{{short description|French philosopher (1325–1382)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox philosopher |region = [[Western philosophy]] |era = [[Medieval philosophy]] |image = Oresme.jpg |caption = Portrait of Nicole Oresme: Miniature from Oresme's ''Traité de l'espère'', Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France, fonds français 565, fol. 1r. |honorific_prefix = [[The Most Reverend]] |name = Nicole Oresme |birth_date = {{Birth date|1325|1|1|df=y}} |birth_place = [[Fleury-sur-Orne]], Normandy, Kingdom of France |death_date = {{Death date and age|1382|7|11|1325|1|1|df=y}}<ref name="advent" /> |death_place = [[Lisieux]], [[Lower Normandy|Normandy]], France |alma_mater = [[College of Navarre]] ([[University of Paris]]) |institutions = [[College of Navarre]] ([[University of Paris]]) |school_tradition = [[Nominalism]]<ref>[[Hans Blumenberg]], ''The Genesis of the Copernican World'', MIT Press, 1987, p. 158.</ref> |main_interests = Natural philosophy, astronomy, theology, mathematics |notable_ideas = Rectangular [[co-ordinates]], first proof of the [[divergent series|divergence]] of the [[harmonic series (mathematics)|harmonic series]], [[mean speed theorem]] }}
'''Nicole Oresme''' ({{IPAc-en|ɔː|ˈ|r|ɛ|m}};<ref>{{Cite Dictionary.com|Oresme}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|nikɔl ɔʁɛm|lang}};<ref>{{cite book |author=Léon Warnant|title=Dictionnaire de la prononciation française dans sa norme actuelle |edition=3rd |year=1987 |publisher=J. Duculot, S. A. |location=Gembloux|language=fr |isbn=978-2-8011-0581-8 }}</ref> 1 January 1325 – 11 July 1382), also known as '''Nicolas Oresme''', '''Nicholas Oresme''', or '''Nicolas d'Oresme''', was a French philosopher of the later [[Middle Ages]]. He wrote influential works on economics, mathematics, physics, [[astrology]], [[astronomy]], philosophy, and theology. He was [[Bishop of Lisieux]], a [[translator]], a counselor of King [[Charles V of France]], and one of the most original thinkers of 14th-century Europe.<ref name=Wallace>{{cite book|last=Wallace|first=William A.|title=Prelude to Galileo: essays on medieval and sixteenth-century sources of Galileo's thought|year=1981|publisher=Springer Science & Business|isbn=978-9027712158|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Ix6kR6iN-UC&pg=PA42 }}</ref>
==Life== Nicole Oresme was born {{Circa|1320–1325}} in the village of Allemagne (today's [[Fleury-sur-Orne]]) in the vicinity of [[Caen]], Normandy, in the [[diocese of Bayeux]]. Practically nothing is known concerning his family. The fact that Oresme attended the royally sponsored and subsidised [[College of Navarre]], an institution for students too poor to pay their expenses while studying at the [[University of Paris]], makes it probable that he came from a peasant family.<ref>Edward Grant, ed., ''De proportionibus proportionum and Ad pauca respicientes,'' (Madison: University of Wisconsin Pr., 1966), p. 4.</ref>
Oresme studied the "arts" in Paris, together with [[Jean Buridan]] (the so-called founder of the French school of natural philosophy), [[Albert of Saxony (philosopher)|Albert of Saxony]] and perhaps [[Marsilius of Inghen]], and there received the [[Magister Artium]]. He was already a [[regent master]] in arts by 1342, during the crisis over [[William of Ockham]]'s [[natural philosophy]].<ref>William J. Courtenay, The Early Career of Nicole Oresme, ''Isis'', Vol. 91, No.3 (Sept. 2000), pp 542–548.</ref>
In 1348, he was a student of theology in Paris.
In 1356 he received his doctorate and in the same year he became grand master (''grand-maître'') of the [[College of Navarre]].
