iCHSTM 2013 Programme • Version 5.3.6, 27 July 2013 • ONLINE (includes late changes)
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He was not there, but his ideas? The virtual presence of Bošković in modern-day science in Greece
George Vlahakis | Hellenic Open University, Greece

Ruđer Josip Bošković is considered among the leading figures for the development of physics after the scientific revolution, therefore his life and work are very well studied and a vast relevant bibliography exists. Still there are some open questions regarding his influences in countries or regions were Catholicism was not so strong as for example the part of South-Eastern Europe which was under the Ottoman occupation during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Greek speaking population at that time participated in a procedure to develop its national identity and consequently to deliberate the lands of ancient Greece from the political rule of the Ottomans. A means used for this purpose, was among others, the development of scientific knowledge forming and intellectual movement known as Modern Greek Enlightenment (1750-1821). The Greek scholars who were the leaders in this movement taught contemporary Physics as it was formed mainly by the followers of Newton like Peter van Musschenbroek and Benjamin Martin. Anyhow other prominent European physicists of that time had also a certain influence like Abbe Nollet and Christian Wolff. Having all the above in mind we carried out a research to investigate the direct or indirect presence of Boscovich and his ideas in the works of the Greek scholars. We studied all the public books of Physics and the most important manuscripts published after 1763 the date of the second edition of Theoria philosophiae naturalis redacta ad unicam legem virium in natura existentium (Theory of Natural philosophy derived to the single Law of forces which exist in Nature), containing his atomic theory and his theory of forces in Venice. In fact, Venice at that time was an intellectual center for Greeks so that it would be very probable that Greeks would have read Boscovich book. On the other hand they would use it openly very reluctantly as most of them were priests of the Orthodox dogma. In our paper we aim to discuss further this situation and to give some examples from the Greek books of Physics which prove that though at a first sight Boscovich was absent form the Greek literature on Physics from 1770 to 1821, if one would examine the texts more thoroughly his ideas, like for example his atomic theory, were present and very well described.