Mechanics and Natural Philosophy before the Scientific Revolution

Mechanics and Natural Philosophy before the Scientific Revolution

Author: Walter Roy Laird

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-01-01

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 1402059671

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This volume deals with a variety of moments in the history of mechanics when conflicts arose within one textual tradition, between different traditions, or between textual traditions and the wider world of practice. Its purpose is to show how the accommodations sometimes made in the course of these conflicts ultimately contributed to the emergence of modern mechanics.


Book Synopsis Mechanics and Natural Philosophy before the Scientific Revolution by : Walter Roy Laird

Download or read book Mechanics and Natural Philosophy before the Scientific Revolution written by Walter Roy Laird and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume deals with a variety of moments in the history of mechanics when conflicts arose within one textual tradition, between different traditions, or between textual traditions and the wider world of practice. Its purpose is to show how the accommodations sometimes made in the course of these conflicts ultimately contributed to the emergence of modern mechanics.


The Mechanization of Natural Philosophy

The Mechanization of Natural Philosophy

Author: Sophie Roux

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-09-25

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 9400743459

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The Mechanisation of Natural Philosophy is devoted to various aspects of the transformation of natural philosophy during the 16th and 17th centuries that is usually described as mechanical philosophy . Drawing the border between the old Aristotelianism and the « new » mechanical philosophy faces historians with a delicate task, if not an impossible mission. There were many natural philosophers who actually crossed the border between the two worlds, and, inside each of these worlds, there was a vast spectrum of doctrines, arguments and intellectual practices. The expression mechanical philosophy is burdened with ambiguities. It may refer to at least three different enterprises: a description of nature in mathematical terms; the comparison of natural phenomena to existing or imaginary machines; the use in natural philosophy of mechanical analogies, i.e. analogies conceived in terms of matter and motion alone.However mechanical philosophy is defined, its ambition was greater than its real successes. There were few mathematisations of phenomena. The machines of mechanical philosophers were not only imaginary, but had little to do with the machines of mecanicians. In most of the natural sciences, analogies in terms of matter and motion alone failed to provide satisfactory accounts of phenomena.By the same authors: Mechanics and Natural Philosophy before the Scientific Revolution (Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science 254).


Book Synopsis The Mechanization of Natural Philosophy by : Sophie Roux

Download or read book The Mechanization of Natural Philosophy written by Sophie Roux and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-09-25 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mechanisation of Natural Philosophy is devoted to various aspects of the transformation of natural philosophy during the 16th and 17th centuries that is usually described as mechanical philosophy . Drawing the border between the old Aristotelianism and the « new » mechanical philosophy faces historians with a delicate task, if not an impossible mission. There were many natural philosophers who actually crossed the border between the two worlds, and, inside each of these worlds, there was a vast spectrum of doctrines, arguments and intellectual practices. The expression mechanical philosophy is burdened with ambiguities. It may refer to at least three different enterprises: a description of nature in mathematical terms; the comparison of natural phenomena to existing or imaginary machines; the use in natural philosophy of mechanical analogies, i.e. analogies conceived in terms of matter and motion alone.However mechanical philosophy is defined, its ambition was greater than its real successes. There were few mathematisations of phenomena. The machines of mechanical philosophers were not only imaginary, but had little to do with the machines of mecanicians. In most of the natural sciences, analogies in terms of matter and motion alone failed to provide satisfactory accounts of phenomena.By the same authors: Mechanics and Natural Philosophy before the Scientific Revolution (Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science 254).


The Science of Nature in the Seventeenth Century

The Science of Nature in the Seventeenth Century

Author: Peter R. Anstey

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-06-28

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1402037031

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One of the hallmarks of the modern world has been the stunning rise of the natural sciences. The exponential expansion of scientific knowledge and the accompanying technology that so impact on our daily lives are truly remarkable. But what is often taken for granted is the enviable epistemic-credit rating of scientific knowledge: science is authoritative, science inspires confidence, science is right. Yet it has not always been so. In the seventeenth century the situation was markedly different: competing sources of authority, shifting disciplinary boundaries, emerging modes of experimental practice and methodological reflection were some of the constituents in a quite different mélange in which knowledge of nature was by no means p- eminent. It was the desire to probe the underlying causes of the shift from the early modern ‘nature-knowledge’ to modern science that was one of the stimuli for the ‘Origins of Modernity: Early Modern Thought 1543–1789’ conference held in Sydney in July 2002. How and why did modern science emerge from its early modern roots to the dominant position which it enjoys in today’s post-modern world? Under the auspices of the International Society for Intellectual History, The University of New South Wales and The University of Sydney, a group of historians and philosophers of science gathered to discuss this issue. However, it soon became clear that a prior question needed to be settled first: the question as to the precise nature of the quest for knowledge of the natural realm in the seventeenth century.


