The Biblical Basis of the Natural Philosophy of Dr. Francisco Valles de Covarrubias (1524-1592)
FAIN: FT-57484-10
Maria M. Portuondo
Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD 21218-2608)
The summer project entails the study of the natural philosophical works of Dr. Francisco Valles de Covarrubias (1524-1592) and archival research into the publication history of his works. A principal component of this work involves research in the archives of the Spanish Inquisition in Spain. My preliminary investigation suggests that Valles attempted to join the exegete Benito Arias Montano (1527-1598) in formulating a new natural philosophy that found its metaphysical - and even physical - basis in the biblical text. This biblist approach led Valles to formulate a natural philosophy that was a radical re-conceptualization of Aristotelian and Neoplatonic ideas about nature. Yet, his natural philosophical ideas have not been the object of much study nor have his formulations been contextualized relative to that of his contemporaries. His work illustrates the nature of scientific discourse among philosophers of the nascent Scientific Revolution and as such merits due consideration.