Volume 15, Number 2
Data Mining and Analysis of Early Modern European Enlightenment Trends in Acta Eruditorum
Authors
Aadi Singh 1 and Eugene Pinsky 2, 1 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA, 2Boston University, USA
Abstract
This paper explored the intellectual and cultural transformations reflected in the Acta Eruditorum, a prominent early modern European scholarly journal published from 1682 to 1735. By analyzing Acta’s temporal dataset encompassing more than 7,000 papers, our study examines the time distribution of contributors’ expertise across six domains: Law, Literature, Science, Mathematics, Politics, and Religion. Key findings include the increasing rise of publications in Science and Mathematics, aligning with Enlightenment ideals and the Scientific Revolution. Furthermore, the study shows a significant decrease in religious contributions, reflecting a broader shift from religious perspectives to a greater emphasis on scientific thought and beliefs. Our data visualization techniques and statistical analysis reveal intriguing parallels and contrasts between the Acta Eruditorum and the French Academy of Sciences, highlight- ing their distinct and complementary contributions to the advancement of knowledge. These findings provide valuable insights into how each institution shaped European intellectual history and fostered the exchange of ideas that propelled the Enlightenment era.
Keywords
Acta Eruditorum, Statistical analysis of scientific works, History of Science, Early Science History, Scientific Revolution, Historical Data Analysis .