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 xiii
... represent the intensity of a quality • 302 The distribution of temperatures in a rod • 302 Oresme's system for representing the distribution of any quality in a subject• 302 The distribution of velocities in a rod rotating about one end ...
... represent the intensity of a quality • 302 The distribution of temperatures in a rod • 302 Oresme's system for representing the distribution of any quality in a subject• 302 The distribution of velocities in a rod rotating about one end ...
Page 8
... represent the creatures of this world , whether human , divine , or cosmic.10 A Babylonian myth attributes the origin of the world to the sexual activity of Enki , god of the waters . Enki impregnated the goddess of the earth or soil ...
... represent the creatures of this world , whether human , divine , or cosmic.10 A Babylonian myth attributes the origin of the world to the sexual activity of Enki , god of the waters . Enki impregnated the goddess of the earth or soil ...
Page 13
... represent not 2, but 2 60 120; and in the third example the unit symbol in the 602 column represents not 1 but 1 602 3600. There was no equivalent of the decimal point by which to locate the units column, and this information would ...
... represent not 2, but 2 60 120; and in the third example the unit symbol in the 602 column represents not 1 but 1 602 3600. There was no equivalent of the decimal point by which to locate the units column, and this information would ...
Page 25
... represent primitive Greek philosophy , they were nonetheless central to Greek education and culture for centuries and cannot have been without influence on the Greek mind . It is abundantly clear that the language and the images people ...
... represent primitive Greek philosophy , they were nonetheless central to Greek education and culture for centuries and cannot have been without influence on the Greek mind . It is abundantly clear that the language and the images people ...
Page 36
... represent the world of sense experience. The soul, peering out from its prison, is able to perceive only these flickering shadows, and the ignorant claim that this is all there is to reality. However, there do exist the statues and ...
... represent the world of sense experience. The soul, peering out from its prison, is able to perceive only these flickering shadows, and the ignorant claim that this is all there is to reality. However, there do exist the statues and ...
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