Episode April 9, 2026 22 min

Losing Touch with Nature: Literature and the New Science in Sixteenth-Century England

Explores the relationship between scientific advancements and literary responses in sixteenth-century England, particularly focusing on the shift away from Aristotelian naturalism. The author examines how the introduction of Arabic numerals, including the concept of zero, impacted mathematical thought and its reflection in literature like Shakespeare's sonnets and King Lear. The text also investigates how writers like Spenser, Marlowe, and others grappled with new astronomical discoveries, changing ideas about matter, and evolving medical theories, often expressing anxiety about the intelligibility and stability of the universe. Ultimately, it highlights the complex interplay between emerging scientific paradigms and the imaginative world of Renaissance literature, revealing how intuitive understanding clashed with new, often counter-intuitive, scientific realities.

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