Giovanni Francesco Crivelli
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Francesco Crivelli (Venice, 20 Sep 1690 – 20 Sep 1743) was a Venetian priest.
Crivelli was a priest member of Somasco holy order in the Cloister of the Health, then was provincial Father of the order and rector of the Seminar of Murano. He published two teaching books: the Elements of Numeral and Literal Arithmetic (published in Venice in 1728) and the Elements of Physics (published in Venice in 1731 and subsequently broadened in 1744). His original manuscripts are lost.
The second book is particularly important for a number of reasons. It is a popular teaching book whose first volume contains the same arguments that are still in use today in the classes of a Scientific High School (with the exception of the electro-magnetic
phenomena considered at that times as little more than a fairground booth phenomena). The book discusses above all astronomical matters. In this book is to not the full reception of the physics of Galileo and of Newton with Galileo called "the prince of the scientists", a full recognition of the importance of the Arabic Muslim civilisation in the creation of the scientific method
. The explanation of the scientific method coincides practically with the positions of the neopositivism
and of the scientific realism
. Also the writing style is innovative and still present for the utilization of the Italian, for the large and precise descriptions of a lot of experiments also done outside Europe, and for the exhibition of the varied hypothesis of the scientists about arguments still object of discussion in those years. Also of note is the recognition of the existence and of the equal dignity of theoretical alongside experimental physics
.
His activity was highly valued also outside Italy and Crivelli was elected in January, 1734 a Fellow of the Royal Society (his books are in the library of the Royal Society). After his death he was soon forgotten and his work only recently re-discovered.
Crivelli was a priest member of Somasco holy order in the Cloister of the Health, then was provincial Father of the order and rector of the Seminar of Murano. He published two teaching books: the Elements of Numeral and Literal Arithmetic (published in Venice in 1728) and the Elements of Physics (published in Venice in 1731 and subsequently broadened in 1744). His original manuscripts are lost.
The second book is particularly important for a number of reasons. It is a popular teaching book whose first volume contains the same arguments that are still in use today in the classes of a Scientific High School (with the exception of the electro-magnetic
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
phenomena considered at that times as little more than a fairground booth phenomena). The book discusses above all astronomical matters. In this book is to not the full reception of the physics of Galileo and of Newton with Galileo called "the prince of the scientists", a full recognition of the importance of the Arabic Muslim civilisation in the creation of the scientific method
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
. The explanation of the scientific method coincides practically with the positions of the neopositivism
Logical positivism
Logical positivism is a philosophy that combines empiricism—the idea that observational evidence is indispensable for knowledge—with a version of rationalism incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of epistemology.It may be considered as a type of analytic...
and of the scientific realism
Scientific realism
Scientific realism is, at the most general level, the view that the world described by science is the real world, as it is, independent of what we might take it to be...
. Also the writing style is innovative and still present for the utilization of the Italian, for the large and precise descriptions of a lot of experiments also done outside Europe, and for the exhibition of the varied hypothesis of the scientists about arguments still object of discussion in those years. Also of note is the recognition of the existence and of the equal dignity of theoretical alongside experimental physics
Experimental physics
Within the field of physics, experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines concerned with the observation of physical phenomena in order to gather data about the universe...
.
His activity was highly valued also outside Italy and Crivelli was elected in January, 1734 a Fellow of the Royal Society (his books are in the library of the Royal Society). After his death he was soon forgotten and his work only recently re-discovered.