Book Synopsis The Science of Nature in the Seventeenth Century by : Peter R. Anstey

Download or read book The Science of Nature in the Seventeenth Century written by Peter R. Anstey and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-06-28 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the hallmarks of the modern world has been the stunning rise of the natural sciences. The exponential expansion of scientific knowledge and the accompanying technology that so impact on our daily lives are truly remarkable. But what is often taken for granted is the enviable epistemic-credit rating of scientific knowledge: science is authoritative, science inspires confidence, science is right. Yet it has not always been so. In the seventeenth century the situation was markedly different: competing sources of authority, shifting disciplinary boundaries, emerging modes of experimental practice and methodological reflection were some of the constituents in a quite different mélange in which knowledge of nature was by no means p- eminent. It was the desire to probe the underlying causes of the shift from the early modern ‘nature-knowledge’ to modern science that was one of the stimuli for the ‘Origins of Modernity: Early Modern Thought 1543–1789’ conference held in Sydney in July 2002. How and why did modern science emerge from its early modern roots to the dominant position which it enjoys in today’s post-modern world? Under the auspices of the International Society for Intellectual History, The University of New South Wales and The University of Sydney, a group of historians and philosophers of science gathered to discuss this issue. However, it soon became clear that a prior question needed to be settled first: the question as to the precise nature of the quest for knowledge of the natural realm in the seventeenth century.


The Construction of Modern Science

The Construction of Modern Science

Author: Richard S. Westfall

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1977

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9780521292955

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This book examines the interplay between the Platonic-Pythagorean tradition and the mechanical philosophy during the 'scientific revolution'.


Book Synopsis The Construction of Modern Science by : Richard S. Westfall

Download or read book The Construction of Modern Science written by Richard S. Westfall and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1977 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the interplay between the Platonic-Pythagorean tradition and the mechanical philosophy during the 'scientific revolution'.


Real, Mechanical, Experimental

Real, Mechanical, Experimental

Author: Francesco G. Sacco

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 9783030444525

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This original work contains the first detailed account of the natural philosophy of Robert Hooke (1635-1703), leading figure of the early Royal Society. From celestial mechanics to microscopy, from optics to geology and biology, Hooke's contributions to the Scientific Revolution proved decisive. Focusing separately on partial aspects of Hooke's works, scholars have hitherto failed to see the unifying idea of the natural philosophy underlying them. Some of his unpublished papers have passed almost unnoticed. Hooke pursued the foundation of a real, mechanical and experimental philosophy, and this book is an attempt to reconstruct it. The book includes a selection of Hooke's unpublished papers. Readers will discover a study of the new science through the works of one of the most known protagonists. Challenging the current views on the scientific life of restoration England, this book sheds new light on the circulation of Baconian ideals and the mechanical philosophy in the early Royal Society. This book is a must-read to anybody interested in Hooke, early modern science or Restoration history.


Book Synopsis Real, Mechanical, Experimental by : Francesco G. Sacco

Download or read book Real, Mechanical, Experimental written by Francesco G. Sacco and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This original work contains the first detailed account of the natural philosophy of Robert Hooke (1635-1703), leading figure of the early Royal Society. From celestial mechanics to microscopy, from optics to geology and biology, Hooke's contributions to the Scientific Revolution proved decisive. Focusing separately on partial aspects of Hooke's works, scholars have hitherto failed to see the unifying idea of the natural philosophy underlying them. Some of his unpublished papers have passed almost unnoticed. Hooke pursued the foundation of a real, mechanical and experimental philosophy, and this book is an attempt to reconstruct it. The book includes a selection of Hooke's unpublished papers. Readers will discover a study of the new science through the works of one of the most known protagonists. Challenging the current views on the scientific life of restoration England, this book sheds new light on the circulation of Baconian ideals and the mechanical philosophy in the early Royal Society. This book is a must-read to anybody interested in Hooke, early modern science or Restoration history.


The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution

The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution

Author: David Marshall Miller

Publisher:

Published: 2022-01-06

Total Pages: 551

ISBN-13: 1108420303

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A collection of cutting-edge scholarship on the close interaction of philosophy with science at the birth of the modern age.


Book Synopsis The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution by : David Marshall Miller

Download or read book The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution written by David Marshall Miller and published by . This book was released on 2022-01-06 with total page 551 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of cutting-edge scholarship on the close interaction of philosophy with science at the birth of the modern age.


