Home > Jean Buridan

Born, most probably, in Béthune, France, Buridan studied at the University of Paris under the scholastic philosopher William of Ockham. Apocryphal stories abound about his reputed amorous affairs and adventures which are enough to show that he enjoyed a reputation as a glamorous and mysterious figure in Paris life. That he also seems to have had an unusual facility for attracting academic funding suggests that he was indeed a charismatic figure.

Unusually, he spent his academic life in the faculty of arts, rather than obtaining the doctorate in theology that typically prepared the way for a career in philosophy. He further maintained his intellectual independence by remaining a secular clericA cleric is: A member of the clergy of a religion, especially one that has trained or ordained priests, preachers, or other religious professionals; or A member of a character class in Dungeons & Dragons and similar fantasy role-playing games. As Clergy T, rather than joining a religious orderA religious order is an organization of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with religious devotion. The members of such orders, termed religious as a group, are usually distinct from both the laity and the clergy. They are of. By 1340Events January 26 King Edward III of England is declared King of France June 24 The Battle of Sluys is fought between the naval fleets of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France. The former was under the command of Edward III of England and the l, his confidence had grown sufficiently for him to launch on attack on his mentor, William of Ockham. This act has been interpreted as the beginnings of religious scepticism and the dawn of the scientific revolutionThis article is about the period in history, not the process of scientific progress via revolution, proposed by Thomas Kuhn and discussed at paradigm shift The scientific revolution is the name given by historians of science to the period that roughly beg, Buridan himself going on to prepare the way for Galileo GalileiGalileo Galilei ( Pisa, February 15, 1564 Arcetri, January 8, 1642), was a Tuscan astronomer, philosopher, and physicist who is closely associated with the scientific revolution. His great achievements include perfecting the telescope, a variety of astron through the theory of inertiaInertia is the tendency of any state of affairs to persist in the absence of external influences. Specifically, in physics, it is the tendency of a body to maintain its state of uniform motion unless acted on by an external force''. This is called Newton'. A posthumous campaign by Okhamists succeeded in having Buridan's writings placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum from 1474- 1481.