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ABSTRACT
The notion of speculation is found today in fields as apparently diverse as science, philosophy, the visual arts and finance. A genealogy of this theme is broadly sketched, drawing together various aspects of Early Modern thought. Connections are suggested between speculation as a kind of looking and ideas about knowledge, creativity, risk, virtue and genius.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Ami Clarke for suggesting the collaboration that produced the artwork Low Animal Spirits, a process that spurred many of the ideas in the present essay.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Rich John Cochrane teaches mathematics as a humanities subject at the City Literary Institute and is a founder of the Fine Art Maths Centre at Central Saint Martins. He also writes ‘creative non-fiction’ around the history of ideas in the Early Modern period, which has led to collaborations with various London institutions. In his previous career he was a software developer, writing trading floor systems for hedge funds and banks. His latest book is The Secret Life of Equations (Octopus: 2016).