Debating the Vacuum

In 1660 Robert Boyle presented his "New Experiments Physico-mechanical," with claims about the vacuum that he created with his "pneumatical engine," or "air-pump" (see class Reader). However, not everyone viewed his ideas favorably. We will situate ourselves in the 1660s and consider the evidence for ourselves. Each team will represent one of Boyle's critics, or Boyle in his response to them. The whole class will serve as members of the Royal Society and decide whether the evidence is conclusive.

Boyle's Critics [ see Team Assignments ]:
Francis Line (Franciscus Linus; see also Gilbert Clerke and Matthew Hale), Thomas Hobbes, Henry More [Moore]

General Questions

  • Can a vacuum exist? What alternative explanations account for our observations of the Torricellian "experiment" and related phenomena?
  • Does the air pump actually generate a true vacuum?
  • What is the relation between the experimental observations and ideas about mechanism or animism?
  • Are concepts of God relevant to this debate? If so, how?
  • Are concepts of society and government relevant to this debate? If so, how?
  • Are concepts of gender and nature relevant to this debate? If so, how?

Each person must prepare a concentrated written summary of their argument (~750 wds/person, excluding references and visuals) and present it in class (without reading it). Each contribution should include:

  • at least one reference (include page #) to a passage in Boyle's original treatise
  • at least one reference to another contemporary source
  • at least one visual image appropriate to the argument (to use in class presentation)
    Evaluation will be based on how deeply you reconstruct the historical context and arguments and your contribution to class understanding on the general questions above. Your position statement is due TUESDAY, April 16, 2002.

    Resources
    You may want to familiarize yourself with the history of ideas about the vacuum at the time (for example, advanced by Rene Descartes, Pierre Gassendi, Gilles Roberval, Marin Mersenne).

      Original 17th-century Texts
    • Boyle, Robert. 1660. New Experiments Physico-Mechanical. [Wilson Mfilm 1771 128:8] NOTE: There are several editions of this work. Later editions reprint the objections of Boyle's critics and his responses to them. 1662: contains responses to Linus [Wilson Mfilm 1771 172:9]; 1669 [Wilson Rare Book Room]; 1682: responses to both Hobbes and Linus [Wilson Mfilm 1771 707:11; also Rare Book Room]
    • Boyle, Robert. The Works of Robert Boyle, Michael Hunter and Edward B. Davis, eds. London ; Brookfield, Vt. : Pickering & Chatto, 1999-2000. WALTER Q155 .B667 1999 [Note: I have not put this on reserve, although it is a resource to share. Please respect others on the project.]
    • Hobbes, Thomas. 1651. Leviathan. [many modern reprints available].
    • Hobbes, Thomas. 1661. "Physical Dialogue." translation printed in Shapin and Shaffer (1985).
    • Line, Francis [Franciscus Linus]. 1661. Tractatus de corporum inseparabilitate [in Latin]. [Wilson Mfilm 1771 629:9].
    • More, Henry. 1662. An Antidote against Atheism 3rd edition.

      Modern Reference and Commentary

    • The Dictionary of Scientific Biography
    • Potter, Elizabeth. 2001. Gender and Boyle's Law of Gases. Indiana Univ. Press.
    • Shapin, Steve and Simon Shaffer. 1985. Leviathan and the Air Pump. Princeton Univ. Press.

    Simulation assembled by Douglas Allchin. || last revised Jan. 17, 2002

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