Christiaan Huygens

The polymath's polymath ... (The Bus 1.24)

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The Stop

Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer who is regarded as one of history’s greatest scientists. A major player in the scientific revolution, he founded the wave theory of light, discovered both the true shape of Saturn’s rings and its moon Titan (using a refracting telescope he built and improved by inventing a new method of grinding and polishing lenses), established the foundations of mechanics and the science of dynamics, was a master horologist who invented the pendulum clock,¹ and made fundamental contributions to the field of optics. He also published numerous groundbreaking and highly influential books in all of these fields.²

Huygens by Caspar Netscher (1671), Museum Boerhaave, Leiden

Huygens - from a wealthy, middle class family - was influenced greatly by his father Constantin, a diplomat, poet and natural philosopher. Through his father’s influence and connections, the young Huygens met René Descartes,³ who was a frequent visitor to their home, and after leaving university was able to access the ‘highest intellectual and social circles’ in 17th century Paris. During his first visit to Paris, he met Blaise Pascal⁴ and in 1666 became one of the founding members of the French Academy of Sciences - which gave him a ‘pension larger than that of any other member and an apartment in its building.’ 

While in France, Huygens began a lifelong friendship with the German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz⁵ and published Horologium Oscillatorium - a ‘brilliant work’ containing a ‘theory on the mathematics of curvatures’ along with ‘complete solutions’ to problems within dynamics that had puzzled other mathematicians - including the ‘formula for the time of oscillation of the simple pendulum, the oscillation of a body about a stationary axis, and the laws of centrifugal force for uniform circular motion.’ Though bolstering his already excellent reputation, dedicating the book to King Louis XIV got him into some trouble, as at this time France was at war with Holland.

In 1689, Huygens visited London where he met Sir Isaac Newton⁶ and gave a lecture to the Royal Society on his own theory of gravitation. Though Huygens admired Newton, he disagreed with Newton’s gravitational theory as he believed any legitimate explanation for gravity required a mechanical explanation. As a result, Huygen’s theory was ‘never taken seriously and remains today of historical interest only.’ Nevertheless, the Huygens Principle⁷ provided ‘beautiful explanations of reflection and refraction’ and were considered ‘far superior to those of Newton.’ Though these were ‘forgotten until the early 19th century,’ they are considered to be among the ‘most brilliant and original contributions to modern science.' 

Throughout his life, Huygens suffered from bouts of severe ill health (including long episodes of what we know as clinical depression) and his final five years were ‘marked by continued ill health and increasing feelings of loneliness and melancholy.’ He died in The Hague on 8 July 1695 and was buried - like his father - in an unmarked grave in the choir of the Grote Kerk.

The Detour

Today’s Detour is to an article examining the role of women’s eyebrows in art through history. Give it a chance - it’s a quick read and the photos of the artworks are great. I definitely learned something new.

A Brief History of Women's Eyebrows in Art

The Book

Today’s book is Anthony Gottlieb’s⁸ The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy. I chose this because it provides a context to what was happening in philosophy around the same time as the scientific discoveries of which Huygens was such an integral part. From the book cover: ‘In a relatively short period - from the early 1640s to the eve of the French Revolution - Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz and Hume all made their mark. The Dream of Enlightenment tells their story and that of the birth of modern philosophy. As Gottlieb explains, all these men were amateurs: none had much to do with any university. They tried to fathom the implications of the new science and of religious upheaval, which led them to question traditional teachings and attitudes. What does the advance of science entail for our understanding of ourselves and for our ideas of God? How should a government deal with religious diversity - and what, actually, is government for? Such questions remain our questions, which is why Descartes, Hobbes, and the others are still pondered today.’

Unsurprisingly, it’s not the lightest read - but it is an accessible account of this fascinating period of history. A little bit of background knowledge of the various thinkers under investigation wouldn’t hurt, but it’s certainly not required.

Here is a review from The Guardian: 

The Dream of Enlightenment by Anthony Gottlieb review - is philosophy over?

Remember: You can buy The Dream of Enlightenment at Amazon, but you can also get it from your local bookstore - or even check it out from your local library. And those options are better for everyone.

The Sounds

It all comes around.

Today’s playlist is composed of five of my favourite Billy Joel tracks. I used to listen to him a lot (he was ubiquitous on the radio while my brother and I built and destroyed cities with our Star Wars figures in the late 70s/early 80s), but over the years I’ve not listened to him very much. However, a few months ago in the car, my daughter played a track - ‘Zanzibar’ - and suddenly he was back in my playlist. I hope you enjoy it - and let me know what you think!

The Thought

Today’s Thought is a timely quote from a recent BBC interview with the musician Nile Rodgers:⁹

“My mom used to say to me all the time, ‘You know - it takes just as much energy to be nice as it does to be nasty. Why not be nice?’”

A good question and excellent advice.

If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:

And that’s the end of this stop - I hope you enjoyed a brief diversion from your regular journey!

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Until the next stop …

1. He did this out of the need - as an astronomer - for accurate measurements of time. He also invented a pocket watch based around his design for a spiral balance spring that is still used in some watches today.

2. I cannot do this man justice in the space The Bus allows. For more information, see today’s sources: Christiaan Huygens (Britannica) and Christiaan Huygens (St Andrews)

3. It’s an understatement to say Descartes (1596-1650) was a highly influential mathematician, scientific thinker and philosopher. His influence in these and other fields is still present today - not least because of his famous quotation: cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). See: Cogito ergo sum (Britannica). He’s a future Stop, but for a (very) detailed biography see: Descartes (Stanford)

4. Pascal (1623-1662) was a French mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher. In addition to ‘la[ying] the foundation for the modern theory of probabilities, formulat[ing] what came to be known as Pascal’s principle of pressure, and propagat[ing] a religious doctrine that taught the experience of God through the heart rather than through reason,’ he also designed a now-classic argument to show Christian belief is rational. Known as Pascal’s Wager, it asks whether it is more reasonable to believe God does exist or that God does not as - if one believes God exists and God does, there is ‘infinite gain,’ but if one does not believe God exists and God does, there is ‘infinite suffering.’ Pascal concluded: ‘Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.’ Hmm. Nice try, Blaise - but it doesn’t work. In a future Stop, we’ll see why, but in the meantime see: Blaise Pascal (Britannica) and Pascal's Wager (Britannica)

5. Leibniz (1646-1716) is a scheduled future Stop, but in short he was an extraordinary thinker who is still influencing philosophy, mathematics and logic today. See: Gottfried Leibniz (Britannica)

6. Isaac Newton (1643-1727), one of the greatest scientists of all time, was a mathematician and physicist who - in addition to formulating the three laws of motion which are the basic principles of modern physics, invented calculus, set into motion modern physical optics, and published Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1687) (‘one of the most important single works in the history of modern science’) - also discovered gravity. See: Isaac Newton

7. If you’re (still) interested, see: Huygens Principle (Britannica)

8. Former Executive Editor of The Economist, Gottlieb is an historian of ideas. Check out his website: Anthony Gottlieb

9. Musician, producer, composer and co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has had a remarkable life and the interview is worth watching. It can be found here (though possibly not if you’re outside of the UK): BBC Interview: Nile Rodgers (10 March 2022)