The Language of Nature

The Language of Nature

Author: Geoffrey Gorham

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published: 2016-06-15

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1452951853

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Galileo’s dictum that the book of nature “is written in the language of mathematics” is emblematic of the accepted view that the scientific revolution hinged on the conceptual and methodological integration of mathematics and natural philosophy. Although the mathematization of nature is a distinctive and crucial feature of the emergence of modern science in the seventeenth century, this volume shows that it was a far more complex, contested, and context-dependent phenomenon than the received historiography has indicated, and that philosophical controversies about the implications of mathematization cannot be understood in isolation from broader social developments related to the status and practice of mathematics in various commercial, political, and academic institutions. Contributors: Roger Ariew, U of South Florida; Richard T. W. Arthur, McMaster U; Lesley B. Cormack, U of Alberta; Daniel Garber, Princeton U; Ursula Goldenbaum, Emory U; Dana Jalobeanu, U of Bucharest; Douglas Jesseph, U of South Florida; Carla Rita Palmerino, Radboud U, Nijmegen and Open U of the Netherlands; Eileen Reeves, Princeton U; Christopher Smeenk, Western U; Justin E. H. Smith, U of Paris 7; Kurt Smith, Bloomsburg U of Pennsylvania.


Book Synopsis The Language of Nature by : Geoffrey Gorham

Download or read book The Language of Nature written by Geoffrey Gorham and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2016-06-15 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Galileo’s dictum that the book of nature “is written in the language of mathematics” is emblematic of the accepted view that the scientific revolution hinged on the conceptual and methodological integration of mathematics and natural philosophy. Although the mathematization of nature is a distinctive and crucial feature of the emergence of modern science in the seventeenth century, this volume shows that it was a far more complex, contested, and context-dependent phenomenon than the received historiography has indicated, and that philosophical controversies about the implications of mathematization cannot be understood in isolation from broader social developments related to the status and practice of mathematics in various commercial, political, and academic institutions. Contributors: Roger Ariew, U of South Florida; Richard T. W. Arthur, McMaster U; Lesley B. Cormack, U of Alberta; Daniel Garber, Princeton U; Ursula Goldenbaum, Emory U; Dana Jalobeanu, U of Bucharest; Douglas Jesseph, U of South Florida; Carla Rita Palmerino, Radboud U, Nijmegen and Open U of the Netherlands; Eileen Reeves, Princeton U; Christopher Smeenk, Western U; Justin E. H. Smith, U of Paris 7; Kurt Smith, Bloomsburg U of Pennsylvania.


Isaac Newton and Natural Philosophy

Isaac Newton and Natural Philosophy

Author: Niccolò Guicciardini

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2018-02-15

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1780239483

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Isaac Newton is one of the greatest scientists in history, yet the spectrum of his interests was much broader than that of most contemporary scientists. In fact, Newton would have defined himself not as a scientist, but as a natural philosopher. He was deeply involved in alchemical, religious, and biblical studies, and in the later part of his life he played a prominent role in British politics, economics, and the promotion of scientific research. Newton’s pivotal work Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which sets out his laws of universal gravitation and motion, is regarded as one of the most important works in the history of science. Niccolò Guicciardini’s enlightening biography offers an accessible introduction both to Newton’s celebrated research in mathematics, optics, mechanics, and astronomy and to how Newton viewed these scientific fields in relation to his quest for the deepest secrets of the universe, matter theory and religion. Guicciardini sets Newton the natural philosopher in the troubled context of the religious and political debates ongoing during Newton’s life, a life spanning the English Civil Wars, the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution, and the Hanoverian succession. Incorporating the latest Newtonian scholarship, this fast-paced biography broadens our perception of both this iconic figure and the great scientific revolution of the early modern period.


Book Synopsis Isaac Newton and Natural Philosophy by : Niccolò Guicciardini

Download or read book Isaac Newton and Natural Philosophy written by Niccolò Guicciardini and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2018-02-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Isaac Newton is one of the greatest scientists in history, yet the spectrum of his interests was much broader than that of most contemporary scientists. In fact, Newton would have defined himself not as a scientist, but as a natural philosopher. He was deeply involved in alchemical, religious, and biblical studies, and in the later part of his life he played a prominent role in British politics, economics, and the promotion of scientific research. Newton’s pivotal work Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which sets out his laws of universal gravitation and motion, is regarded as one of the most important works in the history of science. Niccolò Guicciardini’s enlightening biography offers an accessible introduction both to Newton’s celebrated research in mathematics, optics, mechanics, and astronomy and to how Newton viewed these scientific fields in relation to his quest for the deepest secrets of the universe, matter theory and religion. Guicciardini sets Newton the natural philosopher in the troubled context of the religious and political debates ongoing during Newton’s life, a life spanning the English Civil Wars, the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution, and the Hanoverian succession. Incorporating the latest Newtonian scholarship, this fast-paced biography broadens our perception of both this iconic figure and the great scientific revolution of the early modern period.


