SPA Seminar: Laura Kotevska (Sydney) "The First Rule of Geometers: Arnauld and Nicole on Definition"

Reflection on how we acquire scientific knowledge is a striking feature of Arnauld and Nicole’s Logique, ou l’art de penser (1662). In this talk, I examine one part of their methodological writings inspired by geometry - their theory of definition. In so doing, I describe what is distinctive about Arnauld and Nicole’s view and use this to 1) examine their interventions in their Nouveaux éléments de géométrie, and 2) trace the influence of Arnauld and Nicole’s account of definition on the wider 17th century culture of rewriting the Elements of Euclid. I conclude with some emerging reflections on the epistemological reasons for Arnauld and Nicole’s distinction between real and nominal definitions and argue that this account is compatible with Arnauld’s commitments to Aristotelian science evident in the Logique and Nouveaux éléments de géométrie.