In 1364 he was appointed dean of the Cathedral of [[Rouen]]. Around 1369, he began a series of translations of [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] works at the request of [[Charles V of France|Charles V]], who granted him a [[pension]] in 1371 and, with royal support, was appointed [[Ancient Diocese of Lisieux|bishop of Lisieux]] in 1377. In 1382, he died in Lisieux.<ref>Edward Grant, ed., ''De proportionibus proportionum and Ad pauca respicientes,'' (Madison: University of Wisconsin Pr., 1966), pp. 4–10.</ref>
==Scientific work==
===Cosmology=== [[File:Oresme Spheres.jpg|thumb|A page from Oresme's ''Livre du ciel et du monde'', 1377, showing the [[celestial spheres]]]] In his ''Livre du ciel et du monde'' Oresme discussed a range of evidence for and against the daily [[rotation of the Earth]] on its axis.<ref>Edward Grant, ''The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages'', (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 114–16.</ref> From astronomical considerations, he maintained that if the Earth were moving and not the [[celestial spheres]], all the movements that we see in the heavens that are computed by the astronomers would appear exactly the same as if the spheres were rotating around the Earth. He rejected the physical argument that if the Earth were moving the air would be left behind causing a great wind from east to west. In his view the [[Earth (classical element)|Earth]], [[Water (classical element)|Water]], and [[Air (classical element)|Air]] would all share the same motion.<ref>Oresme, ''Le Livre du ciel et du monde'', pp. 521–3</ref> As to the scriptural passage that speaks of the motion of the Sun, he concludes that "this passage conforms to the customary usage of popular speech" and is not to be taken literally.<ref>Oresme, ''Le Livre du ciel et du monde'', p. 531</ref> He also noted that it would be more economical for the small Earth to rotate on its axis than the immense sphere of the stars.<ref>Oresme, ''Le Livre du ciel et du monde'', p. 535</ref> Nonetheless, he concluded that none of these arguments were conclusive and "everyone maintains, and I think myself, that the heavens do move and not the Earth."<ref>Oresme, ''Le Livre du ciel et du monde'', p. 537</ref>
===Critiques of astrology=== In his mathematical work, Oresme developed the notion of incommensurate fractions, fractions that could not be expressed as powers of one another, and made probabilistic, statistical arguments as to their relative frequency.<ref name=Franklin>{{cite book |last=Franklin |first=James |author-link=James Franklin (philosopher) |date=2001 |title=The Science of Conjecture, Evidence and Probability before Pascal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zDECQAAQBAJ |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |pages=140–145 |isbn=9780801865695}}</ref> From this, he argued that it was very probable that the length of the day and the year were incommensurate ([[irrational number|irrational]]), as indeed were the periods of the motions of the [[moon]] and the [[planet]]s. From this, he noted that planetary [[Conjunction (astronomy and astrology)|conjunctions]] and [[Opposition (planets)|oppositions]] would never recur in quite exactly the same way. Oresme maintained that this disproves the claims of [[Astrology|astrologers]] who, thinking "they know with punctual exactness the motions, [[Astrological aspect|aspects]], conjunctions and oppositions... [judge] rashly and erroneously about future events."<ref>Oresme, ''Ad pauca respicientes'', p. 383.</ref>
Oresme's critique of [[astrology]] in his ''Livre de divinacions'' treats it as having six parts.<ref name=Coopland>{{cite book | title=Nicole Oresme and the Astrologers: A Study of his Livre de Divinacions | publisher=Harvard University Press; Liverpool University Press | author=Coopland, G. W. | year=1952 | pages=53–57}}</ref> The first, essentially astronomy, the movements of heavenly bodies, he considers good science but not precisely knowable. The second part deals with the influences of the heavenly bodies on earthly events at all scales. Oresme does not deny such influence, but states, in line with a commonly held opinion,<ref name=Wood9>Wood, 1970. p. 9</ref> that it could either be that arrangements of heavenly bodies signify events, purely [[symbol]]ically, or that they actually cause such events, deterministically. Mediaevalist Chauncey Wood remarks that this major elision "makes it very difficult to determine who believed what about astrology".<ref name=Wood9/>
