Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy

The philosophy of science as it is known today emerged out of a combination of three traditional concerns: the classification of the sciences, methodology and the philosophy of nature. Included in the series "Works in the Philosophy of Science 1830-1914" are all three of these interrelated areas. The titles should be of interest to both the philosopher of science and to the historian of ideas. The former will be able to trace present-day concerns back to their origins; the latter should find it a useful source for the study of Victorian conceptions of science. This work went to 12 editions by 1873 and was translated into several langauges. It helped to stimulate the controversey between Mill and Whewell about scientific method, and influenced scientists like Lyell and Darwin.