Commonplace Learning: Ramism and its German Ramifications, 1543-1630

by Howard Hotson

Overview

Ramism was the most controversial pedagogical movement to sweep through the Protestant world in the latter sixteenth century. This book, the first contextualized study of this rich tradition, has wide-ranging implications for the intellectual, cultural, and social histories not only of the Holy Roman Empire but also of the entire Protestant world in the crucial decades immediately preceding the advent of the "new philosophy" in the mid-seventeenth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198174301
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/29/2007
Series:	Oxford-Warburg Studies
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Dr Hotson works in the field of early modern European intellectual history, with particular attention to central Europe and the international Reformed world c.1550-1660. Thematically, he has written on the histories of science, philosophy, religion, education, and political theory and their relationship to broader social, political, and confessional developments. At the heart of his interests are the gradually expanding reform movements of the post-Reformation period culminating in the pansophism of Comenius, the universal reform programme of Samuel Hartlib, and the audacious philosophical projects of Leibnitz. Oxford University Press published his book on Alsted in 2000: Johann Heinrich Alsted 1588-1638: Between Renaissance, Reformation and Universal Reform: it received a wide range of excellent reviews.

Table of Contents

First-generation Ramism1. Introduction: the earliest German Ramismi. Ramism in Germany: a neglected traditionii. Ramism and Calvinism: an overworked explanationiii. The spread of Ramism in north-western Germany: a fresh start2. Foundations: Ramism in German contexti. The rudiments of Ramismii. Ramism and humanism, ic./i1580-1600iii. Ramism in Hanseatic cities and imperial countiesSecond-generation semi-Ramism3. Institutionalisation: semi-Ramism in Reformed academies, 1580-1600i. Adaptation: the advent of Philippo-Ramismii. Confessionalisation: Ramism and Calvinism revisitediii. Expansion: Ramism and the encyclopaedia4. Adaptation: Post-Ramist methods in Reformed universities, 1590-1613i. Beyond Philippo-Ramism: Casmann, Timpler, Keckermann, and Alstedii. 'Methodical Peripateticism': Heidelberg and Keckermann's systema, 1590-1601iii. Precursor to the Encyclopaedia: Danzig and Keckermann's Systema systematum, 1602-13Third-generation post-Ramist eclecticism5. Compilation: Alsted's Cursus philosophici encyclopaedia, 1609-20i. Form: the Encyclopaedia as systema systematumii. Composition: the Encyclopaedia as bibliotheca universalis locorum communiumiii. Matter: the Encyclopaedia as bibliotheca philosophica6. Culmination: Alsted's Encyclopaedia septem tomis distincta, 1620-30i. Synthesis: the Encyclopaedia as systema harmonicumii. Expansion: from Cursus philosophici encyclopaedia (1620) to Encyclopedia omnium disciplinarum (1630)iii. Dissolution: the Encyclopaedia as Farragines disciplinarum7. Interim conclusionsi. Destruction and further ramification, 1622-70ii. The common principles: means and ends of the German post-Ramist traditionSelect BibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"Brilliantly written, perfectly constructed, Hotson's work reads like a novel...[A] rich and convincing panorama which will serve from this point onward as an indispensable landmark for all future research in a particularly elusive and complex field of study"—Kees Meerhoff, Bibliotheque d'humanisme et renaissance

"The virtues of Hotsons work are many. It negotiates the difficult challenge of writing prose that accommodates the detail necessary to recreate the intellectual, social and political elements involved in his story while at the same time producing a clear and intelligible text. The argument he develops in the course of the work is entirely convincing, and gains for his work the distinction of being the preeminent study of the topic, putting to rest Ongs interpretations of Ramisms appeal and spread. Those who study the intellectual life of this era will need to take Hotsons work into account..."—Patrick Hayden-Roy, German History

"This volume is a fine study of Ramism in German lands, and it offers a sound argument for the popularity and impact of Ramus."—Richard A. Muller, Renaissance Quarterly

"Will undoubtedly add to the field of Dante, medieval, and religious studies."—Sixteenth Century Journal

"The information that Hotson presents on a host of individual author educators and academic institutions will be of assistance to sholars pursuing analogous research. The index is very useful. Oxford University Press deserves high praise for the general layout, figures, and jacket design of this monograph."—Joseph S. Freedman, American Historical Review

"This is a densely learned and really valuable study, which combines scholarship on areas including the history of early modern universities, late renaissance Aristotelianism and the philosophical textbook tradition with impressive, polyglot linguistic skill and strong sympathy for the importance of Ramism and encyclopaedism as significant intellectual traditions. Consequently, it contains much that will be of great interest to historians of universities and to those working on many other areas of intellectual history."—Michael Edwards, History of Universities, XXIII/2

"A valuable addition to the history of the Ramist movement in central Europe."—European History Quarterly

"Commonplace Learning is certainly a valuable addition to the history of the Ramist movement in central Europe because it is one of the first to provide a detailed account of Ramism within a national context. Taking a page from Ramus book, Hotson s work tackles a difficult topic in an orderly and methodical fashion, simplifying Ramism for a new generation of scholars."—European History Quarterly

"Howard Hotson has succeeded in portraying a nuanced and exceptionally clear image of an important educational movement of great significance for the cultural history of the western world."—Hessisches Jahrbuch

"Ramus sought to instruct clearly and efficiently, and he would have appreciated Hotson s clear prose and well organized presentation. Hotson succeeds in bringing together an impressive array of sources, including manuscripts and printed texts from across Europe, and in showing that they can all be seen as part of a broad debate about human knowledge. Commonplace Learning is indispensable for understanding Reformed theology and education of the early seventeenth century."—Sixteenth Century Journal

From the Publisher