The third part concerns predictiveness, covering events at three different scales: great events such as plagues, famines, floods and wars; weather, winds and storms; and medicine, with influences on the [[humours]], the four [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] fluids of the body. Oresme criticizes all of these as misdirected, though he accepts that prediction is a legitimate area of study, and argues that the effect on the weather is less well known than the effect on great events. He observes that sailors and farmers are better at predicting weather than astrologers, and specifically attacks the astrological basis of prediction, noting correctly that the [[zodiac]] has moved relative to the fixed stars (because of [[precession of the equinoxes]]) since the zodiac was first described in [[Ancient history|ancient times]].<ref name=Wood9/> These first three parts are what Oresme considers the physical influences of the stars and planets (including sun and moon) on the earth, and while he offers critiques of them, he accepts that effects exist. The last three parts are what Oresme considers to concern (good or bad) fortune. They are [[interrogations]], meaning asking the stars when to do things such as business deals; elections, meaning choosing the best time to do things such as getting married or fighting a war and nativities, meaning the natal astrology with birth charts that forms much of modern astrological practice. Oresme classifies interrogations and elections as "totally false" arts, but his critique of nativities is more measured. He denies that any path is predetermined by the heavenly bodies, because humans have [[free will]], but he accepts that the heavenly bodies can influence behaviour and habitual mood, via the combination of humours in each person. Overall, Oresme's skepticism is strongly shaped by his understanding of the scope of astrology. He accepts things a modern skeptic would reject, and rejects some things – such as the knowability of planetary movements, and effects on weather – that are accepted by modern science.<ref name=Wood8>Wood, 1970. pp. 8–11</ref>
===Sense perception=== In discussing the propagation of light and sound, Oresme adopted the common medieval doctrine of the multiplication of species,<ref>Bert Hansen, ''Nicole Oresme and the Marvels of Nature'' (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1985), pp. 89–90.</ref> as it had been developed by optical writers such as [[Alhacen]], [[Robert Grosseteste]], [[Roger Bacon]], [[John Pecham]], and [[Witelo]].<ref>David C. Lindberg, ''Theories of Vision from al-Kindi to Kepler'', (Chicago: University of Chicago Pr., 1976), pp. 78–80, 98, 113–16.</ref> Oresme maintained that these species were immaterial, but corporeal (i.e., three-dimensional) entities.<ref>Peter Marshall, "Nicole Oresme on the Nature, Reflection, and Speed of Light," ''Isis'', 72 (1981): 357–374, pp. 360–2.</ref>
===Mathematics=== [[File:Nicolas d'Oresme – De latitudinibus formarum, 1486 – BEIC 164981.jpg|thumb|''De latitudinibus formarum'', 1486]] Oresme's most important contributions to mathematics are contained in ''Tractatus de configurationibus qualitatum et motuum''. In a quality, or accidental form, such as heat, he distinguished the ''intensio'' (the degree of heat at each point) and the ''extensio'' (as the length of the heated rod). These two terms were often replaced by ''latitudo'' and ''[[Longitude|longitudo]]''. For the sake of clarity, Oresme conceived the idea of visualizing these concepts by plane figures, approaching what we would now call rectangular [[coordinates]]. The intensity of the quality was represented by a length or ''latitudo'' proportional to the intensity erected perpendicular to the base at a given point on the base line, which represents the ''longitudo''. Oresme proposed that the geometrical form of such a figure could be regarded as corresponding to a characteristic of the quality itself. Oresme defined a uniform quality as that which is represented by a line parallel to the longitude, and any other quality as difform. Uniformly varying qualities are represented by a straight line inclined to the axis of the longitude, while he described many cases of nonuniformly varying qualities. Oresme extended this doctrine to figures of three dimensions. He considered this analysis applicable to many different qualities such as hotness, [[Whiteness (colorimetry)|whiteness]], and [[sweetness]]. Significantly for later developments, Oresme applied this concept to the analysis of local motion where the ''latitudo'' or intensity represented the speed, the ''longitudo'' represented the time, and the area of the figure represented the [[distance]] travelled.<ref>{{Citation | last = Clagett | first = Marshall | author-link = Marshall Clagett | date = 1968 | title = Nicole Oresme and the Medieval Geometry of Qualities and Motions; a treatise on the uniformity and difformity of intensities known as ''Tractatus de configurationibus qualitatum et motuum'' | publisher = Univ. of Wisconsin Press | place = Madison | pages = 177–128| isbn = 0-299-04880-2}}</ref>
