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SUMMARY:Georg Joseph Kamel (1661–1706): a Jesuit pharmacist in Manila at
  the borderlines of erudition and empiricism - Sebestian Kroupa (Departmen
 t of History and Philosophy of Science)
DTSTART:20160509T120000Z
DTEND:20160509T131500Z
UID:TALK65936@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:39097
DESCRIPTION:When sent as a pharmacist to the Philippines in 1688\, the Boh
 emian Jesuit Georg Joseph Kamel turned to the local nature to identify res
 ources which he could use in his practice. Due to his growing expertise\, 
 Kamel soon entered into correspondence with European intellectuals\, namel
 y two members of the Royal Society: the apothecary James Petiver and the n
 aturalist John Ray. Involvement within this network allowed Kamel to deliv
 er his reports of Philippine nature to Europe\, where – thanks to his En
 glish friends – these accounts appeared in print. In this paper\, I will
  discuss these texts and consider Kamel's strategies and ambitions in writ
 ing his works. Unlike other Jesuit apothecaries\, who typically produced e
 asy-to-follow medical handbooks for local use\, Kamel's approach to classi
 fication and description of plants clearly points to his scholarly ambitio
 ns and his efforts to enter into contemporary European intellectual circle
 s. In presenting his findings and convincing his audience of the credibili
 ty of his accounts\, then\, Kamel drew on both erudite and empirical knowl
 edge. I will suggest that this attitude stemmed directly from his Jesuit t
 raining which\, on the one hand\, was rooted in textual traditions and can
 onical texts accepted by the Church\, but on the other\, fostered active\,
  practical and empirical methods in conjunction with the high esteem for m
 undane labour\, utility and individual initiative. These aspects of Kamel'
 s work\, strikingly in accord with Baconian philosophy adopted by the Roya
 l Society\, must have facilitated his exchange with its members.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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