Vegetative Powers: The Roots of Life in Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Natural Philosophy

The volume explores the natural philosophical accounts and debates concerning the vegetative powers, nutrition, growth, and reproduction, highlighting the role of three strands in shaping the study of life in the Medieval and early modern natural philosophies. It unearths the history of the vegetative soul as a shrub of interconnected concepts, outlining the importance of vegetal processes of incessant proliferation, generation, and organic growth as the roots of life.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 459 pages
Publication date: 27 May 2022
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

The book delves into a comprehensive analysis of natural philosophical accounts and debates surrounding the vegetative powers, namely nutrition, growth, and reproduction. While primarily focusing on the early modern approaches to the lower functions of the soul, readers will find that these approaches have their roots in ancient times. The volume highlights the significant role of three strands that shaped the study of life in medieval and early modern natural philosophies.

From late antiquity to the early modern period, the vegetative soul and its related concepts played a pivotal role in defining life, living functions, and living bodies. They often blurred the line between living and non-living nature, and at other times, resulted in a strict restriction of life to a mechanical system of operations and powers. By unearthing the history of the vegetative soul as a complex shrub of interconnected concepts, the 24 contributions of the book fill a crucial gap in scholarship. Ultimately, they outline the importance of vegetal processes of incessant proliferation, generation, and organic growth as the roots of life in natural philosophical interpretations.

Weight: 730g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030697112
Edition number: 1st ed. 2021