He shows that his method of figuring the latitude of forms is applicable to the movement of a point, on condition that the time is taken as longitude and the speed as latitude; quantity is, then, the space covered in a given time. In virtue of this transposition, the theorem of the ''latitudo uniformiter difformis'' became the law of the space traversed in case of uniformly varied motion; thus Oresme published what was taught over two centuries prior to [[Galileo]]'s making it famous.<ref name="advent">{{Catholic |wstitle=Nicole Oresme |volume=11 |first=Pierre |last=Duhem |inline=1 |prescript=}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Clagett | first = Marshall | author-link = Marshall Clagett | date = 1968 | title = Nicole Oresme and the Medieval Geometry of Qualities and Motions; a treatise on the uniformity and difformity of intensities known as ''Tractatus de configurationibus qualitatum et motuum'' | publisher = Univ. of Wisconsin Press | place = Madison | isbn = 0-299-04880-2}}</ref> Diagrams of the velocity of an accelerating object against time in ''On the Latitude of Forms'' by Oresme<ref>{{Citation | last = Clagett | first = Marshall | author-link = Marshall Clagett | date = 1968 | title = Nicole Oresme and the Medieval Geometry of Qualities and Motions; a treatise on the uniformity and difformity of intensities known as ''Tractatus de configurationibus qualitatum et motuum'' | publisher = Univ. of Wisconsin Press | place = Madison | pages = 85–99 | isbn = 0-299-04880-2}}</ref> have been cited to credit Oresme with the discovery of "proto bar charts".<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Beniger | first1 = James R. | author-link = James R. Beniger | last2 = Robyn | first2 = Dorothy L. | year = 1978 | title = Quantitative Graphics in Statistics: A Brief History | journal = The American Statistician | volume = 32 | issue = 1 | publisher = Taylor & Francis, Ltd. | pages = 1–11 | jstor = 2683467 | doi=10.1080/00031305.1978.10479235}}</ref><ref name=handbook>{{cite book | last1 = Der | first1 = Geoff | last2 = Everitt | first2 = Brian S. | title = A Handbook of Statistical Graphics Using SAS ODS | publisher = Chapman and Hall - CRC | year = 2014 | isbn = 978-1-584-88784-3 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kB8bBAAAQBAJ}}</ref>
In ''De configurationibus'' Oresme introduces the concept of [[curvature]] as a measure of departure from straightness, for [[circle]]s he has the curvature as being inversely proportional to radius and attempts to extend this to other curves as a continuously varying magnitude.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Isabel|last1=Serrano|first2=Bogdan|last2 = Suceavă|title = A Medieval Mystery: Nicole Oresme's Concept of ''Curvitas''|journal=Notices of the American Mathematical Society|volume = 62|number=9|pages=1030–1034|year=2015|doi=10.1090/noti1275|url=https://www.ams.org/notices/201509/rnoti-p1030.pdf|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Significantly, Oresme developed the first proof of the [[divergent series|divergence]] of the [[harmonic series (mathematics)|harmonic series]].<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Nicole Oresme|first=Nicole|last=Oresme|date=c. 1360|title=Quaestiones super Geometriam Euclidis|trans-title=Questions concerning Euclid's Geometry}}</ref> His proof, requiring less advanced mathematics than current standard tests for divergence (for example, the [[Integral test for convergence|integral test]]), begins by noting that for any ''n'' that is a [[power of 2]], there are ''n''/2 − 1 terms in the series between 1/(''n''/2) and 1/''n''. Each of these terms is at least 1/''n'', and since there are ''n''/2 of them they sum to at least 1/2. For instance, there is one term 1/2, then two terms 1/3 + 1/4 that together sum to at least 1/2, then four terms 1/5 + 1/6 + 1/7 + 1/8 that also sum to at least 1/2, and so on. Thus the series must be greater than the series 1 + 1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 + ..., which does not have a finite limit. This proves that the harmonic series must be divergent. This argument shows that the sum of the first ''n'' terms grows at least as fast as <math>(1/2) \log_2 n</math>. (See also [[Harmonic series (mathematics)#Comparison test|Harmonic series]])
Oresme was the first mathematician to prove this fact, and (after his proof was lost) it was not proven again until the 17th century by [[Pietro Mengoli]].<ref>{{citation|title=The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics|first=Clifford A.|last=Pickover|author-link=Clifford A. Pickover|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|year=2009|isbn=9781402757969|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JrslMKTgSZwC&pg=PA104|quotation=Nicole Oresme ... was the first to prove the divergence of the harmonic series (c. 1350). His results were lost for several centuries, and the result was proved again by Italian mathematician Pietro Mengoli in 1647 and by Swiss mathematician Johann Bernoulli in 1687.}}</ref>
He also worked on fractional powers, and the notion of probability over infinite sequences, ideas which would not be further developed for the next three and five centuries, respectively.<ref name=Franklin/>{{rp|142–3}}
