| Introduction | xi | |
| I | God and Nature | 1 |
| A. | The Greek View | 1 |
| a. | The Pre-Socratics | 1 |
| b. | Plato | 3 |
| c. | Aristotle | 5 |
| d. | The Stoics | 6 |
| e. | Galen | 6 |
| f. | The Middle Ages | 7 |
| B. | The Biblical View | 7 |
| C. | Father, Maker and Creator of the World | 9 |
| D. | The Mechanistic World Picture | 13 |
| E. | The Mechanist's Critique of the Organismic World View | 16 |
| a. | Basso | 16 |
| b. | Boyle | 17 |
| F. | The Radical Critique of Naturalism | 19 |
| a. | Malebranche | 20 |
| b. | Berkeley | 22 |
| c. | Retrospect | 25 |
| II. | Reason and Experience | 29 |
| A. | Rationalism and Empiricism in Antiquity and the Middle Ages | 29 |
| a. | Rationalism and Empiricism | 29 |
| b. | The Rationalism of the Greek Philosophers | 30 |
| c. | Scholastic Rationalism and its Mediaeval Critics | 31 |
| d. | Nominalist Empiricism | 32 |
| B. | Empiricism and Rationalism in the Beginning of the Seventeenth Century | 35 |
| a. | Mathematical Empiricism of Galileo and Kepler | 35 |
| b. | Natural-Historical Empiricism | 36 |
| c. | Francis Bacon's Natural-Historical Empiricism | 39 |
| C. | Cartesianism | 41 |
| a. | Descartes' Theological Voluntarism | 41 |
| b. | Descartes' Rationalism in Science | 42 |
| D. | Empiricist Opposition to Descartes | 44 |
| a. | Pascal | 44 |
| b. | Boyle | 46 |
| c. | Newton | 49 |
| d. | Retrospect | 51 |
| III | Nature and Art | 54 |
| A. | The Contrast between Art and Nature | 54 |
| a. | Techne incapable of equalling Physis | 54 |
| b. | The Illegitimacy of competing with Nature | 56 |
| c. | The Influence of the Separation of Art and Nature on Mechanics and Chemistry | 56 |
| d. | Paracelsus | 59 |
| e. | Art surpassing Nature | 60 |
| B. | The Abolition of the Contrast between Art and Nature | 61 |
| a. | The Transition from the Organistic to the Mechanistic World Picture | 61 |
| b. | Bacon's Advocacy of the Power of Art | 62 |
| c. | The Artificial Synthesis of Natural Compounds | 65 |
| d. | Mechanism and Technology | 66 |
| C. | The Dominion of Man over Nature | 67 |
| a. | The Religious Vindication of the Right and the Duty to dominate Nature | 67 |
| b. | Scientific Research as a Duty of Charity | 69 |
| c. | Romantic Disapproval of Francis Bacon | 72 |
| IV | The Rise of Experimental Science | 75 |
| A. | The Evaluation of Manual Work and Experimentation in Antiquity | 76 |
| a. | Manual Trades in Antiquity | 76 |
| b. | Applied Science in Antiquity | 78 |
| c. | The Engineers in Antiquity | 80 |
| d. | Experimentation in Antiquity | 82 |
| B. | The Judaeo-Christian Evaluation of Manual Work | 83 |
| a. | Manual Trades in the Bible | 83 |
| b. | Manual Trades and Experimentation in the Christian World | 85 |
| C. | The Co-operation of Head and Hand in Early Modern Science | 88 |
| a. | Mechanical and Liberal Arts in the Sixteenth Century | 88 |
| b. | The Religious Sanction of Manual and Experimental Work | 92 |
| c. | The Puritan Attitude to Experimental Science | 94 |
| V | Science and the Reformation | 98 |
| A. | The Influence of the Reformation on Science | 98 |
| a. | The Protestants' Share in Scientific Research | 98 |
| b. | Intramundame Asceticism and Scientific Activity | 101 |
| c. | 'To the Glory of God' | 105 |
| d. | Predestination and Determinism | 107 |
| e. | The General Priesthood of Believers | 109 |
| B. | Science and Biblical Exegesis | 114 |
| a. | The Bible as a Source for Science | 114 |
| b. | Calvin on Science and Scripture | 117 |
| c. | Influence of Calvin's Accommodation Theory | 122 |
| d. | Galileo on Scripture and the Motion of the Earth | 124 |
| e. | John Wilkins on Bible and Science | 126 |
| f. | Copernicanism and anti-Copernicanism amongst the Reformed | 130 |
| C. | Puritanism and Science | 135 |
| a. | The Character of Puritanism | 135 |
| b. | Puritan Baconianism | 139 |
| c. | An 'Age of Light' | 141 |
| d. | Enthusiasm and Learning | 144 |
| Epilogue | 161 |
Overview