In 1682, Otto Mencke and Christoph Pfautz founded the Acta Eruditorum, the first fully-fledged German scientific journal. In this paper, I argue that this journal had a fundamental role in shaping the narrative on the rise of the new science in the 17th century, placing Germany as the ideal intermediary between tradition and innovation. In particular, Pfautz’s review of Newton’s Principia in the Acta Eruditorum initiated the Leibniz-Newton controversy, which forced the German tradition to reconsider its role and reshape its philosophical foundations to appeal to a wider international audience.
Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-2325-8077
Chapter Title
Christoph Pfautz as a Reviewer for the Acta Eruditorum: the Invention of a German Tradition in the Sciences
Authors
Mattia Brancato
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0573-3.02
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2025
Copyright Information
© 2025 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Philosophical Reviews in German Territories (1668-1799)
Book Subtitle
Volume 1
Editors
Marco Sgarbi
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
162
Publication Year
2025
Copyright Information
© 2025 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0573-3
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0572-6
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0573-3
eISBN (epub)
979-12-215-0574-0
Series Title
Knowledge and its Histories