Joachim Jungius (born Joachim Junge; 22 October 1587 – 23 September 1657) was a German

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

logician Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure of arg ...

and

philosopher of science Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Life

Jungius was a native of

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

. He studied

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

at the Universities of

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

and

Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...

, where in 1608 he earned his degree. Beginning in 1609, he was a professor of mathematics at the University of

, and in 1614–15, with Wolfgang Ratke (1571–1635) and Christoph Helvig (1581–1617), he took part in studies of

educational reform Education reform is the goal of changing public education. The meaning and educational methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, the motivations for ...

. In 1616, he returned to

in order to study medicine, later obtaining his medical doctorate from the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

with Santorio Santorio in 1619. From 1619 to 1623, he practiced medicine in Lübeck. In 1622 at Rostock, he founded an early scientific society known as ''Societas Ereunetica sive Zetetica''. From 1624 to 1628, Jungius worked as a professor of mathematics at Rostock, his service here being briefly interrupted in 1625, when he spent time as professor of medicine at the University of Helmstedt. From 1629 until 1657, he was professor of

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

at the ''Akademisches Gymnasium'', a secondary school in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. Jungius believed that science was based on mathematics, and in Hamburg stressed the importance of

critical thinking Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, ...

to his students. He also felt that mathematics and

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

served as a remedy to

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

and mystical speculation. He died in Hamburg.

Works

Jungius was an important figure of 17th century

atomism Atomism () is a natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms. References to the concept of atomism and its Atom, atoms appeared in both Ancient Greek philosophy, ancien ...

, and was an advocate of a " corpuscular chemistry" that assumed the

conservation of mass In physics and chemistry, the law of conservation of mass or principle of mass conservation states that for any system closed to all transfers of matter the mass of the system must remain constant over time. The law implies that mass can neith ...

. He also demonstrated that a

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary ( , ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or wire rope, cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, ...

was not a

parabola In mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is Reflection symmetry, mirror-symmetrical and is approximately U-shaped. It fits several superficially different Mathematics, mathematical descriptions, which can all be proved to define exactl ...

. In 1638 he published the textbook ''Logica Hamburgensis'', which presented late

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

theories and techniques of

. Here he demonstrated oblique cases of arguments that did not adhere to simpler forms of

inference Inferences are steps in logical reasoning, moving from premises to logical consequences; etymologically, the word '' infer'' means to "carry forward". Inference is theoretically traditionally divided into deduction and induction, a distinct ...

; An example being: "The square of an even number is even; 6 is even; therefore, the square of 6 is even". His double position as connected to scholastic logic, but also to innovations, earns him the classification semi- Ramist.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to ...

wrote, :"While Jungius of Lübeck is a man little known even in Germany itself, he was clearly of such judiciousness and such capacity of mind that I know of no other mortal, including even Descartes himself, from whom we could better have expected a great restoration of the sciences, had Jungius been either known or assisted." Jung was a man of great intellect, he defined a plant as: "A plant is a living non-sentient body, attached to a particular place or habitat, where it is able to feed, to grow in size, and finally to propagate itself."Morton, A.G. 1981 ''History of Botanical Science''. p,169. Academic Press.

Bibliography

* Joachim Jungius, ''Phoronomica sive doctrine de motu locali'', 1689. * Joachim Jungius, 1957. ''Logica Hamburgensis'', facsimile reproduction of the original edition (Hamburg, 1638) edited by Rudolf W. Meyer, Hamburg: J.J. Augustin. * Joachim Jungius, 1977. ''Logica Hamburgensis additamenta'', edited by Wilhelm Risse, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. * Joachim Jungius, 1988. ''Disputationes Hamburgenses'', critical edition by Clemens Müller-Glauser, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Citations

External links

* H. Kangro

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jungius, Joachim 1587 births 1657 deaths 17th-century German physicians 16th-century German philosophers 17th-century German philosophers 17th-century German mathematicians Scientists from Lübeck Academic staff of the University of Giessen Academic staff of the University of Rostock 17th-century German writers 17th-century German male writers

Life

Works

Bibliography

Citations

Further reading

External links