
The Construction of Modern Science
Mechanisms and Mechanics
Richard S. Westfall(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 27. January 1978
Book
Paperback/Softback
190 pages
978-0-521-29295-5 (ISBN)
Description
This introduction to the history of science in the seventeenth century examines the so-called 'scientific revolution' in terms of the interplay between two major themes. The Platonic-Pythagorean tradition looked on nature in geometric terms with the conviction that the cosmos was constructed according to the principles of mathematical order, while the mechanical philosophy conceived of nature as a huge machine and sought to explain the hidden mechanisms behind phenomena. Pursuing different goals, these two movements of thought tended to conflict with each other, and more than the obviously mathematical sciences were affected - the influence spread as far as chemistry and the life sciences. As this book demonstrates, the full fruition of the scientific revolution required a resolution of the tension between the two dominant trends.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
284 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-29295-5 (9780521292955)
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Book
01/1978
Cambridge University Press
€43.33
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Previous edition

Book
01/1978
Cambridge University Press
€43.33
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Content
Introduction; 1. Celestial dynamics and terrestrial mechanics; 2. The mechanical philosophy; 3. Mechanical science; 4. Mechanical chemistry; 5. Biology and the mechanical philosophy; 6. Organization of the scientific enterprise; 7. The science of mechanics; 8. Newtonian dynamics; Index.