie physique" using the Cartesian method, commenting on the nature of gravity and the movement of planets and drawing on sources such as Jean-Baptiste du Hamel and Huygens.

see also