The Scientific Revolution: The Essential Readings

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed a fundamental transformation in how nature was understood and studied, a transformation which came to be known as the Scientific Revolution. This book introduces students to the best recent writings on this important era in the history of science. It presents innovative work by scholars who have been at the forefront of reinterpreting the Scientific Revolution, as well as seminal work by an older generation of scholars. The volume opens with a substantial editorial essay outlining the most important developments in approaches to the Scientific Revolution over the past two decades. The readings themselves embrace a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, natural history, alchemy, medicine, and technology. Each one is preceded by a short introduction, setting the material in context. The book concludes with an essay which rejects the notion of the Scientific Revolution entirely.

Acknowledgments. Editor′s Introduction: What was the Scientific Revolution? Marcus Hellyer (Brandeis University). 1. The Traditional Narrative of The Scientific Revolution. Editor′s Introduction. The Riseof Modern Science: When and Why?: R. Hooykaas (Late of University of Utrecht). 2. Competing Disciplines. Editor′s Introduction. The Copernicans and the Churches: Robert S. Westman (University of California at San Diego). 3. The Experimental Philosophy and Its Institutions. Editor′s Introduction. Pump and Circumstance: Robert Boyle’s Literary Technology: Steven Shapin (University of California at San Deigo). 4. The Mechanical Philosophy and Its Appeal. Editor′s Introduction. A Mechanical Microcosm: Bodily Passions, Good Manners, and Cartesian Mechanism: Peter Dear (Cornell University). 5. The Revolution in Natural History. Editor′s Introduction. Natural History and the Emblematic World View: William B. Ashworth, Jr. (University of Missouri, Kansas City). 6. Medicine and Alchemy. Editor′s Introduction. The Chemical Philosophy and the Scientific Revolution: Allen G. Debus (University of Chicago). 7. The Newtonian Achievement. Editor′s Introduction. The Newtonian Revolution: I. Bernard Cohen (Harvard University). 8. The Scientific Revolution and The Industrial Revolution. Editor′s Introduction. The Cultural Origins of the First Industrial Revolution: Margaret C. Jacob (University of California, Los Angeles). 9. A Dissenting View. Editor′s Introduction. De–Centering the ‘Big Picture’: The Origins Of Modern Science and the Modern Origins of Science: Andrew Cunningham (University of Cambridge) and Perry Williams. Glossary. Index.

Marcus Hellyer is Dibner Assistant Professor for the History of Science at Brandeis University where he teaches broadly on the history of science. He has written articles on the Scientific Revolution and is completing a book on Jesuit science in Germany in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

“A well–selected and thoughtful collection of some of the most important recent articles on the Scientific Revolution. This volume will provide a welcome and much–needed tool for introducing readers to this important period.” Alix Cooper, SUNY–Stony Brook <!––end––> “Rumors that the Scientific Revolution is ‘dead’ belie its staggering resilience. Hellyer′s volume insists that something significant happened in early modern Europe, something – by whatever name – that speaks to global change as well as ‘Modern’ and ‘Western.’ Concise and accessible, the volume draws together excellent secondary sources framed by useful introductions.” Robert A. Hatch, University of Florida Hellyer′s choice of material is well conceived, coherent and admirably presented: a reader can ask for no more." International Journal of the Classical Tradition