=== On local motion === Oresme, like many of his contemporaries such as [[John Buridan]] and Albert of Saxony, shaped and critiqued Aristotle's and Averroes's theories of motion to his own liking.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Thijssen|first=Johannes|date=2009|title=The Debate over the Nature of Motion: John Buridan, Nicole Oresme and Albert of Saxony. With an Edition of John Buridan's 'Quaestiones Super Libros Physicorum, Secundum Ultimam Lecturam', Book III, Q. 7.|journal=Early Science and Medicine|volume=14|issue=1–3|pages=186–210|doi=10.1163/157338209X425551}}</ref> Taking inspiration from the theories of ''forma fluens'' and ''fluxus formae'', Oresme would suggest his own descriptions for change and motion in his commentary of ''Physics''. ''Forma fluens'' is described by William of Ockham as "Every thing that is moved is moved by a mover," and ''fluxus formae'' as "Every motion is produced by a mover."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nasc400.pbworks.com/w/page/9501684/Mechanics%20and%20Motion%20in%20the%20Middle%20Ages|title=NASC 400 History of Science to 1700 / Mechanics and Motion in the Middle Ages|website=nasc400.pbworks.com|language=en|access-date=4 May 2018}}</ref> Buridan and Albert of Saxony each subscribed to the classic interpretation of flux being an innate part of an object, but Oresme differs from his contemporaries in this aspect.<ref name=":0" /> Oresme agrees with ''fluxus formae'' in that motion is attributed to an object, but that an object is "set into" motion, rather than "given" motion, denying a distinction between a motionless object and an object in motion. To Oresme, an object moves, but it is not a moving object.<ref name=":0" /> Once an object begins movement through the three dimensions it has a new "modus rei" or "way of being," which should only be described through the perspective of the moving object, rather than a distinct point.<ref name=":0" /> This line of thought coincides with Oresme's challenge to the structure of the universe. Oresme's description of motion was not popular, although it was thorough.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Caroti|first=Stefano|date=1993|title=Oresme on Motion (Questiones Super Physicam, III, 2–7)|journal=Vivarium: Journal for Mediaeval Philosophy and the Intellectual Life of the Middle Ages|volume=31|pages=8–36|via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> A Richard Brinkley is thought to be an inspiration for the modus-rei description, but this is uncertain.<ref name=":1" />
=== Political thought === {{Main|Livre de Politiques}} Oresme provided the first modern vernacular translations of [[Aristotle]]'s moral works that are still extant today. Between 1371 and 1377 he translated Aristotle's ''[[Nicomachean Ethics|Ethics]]'', ''[[Politics (Aristotle)|Politics]]'' and ''[[Economics (Aristotle)|Economics]]'' (the last of which is nowadays considered to be pseudo-Aristotelian) into [[Middle French]]. He also extensively [[Gloss (annotation)|commented]] on these texts, thereby expressing some of his political views. Like his predecessors [[Albert the Great]], [[Thomas Aquinas]] and [[Peter of Auvergne]] (and quite unlike Aristotle), Oresme favours monarchy as the best form of government.<ref>Mario Grignaschi: Nicolas Oresme et son commentaire à la «Politique» d'Aristote, in: ''Album Helen Maud Cam'', Louvain 1960 (Studies Presented to the International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions, 23), 95–151, esp. 99–106.</ref> His criterion for good government is the [[common good]]. A king (by definition good) takes care of the common good, whereas a [[tyrant]] works for his own profit. A monarch can ensure the stability and durability of his reign by letting the people [[Participation (decision making)|participate in government]]. This has rather confusingly and [[Anachronism|anachronistically]] been called [[popular sovereignty]].<ref>Shulamith Shahar: Nicolas Oresme, un penseur politique indépendant de l'entourage du roi Charles V, in: ''L'information historique'' 32 (1970), 203–209.</ref> Like Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Peter of Auvergne and especially [[Marsilius of Padua]], whom he occasionally quotes, Oresme conceives of this popular participation as rather restrictive: only the multitude of reasonable, wise and virtuous men should be allowed political participation by electing and correcting the prince, changing the law and passing judgement.<ref>Mario Grignaschi: Nicolas Oresme et son commentaire à la «Politique» d'Aristote, in: ''Album Helen Maud Cam'', Louvain 1960 (Studies Presented to the International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions, 23), 95–151, esp. 111–112; Jacques Krynen: Aristotélisme et réforme de l'Etat, en France, au XIVe siècle, in: Jürgen Miethke (ed.): ''Das Publikum politischer Theorie im 14. Jahrhundert'', München 1992 (Schriften des Historischen Kollegs, 21), 225–236, esp. 231–232; James M. Blythe: ''Ideal Government and the Mixed Constitution in the Middle Ages'', Princeton, New Jersey 1992, 221–225.