Bartholomeus Amicus

Bartholomeus Amicus (1562-1649) or Bartolomeo Amico or Bartholomeo d'Amici was a Jesuit priest, teacher and writer who spent his adult life in Naples. The subjects he wrote about include Aristotelian philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and the concept of vacuum and its relationship with God.

He studied law before joining the Jesuits and following the curriculum in their college in Naples, later teaching logic, physics, metaphysics and theology. In his extensive writing he presented alternative theories, including those of Christopher Clavius and Copernicus, even when he disagreed with them, though theologians of that period did not always explain opposing views. He sought to establish workable science without undermining theology.

References

* [http://www.ulb.ac.be/philo/scholasticon/nomenA.htm Scholasticon]
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521229839 Edward Grant, "Much Ado about Nothing : Theories of Space and Vacuum from the Middle Ages to the Scientific Revolution" (1981) - Chapter 7]