The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, Prehistory to A.D. 1450, Second EditionUniversity of Chicago Press, 15. veebr 2010 - 480 pages When it was first published in 1992, The Beginnings of Western Science was lauded as the first successful attempt ever to present a unified account of both ancient and medieval science in a single volume. Chronicling the development of scientific ideas, practices, and institutions from pre-Socratic Greek philosophy to late-Medieval scholasticism, David C. Lindberg surveyed all the most important themes in the history of science, including developments in cosmology, astronomy, mechanics, optics, alchemy, natural history, and medicine. In addition, he offered an illuminating account of the transmission of Greek science to medieval Islam and subsequently to medieval Europe. The Beginnings of Western Science was, and remains, a landmark in the history of science, shaping the way students and scholars understand these critically formative periods of scientific development. It reemerges here in a second edition that includes revisions on nearly every page, as well as several sections that have been completely rewritten. For example, the section on Islamic science has been thoroughly retooled to reveal the magnitude and sophistication of medieval Muslim scientific achievement. And the book now reflects a sharper awareness of the importance of Mesopotamian science for the development of Greek astronomy. In all, the second edition of The Beginnings of Western Science captures the current state of our understanding of more than two millennia of science and promises to continue to inspire both students and general readers. |
From inside the book
Page 1
... mean feat, but not my goal. This book proclaims in its title that it will portray the beginnings of Western science over the approximately three millennia ending about the year a.d. 1450. Was there truly such a thing as science in those ...
... mean feat, but not my goal. This book proclaims in its title that it will portray the beginnings of Western science over the approximately three millennia ending about the year a.d. 1450. Was there truly such a thing as science in those ...
Page 2
... means on any specific occasion. But where does that leave us? Was there anything in Europe or the Near East in the twenty centuries covered by this book that merits the name “sci- ence”? No doubt! Many of the ingredients of what we now ...
... means on any specific occasion. But where does that leave us? Was there anything in Europe or the Near East in the twenty centuries covered by this book that merits the name “sci- ence”? No doubt! Many of the ingredients of what we now ...
Page 3
... means that we must resist the temptation to scour the past for examples or precursors of modern science. We must ... mean, of course, that all distinctions are forbidden. I will distinguish between the craft and theoretical sides of ...
... means that we must resist the temptation to scour the past for examples or precursors of modern science. We must ... mean, of course, that all distinctions are forbidden. I will distinguish between the craft and theoretical sides of ...
Page 10
... means for the recording of oral traditions, thereby freezing what had hitherto been fluid, translating fleeting audible signals into enduring visible objects.16 Writing thus served a storage function, replacing memory as the principal ...
... means for the recording of oral traditions, thereby freezing what had hitherto been fluid, translating fleeting audible signals into enduring visible objects.16 Writing thus served a storage function, replacing memory as the principal ...
Page 15
... mean that they practiced genuine algebra—that is, that they had a generalized algebraic notation or an understanding of what we consider algebraic rules. What we can safely say is that Babylonian mathematicians used arithmetical ...
... mean that they practiced genuine algebra—that is, that they had a generalized algebraic notation or an understanding of what we consider algebraic rules. What we can safely say is that Babylonian mathematicians used arithmetical ...
Contents
1 | |
21 | |
3 Aristotles Philosophy of Nature | 45 |
4 Hellenistic Natural Philosophy | 67 |
5 The Mathematical Sciences in Antiquity | 82 |
6 Greek and Roman Medicine | 111 |
7 Roman and Early Medieval Science | 132 |
8 Islamic Science | 163 |
10 The Recovery and Assimilation of Greekand Islamic Science | 225 |
11 The Medieval Cosmos | 254 |
12 The Physics of the Sublunar Region | 286 |
13 Medieval Medicine and Natural History | 321 |
14 The Legacy of Ancient and Medieval Science | 357 |
Notes | 369 |
Bibliography | 413 |
Index | 463 |
Other editions - View all
The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific ..., 1450. osa David C. Lindberg No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
A. I. Sabra Abbasid achievement Albert Almagest anatomical ancient Arabic argued Aristotelian Aristotle Aristotle’s arts astrology astronomy atoms Averroes Avicenna Babylonian body Byzantine Cambridge University Press Carolingian celestial sphere chap Christian Clagett classical commentary cosmology cosmos culture David developed divine Early Greek early medieval earth elements Empire Erasistratus example existence G. E. R. Lloyd Galen geometrical Greek Science healing heavens Hellenistic Hippocratic History of Science human Ibn al-Haytham important influence intellectual Islamic John knowledge Latin learning Lindberg Lloyd mathematical Medicine Medieval Science Middle Ages modern motion mover moving natural philosophy Nicole Oresme object observation optics Oresme Oxford Paris physical physician Pierre Duhem planetary planets Plato pneuma practice problem Ptolemy Ptolemy's question Renaissance Roger Bacon Roman scholars schools soul sources Stoic Studies teaching texts theology things thirteenth century tion tradition trans translation treatises twelfth century vols Western