</ref> Oresme, however, categorically denies the [[Right of revolution|right of rebellion]] since it endangers the common good.<ref>Susan M. Babbitt: Oresme's ''Livre de Politiques'' and the France of Charles V., in: ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'' 75,1 (1985), 1–158, esp. 83–84; Ulrich Meier: ''Molte revoluzioni, molte novità''. Gesellschaftlicher Wandel im Spiegel der politischen Philosophie und im Urteil von städtischen Chronisten des späten Mittelalters, in: Jürgen Miethke, Klaus Schreiner (eds.): ''Sozialer Wandel im Mittelalter. Wahrnehmungsformen, Erklärungsmuster, Regelungsmechanismen'', Sigmaringen 1994, 119–176, esp. 127–129.</ref> Unlike earlier commentators, however, Oresme prescribes the law as superior to the king's will.<ref>James M. Blythe: ''Ideal Government and the Mixed Constitution in the Middle Ages'', Princeton, New Jersey 1992, 211–212.</ref> It must only be changed in cases of extreme necessity.<ref>Jacques Krynen: ''L'empire du roi. Ideés et croyances politiques en France. XIIIe–XVe siècle'', Paris 1993, 266–272.</ref> Oresme favours moderate kingship,<ref>James M. Blythe: ''Ideal Government and the Mixed Constitution in the Middle Ages'', Princeton, New Jersey 1992, 203–242.</ref> thereby negating contemporary [[Absolute monarchy|absolutist]] thought, usually promoted by adherents of [[Roman law]].<ref>Jacques Krynen: ''L'empire du roi. Ideés et croyances politiques en France. XIIIe–XVe siècle'', Paris 1993, 110–124, 343–456.</ref> Furthermore, Oresme doesn't comply to contemporary conceptions of the [[List of French monarchs|French king]] as [[Style of the French sovereign#Most Christian King|sacred]], as promoted by [[Évrart de Trémaugon]] in his ''[[:fr:Le Songe du verger|Songe du vergier]]'' or [[Jean Golein]] in his ''Traité du sacre''.<ref>Shulamith Shahar: Nicolas Oresme, un penseur politique indépendant de l'entourage du roi Charles V, in: ''L'information historique'' 32 (1970), 203–209; Vanina Kopp: ''Der König und die Bücher. Sammlung, Nutzung und Funktion der königlichen Bibliothek am spätmittelalterlichen Hof in Frankreich'', Ostfildern 2016 (Beihefte der Fancia, 80).</ref> Although he heavily criticises the [[Catholic Church|Church]] as corrupt, tyrannical and oligarchical, he never fundamentally questions its necessity for the spiritual well-being of the faithful.<ref>Susan M. Babbitt: Oresme's ''Livre de Politiques'' and the France of Charles V., in: ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'' 75,1 (1985), 1–158, esp. 98–146.</ref>
It has traditionally been thought that Oresme's Aristotelian translations had a major influence on [[Charles V of France|King Charles V's]] politics: Charles' laws concerning the [[line of succession]] and the possibility of a [[regency]] for an [[Charles VI of France|underage king]] have been accredited to Oresme, as has the election of several high-ranking officials by the [[Grand Conseil|king's council]] in the early 1370s.<ref>Albert Douglas Menut: Introduction, in: ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'' 60,6 (1970), 5–43, esp. 9.</ref> Oresme may have conveyed Marsilian and conciliarist thought to [[Jean Gerson]] and [[Christine de Pizan]].<ref>Albert Douglas Menut: Introduction, in: ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'' 60,6 (1970), 30; Cary J. Nederman: A Heretic Hiding in Plain Sight. The Secret History of Marsiglio of Padua's ''Defensor Pacis'' in the Thought of Nicole Oresme, in: John Christian Laursen u.a. (eds.): ''Heresy in Transition. Transforming Ideas of Heresy in Medieval and Early Modern Europe'', London 2005 (Catholic Christendom, 1300–1700), 71–88.</ref>
=== Economics === With his ''Treatise on the origin, nature, law, and alterations of money'' (''De origine, natura, jure et mutationibus monetarum''), one of the earliest manuscripts devoted to an economic matter, Oresme brings an interesting insight on the medieval conception of money. Oresme's viewpoints of theoretical architecture are outlined in Part 3 and 4 of his work from ''De moneta,'' which he completed between 1356 and 1360. His belief is that humans have a natural right to own property; this property belongs to the individual and community.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Woodhouse|first=Adam|date=2017–2018|title="Who Owns the Money?" Currency, Property, and Popular Sovereignty in Nicole Oresme's De moneta|journal=Speculum|language=en|volume=92|issue=1|pages=85–116|doi=10.1086/689839|s2cid=159539712|issn=0038-7134}}</ref> In Part 4, Oresme provides a solution to a political problem as to how a monarch can be held accountable to put the common good before any private affairs. Though the monarchy rightfully has claims on all money given an emergency, Oresme states that any ruler that goes through this is a "Tyrant dominating slaves". Oresme was one of the first medieval theorists that did not accept the right of the monarch to have claims on all money as well as "his subjects' right to own private property."
