Jungius, Joachim

Jungius, Joachim yōˈäkhĭm yo͝ongˈēo͝os [key], 1587–1657, German mathematician, logician, and systematizer of natural history. In 1608 he made his inaugural dissertation at the Univ. of Giessen, proclaiming in it the doctrine, endorsed by progressive 17th-century scientists, that science must be based on mathematics. A practicing physician as well as a professor of mathematics, he subsequently elaborated an empirical philosophy of science, a morphological system of botany, and a corpuscular chemistry that assumed the conservation of mass. Difficulties with religious authorities forced Jungius to refrain from publishing many of his later works.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Mathematics: Biographies