Much Ado About Nothing: Debating Vacuum in Early Modern Ukraine

Since the days of Aristotle, scholars debated the possibility of void or nothingness (Latin: vacuum) in the universe. The 17th century advances in pneumatics and fluid dynamics by Pascal, Borelli, Toricelli, and especially Boyle, raised the question of whether “nothingness” could be found in spaces devoid of air. This question was diligently debated in the 1707-1708 physics course taught in Kyiv by Archbishop Feofan (Theophanes) Prokopovych. Prokopovych was a key figure in the history of Eastern Slavs, leading the educational renaissance in early modern Ukraine, the extensive reform of the Orthodox Church, while also becoming the main ideologist of Peter I’s empire, and a founder of Russian Academy of Sciences. As a polymath, however, Prokopovych was also deeply interested in the most current issues of European physics.

This seminar represents an incipient work-in-progress and will take place in a collaborative, open-minded atmosphere where participants can offer clues on interpreting the contents of Prokopovych’s plenist theses. The main materials (Prokopovych’s theses against vacuum) are in Latin and Ukrainian; a working English translation will be supplied.