=== Psychology === Oresme was known to be a well rounded psychologist. He practiced the technique of "inner senses" and studied the perception of the world. Oresme contributed to 19th and 20th century psychology in the fields of [[cognitive psychology]], [[Perception|perception psychology]], [[Consciousness|psychology of consciousness]], and [[psychophysics]]. Oresme discovered the psychology of unconscious and came up with the theory of unconscious conclusion of perception. He developed many ideas beyond quality, quantity, categories and terms which were labeled "[[Cognitive psychology|theory of cognition]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nicole-oresme.com/seiten/oresme-biography.html|title=Nicole Oresme}}</ref>
==Posthumous reputation== Oresme's economic thought remained well regarded centuries after his death. In a 1920 ''Essay on Medieval Economic Teaching'', Irish economist [[George O'Brien (Irish politician)|George O'Brien]] summed up the favorable academic consensus over Oresme's ''Treatise on the origin, nature, law, and alterations of money'': <blockquote>The merits of this work have excited the unanimous admiration of all who have studied it. [[Wilhelm Georg Friedrich Roscher|Roscher]] says that it contains 'a theory of money, elaborated in the fourteenth century, which remains perfectly correct to-day, under the test of the principles applied in the nineteenth century, and that with a brevity, a precision, a clarity, and a simplicity of language which is a striking proof of the superior genius of its author.' According to [[Victor Brants|Brants]], 'the treatise of Oresme is one of the first to be devoted ''ex professo'' to an economic subject, and it expresses many ideas which are very just, more just than those which held the field for a long period after him, under the name of mercantilism, and more just than those which allowed of the reduction of money as if it were nothing more than a counter of exchange.' 'Oresme's treatise on money,' says [[Henry Dunning Macleod|Macleod]], 'may be justly said to stand at the head of modern economic literature. This treatise laid the foundations of monetary science, which are now accepted by all sound economists.' 'Oresme's completely secular and naturalistic method of treating one of the most important problems of political economy,' says [[Alfred Espinas|Espinas]], 'is a signal of the approaching end of the Middle Ages and the dawn of the Renaissance.' [[William Cunningham (economist)|Dr. Cunningham]] adds his tribute of praise: 'The conceptions of national wealth and national power were ruling ideas in economic matters for several centuries, and Oresme appears to be the earliest of the economic writers by whom they were explicitly adopted as the very basis of his argument.... A large number of points of economic doctrine in regard to coinage are discussed with much judgment and clearness.' [[Wilhelm Endemann|Endemann]] alone is inclined to quarrel with the pre-eminence of Oresme; but on this question, he is in a minority of one.<ref name="O'Brien">[https://archive.org/details/anessayonmediaev0000unse/page/217/mode/1up?view=theater O'Brien, George, ''An Essay on Medieval Economic Teaching'', pp.217–218.]</ref></blockquote>
== Authenticity of the Shroud of Turin == Oresme like many who were skeptical of the [[Shroud of Turin]] during the medieval period, considered it to be a complete forgery. His thoughts on the relic are found in his treatise called "''Problemata''" (1370-1392).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sarzeaud |first=Nicolas |title=A New Document on the Appearance of the Shroud of Turin from Nicole Oresme: Fighting False Relics and False Rumours in the Fourteenth Century |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03044181.2025.2546884 |journal=Journal of Medieval History |volume=0 |issue=0 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1080/03044181.2025.2546884 |issn=0304-4181|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==Selected works in English translation== * ''Nicole Oresme's De visione stellarum (On seeing the stars): a critical edition of Oresme's treatise on optics and atmospheric refraction'', translated by Dan Burton, (Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2007, {{ISBN|9789004153707}}) * ''Nicole Oresme and the marvels of nature: a study of his De causis mirabilium'', translated by Bert Hansen, (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1985, {{ISBN|9780888440686}}) * ''Questiones super quatuor libros meteororum'', in SC McCluskey, ed, ''Nicole Oresme on Light, Color and the Rainbow: An Edition and Translation, with introduction and critical notes, of Part of Book Three of his Questiones super quatuor libros meteororum'' (PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1974, Google Books) * ''Nicole Oresme and the kinematics of circular motion: Tractatus de commensurabilitate vel incommensurabilitate motuum celi'', translated by Edward Grant, (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1971) * ''Nicole Oresme and the medieval geometry of qualities and motions: a treatise on the uniformity and difformity of intensities known as Tractatus de configurationibus qualitatum et motuum'', translated by Marshall Clagett, (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1971, {{OCLC|894}}) * ''Le Livre du ciel et du monde''. A. D. Menut and