Alvarus Thomas: reopening the Liber de triplici motu (1509)

Legenda das imagens

1. Frontispice (type 1), black and red print, of Liber de triplici motus, Paris, 1509. 
2. Alternative frontispice (type 2) of Liber de triplici motus, Paris, 1509

Sobre o evento (em inglês)

Alvarus Thomas (Álvaro Tomás) (fl. 1509-21), a Portuguese master at the University of Paris, is still a poorly known historical figure. In his Liber de triplici motu he presented a comprehensive analysis of the theory of proportions and of the science of motion in the characteristic form of the Calculatory tradition. Besides some interesting criticism of contemporary physical theories, this work is also relevant from the point of view of mathematics since Thomas achieves some considerable results in the study of infinite series. Recent scholarship has highlighted ever more the impact of Thomas' work on early modern science.

His only known book was published in 1509, exactly 500 years ago, under the title "Book on the three [kinds of] movement, with added [treatise on] ratios, by Master Alvarus Thomas of Lisbon, Explaining in Part Swineshead's Philosophical [i.e. Physical] Calculations" (Liber de triplici motu proportionibus annexis magistri Alvari Thomae Ulixbonensis philosophicas Suiseth calculationes ex parte declarans).

Programa

One-day Workshop

Monday, 28th September 2009

• 9:30. Samuel Gessner and Henrique Leitão, Welcome 
• 10:00. Henrique Leitão (CIUHCT/Universidade de Lisboa), "Putting Alvarus Thomas on the map"
• 10:45. Matthias Schemmel (Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin), "Alvarus Thomas as a missing link between scholastic and early modern science: The case of Thomas Harriot's work on motion"
• 11:30. Coffee break
• 12:00. Stefan Paul Trzeciok (Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin)​​, "Liber de triplici motu: The transformation of a text"
• 12:45 Discussion
• 13:00 Lunch break
• 14:30. Sabine Rommevaux (CNRS, Centre d'études supérieures de la Renaissance, Tours), "Les réponses d'Alvarus Thomas aux questions que pose la théorie des rapports au Moyen Âge"
• 15:15. Carlos Correia de Sá (Departamento de Matemática Pura da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto e Centro de Matemática da Universidade do Porto), "Alvarus Thomas and the summation of series"
• 16:00 Coffee break
• 16:30. Samuel Gessner (CIUHCT/Universidade de Lisboa), "Understanding Alvarus Thomas in 1914 and today: lessons from a reading of Wieleitner's study of the Liber de triplici motu"
• 17:15 Final discussion
• 17:30 Conclusion

Com o apoio de Magda Eloy.