1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910781546803321

Titolo

Wrestling with nature [[electronic resource] ] : from omens to science / / edited by Peter Harrison, Ronald L. Numbers, and Michael H. Shank

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago, : University of Chicago Press, 2011

ISBN

1-283-36258-9

9786613362582

0-226-31803-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (427 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

HarrisonPeter <1955->

NumbersRonald L

ShankMichael H

Disciplina

508.09

Soggetti

Science - History

Natural history - History

Philosophy of nature - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Natural knowledge in ancient Mesopotamia / Francesca Rochberg -- Natural knowledge in the classical world / Daryn Lahoux -- Natural knowledge in the Arabic Middle Ages / Jon McGinnis -- Natural knowledge in the Latin Middle Ages / Michael H. Shank -- Natural history / Peter Harrison -- Mixed mathematics / Peter Dear -- Natural philosophy / John L. Heilbron -- Science and medicine / Ronald L. Numbers -- Science and technology / Ronald Kline -- Science and religion / Jon H. Roberts -- Science, pseudoscience, and science falsely so-called / Ronald L. Numbers & Daniel P. Thurs -- Scientific methods / Daniel P. Thurs -- Science and the public / Bernard Lightman -- Science and place / David N. Livingstone.

Sommario/riassunto

When and where did science begin? Historians have offered different answers to these questions, some pointing to Babylonian observational astronomy, some to the speculations of natural philosophers of ancient Greece. Others have opted for early modern Europe, which saw the triumph of Copernicanism and the birth of experimental science, while yet another view is that the appearance of science was postponed until



the nineteenth century. Rather than posit a modern definition of science and search for evidence of it in the past, the contributors to Wrestling with Nature examine how students of nature themselves, in various cultures and periods of history, have understood and represented their work. The aim of each chapter is to explain the content, goals, methods, practices, and institutions associated with the investigation of nature and to articulate the strengths, limitations, and boundaries of these efforts from the perspective of the researchers themselves. With contributions from experts representing different historical periods and different disciplinary specializations, this volume offers a fresh perspective on the history of science and on what it meant, in other times and places, to wrestle with nature.