From Natural Philosophy to the Sciences: Writing the History of Nineteenth-Century Science - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226089282 ISBN 13: 9780226089287

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2003

Synopsis

During the nineteenth century, much of the modern scientific enterprise took shape: scientific disciplines were formed, institutions and communities were founded, and unprecedented applications to and interactions with other aspects of society and culture occurred.

In this book, eleven leading historians of science assess what their field has taught us about this exciting time and identify issues that remain unexamined or require reconsideration. They treat both scientific disciplines—biology, physics, chemistry, the earth sciences, mathematics, and the social sciences—in their specific intellectual and sociocultural contexts as well as the broader topics of science and medicine; science and religion; scientific institutions and communities; and science, technology, and industry.

Providing a much-needed overview and analysis of a rapidly expanding field, From Natural Philosophy to the Sciences will be essential for historians of science, but also of great interest to scholars of all aspects of nineteenth-century life and culture.

Contributors:
Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Jed Z. Buchwald, David Cahan, Joseph Dauben, Frederick Gregory, Michael Hagner, Sungook Hong, David R. Oldroyd, Theodore M. Porter, Robert J. Richards, Ulrich Wengenroth

About this title

About the Author

David Cahan is the Charles Bessey Professor of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the author of An Institute for an Empire: The Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt 1871-1918 and coauthor of Science at the American Frontier: A Biography of DeWitt Bristol Brace. He is the editor of Hermann von Helmholtz and the Foundations of Nineteenth-Century Science and Helmholtz's Science and Culture: Popular and Philosophical Essays.

Review

"Given its breadth, this multi-authored book is remarkably successful in meeting its goals. . . . The well-qualified authors admirably provide essays in biology, scientific medicine, earth sciences, mathematicvs, physics, chemistry, science, technology, industry, social sciences, and science and religion. Excellent extensive bibliography and index."

(Choice)

"An excellent summary of the current state of affairs, offering analyses of key aspects of nineteenth-century science that will be valuable to all of us, including those just entering particular areas of research, to those writing lectures on unfamiliar topics, and to those outside the history of science." (David B. Wilson Annals of Science)

"All of the essays are informative. . . . Particularly impressive are the authors' efforts to transcend national boundaries, not to find some universal theory but to demonstrate the rich context of practice that advances or constrains particular intellectual developments. . . . The comprehensive bibliography alone makes this a valuable tool for teaching and research." (Sally Gregory Kohlstedt Journal of Interdisciplinary History)

"The book is divided into eleven chapters, each of which is written by an acknowledged expert and addresses a single field under the umbrella of science in the nineteenth century. . . . This is an important book because the issues discussed touch more than the historiography of nineteenth-century science. . . . [It] deserves a place on the shelves of professional historians as well as students. Its usefulness, however, will ensure that it spends little time there." (Jeffrey R. Wigelsworth History & Philosophy of Life Sciences)

"All essays have been written by acknowledged experts. They are of high quality, very informative and will serve as excellent introductions to the field in question." (Rienk Vermij Ambix)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0226089282
• ISBN 13: 9780226089287
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 512
• Editor: Cahan David