Robert Hooke’s Contributions to Mechanics

Robert Hooke’s Contributions to Mechanics

Author: F. F. Centore

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2013-11-21

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 9401750742

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In the history of science and philosophy and the philosophy of nature the name Robert Hooke has been largely ignored. H he is occasionally men tioned. it is usually in one of two ways: either he is briefly referred to in passing. or. he is viewed through the eyes of some later giant in the history of science and philosophy such as Sir Isaac Newton. Both approaches. however, do Hooke an injustice. In the academic world of today. there is no scholarly study available of Hooke's actual place in the history of science and philosophy with respect to his doctrines and accomplishments within the area of mechanics. Such a situation constitutes an unfortunate lacuna in the academic life of the world in our time. It is the more unfortunate because. in his time. Robert Hooke played an important role in the intellectual life of his world. Hooke. a contemporary of Boyle and Newton. lived from 1635 to 1703. For most of his active intellectual life he held the position of Curator of Experiments to the Royal Society of London. As a result of his own initi ative and of directives given him by other members of the Society. Hooke performed hundreds of experiments designed to explore the secrets of na ture so that men might better understand God's creation. In this treatise I will disengage from the large disorganized welter of monographs and trea tises left by Hooke all the material pertinent to the science of mechanics.


Book Synopsis Robert Hooke’s Contributions to Mechanics by : F. F. Centore

Download or read book Robert Hooke’s Contributions to Mechanics written by F. F. Centore and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-11-21 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the history of science and philosophy and the philosophy of nature the name Robert Hooke has been largely ignored. H he is occasionally men tioned. it is usually in one of two ways: either he is briefly referred to in passing. or. he is viewed through the eyes of some later giant in the history of science and philosophy such as Sir Isaac Newton. Both approaches. however, do Hooke an injustice. In the academic world of today. there is no scholarly study available of Hooke's actual place in the history of science and philosophy with respect to his doctrines and accomplishments within the area of mechanics. Such a situation constitutes an unfortunate lacuna in the academic life of the world in our time. It is the more unfortunate because. in his time. Robert Hooke played an important role in the intellectual life of his world. Hooke. a contemporary of Boyle and Newton. lived from 1635 to 1703. For most of his active intellectual life he held the position of Curator of Experiments to the Royal Society of London. As a result of his own initi ative and of directives given him by other members of the Society. Hooke performed hundreds of experiments designed to explore the secrets of na ture so that men might better understand God's creation. In this treatise I will disengage from the large disorganized welter of monographs and trea tises left by Hooke all the material pertinent to the science of mechanics.


Descartes-Agonistes

Descartes-Agonistes

Author: John Schuster

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-10-23

Total Pages: 643

ISBN-13: 9400747462

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This book reconstructs key aspects of the early career of Descartes from 1618 to 1633; that is, up through the point of his composing his first system of natural philosophy, Le Monde, in 1629-33. It focuses upon the overlapping and intertwined development of Descartes’ projects in physico-mathematics, analytical mathematics, universal method, and, finally, systematic corpuscular-mechanical natural philosophy. The concern is not simply with the conceptual and technical aspects of these projects; but, with Descartes’ agendas within them and his construction and presentation of his intellectual identity in relation to them. Descartes’ technical projects, agendas and senses of identity shifted over time, entangled and displayed great successes and deep failures, as he morphed from a mathematically competent, Jesuit trained graduate in neo-Scholastic Aristotelianism to aspiring prophet of a systematised corpuscular-mechanism, passing through stages of being a committed physico-mathematicus, advocate of a putative ‘universal mathematics’, and projector of a grand methodological dream. In all three dimensions—projects, agendas and identity concerns—the young Descartes struggled and contended, with himself and with real or virtual peers and competitors, hence the title ‘Descartes-Agonistes’.


Book Synopsis Descartes-Agonistes by : John Schuster

Download or read book Descartes-Agonistes written by John Schuster and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-10-23 with total page 643 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reconstructs key aspects of the early career of Descartes from 1618 to 1633; that is, up through the point of his composing his first system of natural philosophy, Le Monde, in 1629-33. It focuses upon the overlapping and intertwined development of Descartes’ projects in physico-mathematics, analytical mathematics, universal method, and, finally, systematic corpuscular-mechanical natural philosophy. The concern is not simply with the conceptual and technical aspects of these projects; but, with Descartes’ agendas within them and his construction and presentation of his intellectual identity in relation to them. Descartes’ technical projects, agendas and senses of identity shifted over time, entangled and displayed great successes and deep failures, as he morphed from a mathematically competent, Jesuit trained graduate in neo-Scholastic Aristotelianism to aspiring prophet of a systematised corpuscular-mechanism, passing through stages of being a committed physico-mathematicus, advocate of a putative ‘universal mathematics’, and projector of a grand methodological dream. In all three dimensions—projects, agendas and identity concerns—the young Descartes struggled and contended, with himself and with real or virtual peers and competitors, hence the title ‘Descartes-Agonistes’.