Cartesian Networks · Cartesian Networks in Early Modern Europe: A Quantitative and Interdisciplinary Approach
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-04-01 → 2022-03-31
- EU contribution
- €175,572
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Cartesian Networks in Early Modern Europe: A Quantitative and Interdisciplinary Approach
The MSCA project Cartesian Networks explores how the ideas of French philosopher René Descartes spread across 17th-century Europe. In recent years, philosophers have paid increasing attention to the role of social networks in knowledge dissemination. At the same time, the last two decades or so have witnessed the rise of network science as an interdisciplinary area of research. By combining philosophy and network science, Cartesian Networks unveils the factors that drove the diffusion of Descartes's innovative ideas. The results show that ideas do not spread like viruses--contrary to what popular terms such as "going viral" may suggest. Instead, in order to understand diffusion, we need models that take into account the complexity of the ideas at hand and the relational proximity of the potential adopters. This, in turn, will yield a better understanding of how innovations circulate and become accepted in today's world.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Throughout his life, Descartes experienced a tension between isolation and openness to the world. By his own admission, he left France for the Dutch Republic in search of peace and solitude -- although it has recently been argued that Descartes' political affiliations may also have played a role in his decision to migrate. On the other hand, his groundbreaking views earned him a reputation as an innovator, leading to the creation of a network of Cartesians that was essential in promoting Descartes' philosophy in the Dutch Republic. In recent years, historians have paid increasing attention to the role played by social and intellectual networks in the processes of knowledge creation and dissemination. At the same time, in the last two decades or so, quantitative network analysis has grown to become a full-blown scientific discipline with its own research centres and university courses. Taking advantage of these parallel developments, this project aims to show how the use of techniques and methods developed by network scientists can yield new insights into the structure and dynamics of the network(s) that guaranteed the success of Cartesian philosophy in the Dutch Republic.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- ERASMUS UNIVERSITEIT ROTTERDAM · RotterdamCoordinatorNetherlands
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union