The Epistemological Transformation of the Book of Nature: From Mirror to Touch
The Epistemological Transformation of the Book of Nature: From Mirror to Touch
Author(s): Magdalena KrasińskaSubject(s): Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Epistemology, Philosophy of Middle Ages
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: Book of Nature; liber mundi; divine language; alphabet of nature; haptic perception; catoptrics; George Berkeley; theological aesthetics
Summary/Abstract: This article examines the transformation of the metaphor of the Book of Nature from a catoptric to a haptic model of perception. Tracing its biblical and medieval origins, it explores the symbolic and theological frameworks that shaped the traditional view of nature as a divine mirror. Particular attention is given to Francis Bacon’s conception of nature as a legible system of signs, influenced by kabbalistic motifs and the catoptric paradigm. In contrast, the final section turns to George Berkeley’s immaterialist epistemology, in which nature is no longer a surface of reflection but a medium of divine communication through touch. This haptic reinterpretation of the liber mundi points toward a sensory theology grounded in embodied perception.
Journal: Roczniki Filozoficzne
- Issue Year: 74/2026
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 193-222
- Page Count: 30
- Language: English
