Alessandro De Angelis joined the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1581, at the age of 22. He devoted himself to teaching at the

Collegio Romano The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school t ...

, reaching the highest level of the academic body between 1612 and 1617, in the period of the first dispute between

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He w ...

and the Roman Church. He taught, as customary at that time, various disciplines from

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at th ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

and scientific disciplines ranging from

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premis ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...

. His only known work and for which he is remembered is ''In astrologos contiectores'' (Against astrological conjectures), published for the first time in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

and then also in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1615, containing astronomical, theological and historical arguments against astrologers and their conjectures. The book attacks in particular the theses of

Gerolamo Cardano Gerolamo Cardano (; also Girolamo or Geronimo; french: link=no, Jérôme Cardan; la, Hieronymus Cardanus; 24 September 1501– 21 September 1576) was an Italian polymath, whose interests and proficiencies ranged through those of mathematician, ...

, and strongly supports free will. The work had several other re-editions in European cities including Antwerp. In this work De Angelis examines possible astral influences regarding the gestation and birth of a human being, denying any possible influence.

Works

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * Sommervogel, C. ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', I, p. 387; VIII, p. 1653 {{DEFAULTSORT:Angelis, Alessandro De 1559 births 1620 deaths Free will 17th century in science 17th-century works Jesuit philosophers 17th-century Italian Jesuits People from Spoleto Jesuit scientists People from Ferrara