Victor Frankenstein’s “Science”

1. Victor Frankenstein’s “Science”

2. Discovering the “elixir of life” • Victor reads books more than performs experiments • This confuses modern readers

3. Discovering the “elixir of life” • Before the 18th century, “science” and “philosophy” were essentially the same discipline • Natural Philosophy- the study of nature and the desire to know how nature functions • The quest is still considered more a philosophical journey than a scientific exploration

4. Victor’s investigations • Shelley tells us he’s a student of “natural philosophy” when she writes about his early influences • Victor discredits a lot of the theories, but he admits that the authors set him on his course

5. Victor’s Influences: Agrippa • Cornelius Agrippa- Renaissance philosopher and scientist • Works-reflect strong interest in occult and ancient, mystical sciences of the near East (Europe) • Blend of Plato’s philosophy and Jewish Kabalistic beliefs • Occult= pertaining to magic, astrology, or any system claiming use or knowledge of secret or supernatural powers or agencies.

6. Victor’s Influences: Agrippa • Major work “De incertitudine et vanitatescientiarum” (The vanity and uncertainty of the arts and sciences) • Focused on knowledge in Renaissance Europe that only a select few knew about • Magic • Astrology • Effect of planetary motion on human events • Occult virtues • Natural tendency for certain “elements” to work together and against each other • Spells • Predicting the future • Numerology • Divine Trinity • Kabalistic Names of God • Orders of evil spirits

7. Victor’s Influences: Agrippa • “Real sciences” have discredited all of Agrippa’s claims through observations and experiments

8. Victor’s Influences: Paracelus • Paracelus- Renaissance philosopher and scientist • Introduced concept of disease and use of chemicals rather than herbs to treat diseases • Diseases = external agents instead of internal upset of body’s balance

9. Victor’s Influences: Paracelus • He said that you need to attack the external agent • Alchemy became the means by which chemical remedies were prepared • Shifted from chasing mythological “elixir of life” to making medicines • Alchemy = a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life. • He balanced on the edge of occult practices- said to have trained with gypsies and sorcerers, making remedies from elements and magic combined

10. Victor’s Influences: Albertus Magnus • Magnus- Renaissance philosopher and scientist • Searched for the natural causes of things apart from the church’s position that God was the cause of all effects • “The aim if natural science is not simply to accept the statements of others, but to investigate the causes that are at work in nature.”

11. Victor’s Influences: Albertus Magnus • He took a scientific approach to studying the real world • He did it in a way that his ideas were accepted by the Church • Still gave God credit, but wanted to show how God created life • Placed emphasis on understanding how nature worked rather than on trying to understand God