A. J. Denomy, ed. and trans. (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1968, {{ISBN|9780783797878}}) * ''De proportionibus proportionum'' and ''Ad pauca respicientes''. Edward Grant, ed. and trans. (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1966, {{ISBN|9780299040000}}) * ''The De moneta of N. Oresme, and English Mint documents'', translated by C. Johnson, (London, 1956)<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/43626716 |title=Reviewed Work: The De Moneta of Nicholas Oresme and English Mint Documents. (Nelson's Mediaeval Texts) by Charles Johnson |first=E. B. |last=Fryde |journal=Medium Ævum |publisher=Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=34–36 |year=1958 |jstor=43626716 }}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of multiple discoveries#14th century|List of multiple discoveries]] * [[Science in the Middle Ages]] * [[Oresme (crater)]] * [[List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics]]
==Notes== {{Reflist|33em}}
==References== * {{Cite encyclopedia | first = Marshall | last = Clagett | author-link = Marshall Clagett | title = Nicole Oresme | url = http://www.u.arizona.edu/~aversa/scholastic/Dictionary%20of%20Scientific%20Biography/Nicole%20Oresme%20(Clagett).pdf | publisher = Scribner & American Council of Learned Societies | isbn = 978-0-684-10114-9 | editor-last = Gillispie | editor-first = Charles | encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Scientific Biography]] | volume = 10 | pages = 223–240 | location = New York | year = 1970 | access-date = 25 April 2011 | archive-date = 29 March 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170329032716/http://www.u.arizona.edu/~aversa/scholastic/Dictionary%20of%20Scientific%20Biography/Nicole%20Oresme%20(Clagett).pdf | url-status = dead }} * {{cite book | first = Marshall | last = Clagett | author-link = Marshall Clagett | title = Nicole Oresme and the Medieval Geometry of Qualities and Motions: A Treatise on the Uniformity and Difformity of Intensities Known as ''Tractatus de configurationibus qualitatum at motuum'' | publisher = University of Wisconsin Press | year = 1968 | location = Madison }} * {{cite book | last = Grant | first = Edward | author-link = Edward Grant | title = Nicole Oresme and the Kinematics of Circular Motion | publisher = University of Wisconsin Press | year = 1971 | location = Madison | isbn = 0-299-05830-1 }} * {{cite book | last = Hansen | first = Bert | title = Nicole Oresme and the Marvels of Nature: A Study of his ''De causis mirabilium'' with Critical Edition, Translation, and Commentary | publisher = Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies | year = 1985 | isbn = 0-88844-068-5 }} * {{cite journal | last = Mäkeler | first = Hendrik | title = Nicolas Oresme und Gabriel Biel: Zur Geldtheorie im späten Mittelalter | journal = Scripta Mercaturae: Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte | volume = 37 | issue = 1 | pages = 56–94 | year = 2003 | url = https://www.hendrik.maekeler.eu/en/nicolas-oresme-und-gabriel-biel/}} (covers Oresme's monetary theory). * {{cite book | last = Wood | first = Chauncey | title = Chaucer and the Country of the Stars: Poetical Uses of Astrological Imagery | publisher = Princeton University Press | year = 1970 | location = Princeton | isbn = 0-691-06172-6 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/chausercountryof0000unse }} * {{cite book | last = Labellarte | first = Alberto (a cura di) | title = Nicola Oresme. Trattato sull'origine, la natura, il diritto e i cambiamenti del denaro. Testo latino a fronte | publisher = Stilo Editrice | year = 2016 | location = Bari | isbn = 978-88-6479-158-6}}
== External links == {{wikiquote}} {{commons category|Nicole Oresme}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Nicole Oresme}} * [https://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0030/html/MSS_BH_100_COCH.html (SPC) MSS BH 100 COCH Volume of works by Nicole Oresme, Maffeo Vegio, and Jordanus von Osnabrück at OPenn] * {{cite encyclopedia |first1=Stefan |last1=Kirschner |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nicole-oresme/ |title=Nicole Oresme |encyclopedia=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]] |year=2021 }}. * {{MacTutor|id=Oresme |title=Nicole Oresme}} * [https://www.nicole-oresme.com Oresme biography] * [https://www.hendrik.maekeler.eu/oresme-biel.en.htm Article on Oresme's monetary theory] * [https://mises.org/books/oresme.pdf The De Moneta of Nicholas Oresme and English Mint Documents] (pdf) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080422214420/http://phare.univ-paris1.fr/textes/Oresme/Tractatus.html Tractatus de Origine, Natura, Jure et Mutationibus Monetarum] ([[Latin]])
{{Medieval Philosophy}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oresme, Nicolas}} [[Category:1320s births]] [[Category:1382 deaths]] [[Category:People from the Province of Normandy]] [[Category:University of Paris alumni]] [[Category:14th-century French mathematicians]] [[Category:14th-century French philosophers]] [[Category:Nominalists]] [[Category:14th-century French Roman Catholic bishops]] [[Category:Bishops of Lisieux]] [[Category:14th-century writers in Latin]] [[Category:Catholic clergy scientists]] [[Category:Medieval physicists]] [[Category:History of calculus]] [[Category:People from Calvados (department)]] [[Category:Commentators on Aristotle]]