Servants of Nature: A History of Scientific Institutions, Enterprises, and Sensibilities
"Servants of Nature explores the interaction between scientific practice and public life from antiquity to the present. Drs. Lewis Pyenson and Susan Sheets-Pyenson show how, in Asia, Europe and the New World, scientific expression has been allied closely with changes in three distinct areas of society: the institutions that sustain science; the moral, religious, political and philosophical sensibilities of scientists themselves; and the goal of the scientific enterprise."

A penetrating account of how science, perhaps above all other human endeavors, has shaped-and been shaped by-society. The Norton History of Science in Society explores the interaction between scientific practice and public life from antiquity to the present, showing how advances in science are allied to changing social institutions and attitudes, and examining how the bodies that shape scientific tradition and innovation have acquired their authority. It also considers how scientific goals have changed and explores the relationship between science, industry, and the military in modern times. This is an indispensable volume in the history of science.
1111882697
Servants of Nature: A History of Scientific Institutions, Enterprises, and Sensibilities
"Servants of Nature explores the interaction between scientific practice and public life from antiquity to the present. Drs. Lewis Pyenson and Susan Sheets-Pyenson show how, in Asia, Europe and the New World, scientific expression has been allied closely with changes in three distinct areas of society: the institutions that sustain science; the moral, religious, political and philosophical sensibilities of scientists themselves; and the goal of the scientific enterprise."

A penetrating account of how science, perhaps above all other human endeavors, has shaped-and been shaped by-society. The Norton History of Science in Society explores the interaction between scientific practice and public life from antiquity to the present, showing how advances in science are allied to changing social institutions and attitudes, and examining how the bodies that shape scientific tradition and innovation have acquired their authority. It also considers how scientific goals have changed and explores the relationship between science, industry, and the military in modern times. This is an indispensable volume in the history of science.
32.5 In Stock
Servants of Nature: A History of Scientific Institutions, Enterprises, and Sensibilities

Servants of Nature: A History of Scientific Institutions, Enterprises, and Sensibilities

Servants of Nature: A History of Scientific Institutions, Enterprises, and Sensibilities

Servants of Nature: A History of Scientific Institutions, Enterprises, and Sensibilities

Paperback(American ed.)

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Overview

"Servants of Nature explores the interaction between scientific practice and public life from antiquity to the present. Drs. Lewis Pyenson and Susan Sheets-Pyenson show how, in Asia, Europe and the New World, scientific expression has been allied closely with changes in three distinct areas of society: the institutions that sustain science; the moral, religious, political and philosophical sensibilities of scientists themselves; and the goal of the scientific enterprise."

A penetrating account of how science, perhaps above all other human endeavors, has shaped-and been shaped by-society. The Norton History of Science in Society explores the interaction between scientific practice and public life from antiquity to the present, showing how advances in science are allied to changing social institutions and attitudes, and examining how the bodies that shape scientific tradition and innovation have acquired their authority. It also considers how scientific goals have changed and explores the relationship between science, industry, and the military in modern times. This is an indispensable volume in the history of science.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780393317367
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date: 10/17/2000
Series: Norton History of Science Series
Edition description: American ed.
Pages: 524
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

Prefacexiii
List of Platesxv
Introduction: Science and Its Past1
The discipline of history of science5
Inspiration and method10
The end of science15
Part IInstitutions
1Teaching: Before the Scientific Revolution25
The Mediterranean world27
Eastern cultures33
Islam39
The Middle Ages42
2Teaching: From the Time of the Scientific Revolution48
The Scientific Revolution49
The rise of the German university53
The German research university in context57
Universities elsewhere64
3Sharing: Early Scientific Societies74
Engines of the Scientific Revolution77
The rise of the scientific correspondent88
Eighteenth-century expansion90
Nineteenth-century consolidation95
The emergence of specialized societies97
4Watching: Observatories in the Middle East, China, Europe and America101
The Islamic observatory103
Chinese astronomy109
Innovation in instruments113
Time and prediction117
Astronomy and related disciplines118
5Showing: Museums125
The development of modern museums126
The British Museum and the 'new museum idea'131
Museums in Europe and the United States133
Colonial museums135
Colonial and metropolitan museums: some comparisons138
Descriptions of colonial museums141
Museums in Canada, South America, and Australasia143
6Growing: Botanical Gardens and Zoos150
The development of botanical gardens151
Kew Gardens160
The evolution of zoological gardens163
The rise of public zoos169
Part IIEnterprises
7Measuring: The Search for Precision175
Measurement in antiquity178
Syncretism and measuring instruments181
Newtonian measurement183
Timepieces187
Standardization190
The ideology of precision192
Measurement and industrial progress194
Absolute measurement and error analysis196
The transformation of mechanical precision198
Old programme, new effects200
Philosophy and practice202
Precision regnant204
Precision and the human spirit208
8Reading: Books and the Spread of Ideas211
From script to print211
Facilitating the birth of modern science215
The rise of the scientific journal217
New forms for new audiences226
Showing science: the art of illustration229
9Travelling: Discovery, Maps and Scientific Expeditions236
Who discovered whom?237
Travellers in antiquity238
Maps240
Progression of people and ideas in the Malay Archipelago242
European expansion243
A century of wonders246
The new encyclopaedia248
Classifying nature251
The scientific expeditions254
10Counting: Statistics264
The odds265
Precision and numbers270
Surveying and statistics272
Terrestrial means274
Statistics physical and social276
Doctrine of certainty277
Twentieth-century uncertainty278
Average lives282
The popular triumph of averages284
11Killing: Science and the Military288
Gunpowder289
The vocabulary of military science292
French military builders296
Naval stars299
The star chart300
Military mappers305
Military weathermen309
Applications and prestige311
Part IIISensibilities
12Participating: Beyond Scientific Societies319
The rise of literary and philosophical societies321
Associations for the advancement of science322
The common scientist325
Scientific clubs for everyone328
The overseas extension of European models330
Women in science335
The example of Madame du Chatelet342
Women elsewhere344
13Appropriating: Science in Nations Beyond Europe350
Colonial scientific societies350
Early colonial universities355
Independent universities358
The research university in the United States361
Scientific migration363
Australasia366
Scientist missionaries in South America368
Science at American universities373
Science at Japanese universities374
British India and Dutch Indonesia376
14Believing: Science and Religion381
Science in the Counter-Reformation382
The Merton thesis386
The Webster thesis: millenarianism and science390
The Enlightenment392
Deism396
Natural theology397
The argument against Darwinian evolution400
Twentieth-century developments404
15Knowing: Progressing and Proclaiming407
Magic and science408
Baconianism410
Encyclopaedism414
Materialism418
Positivism419
The polemical positivism of Auguste Comte421
The eclipse of positivism423
16Knowing: Relativizing424
The century of relativity425
Mach and Einstein429
The reception of Einstein's thought433
Eclecticism and hope436
Notes441
Further Reading453
Picture Credits478
Index479
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