A History of Western Science : The Basics

A History of Western Science: The Basics offers a short introduction to the history of Western science that is accessible to all through avoiding technical language and mathematical intricacies. A coherent narrative of how science developed in interaction with society over time is also provided in this comprehensive guide. The first part discusses the period up to 1700, with a focus on the conceptual shift and new ideas about nature that occurred in early modern Europe. Part two focusses on the practical and institutional aspects of the scientific enterprise and discusses how science established itself in Western society post 1700s, while part three discusses how during the same period modern science has impacted our general view of the world, and reviews some of the major discoveries and debates. Key topics discussed in the book include: Natural philosophy, medicine, and mathematics in the ancient and medieval worlds The key figures in the history of science―Galileo, Descartes, Isaac Newton, Darwin and Einstein―as well as lesser-known men and women who have developed the field The development of scientific instruments, the transformation of alchemy into chemistry, weights and measures, the emergence of the modern hospital and its effects on medicine, and the systematic collection of data on meteorology, volcanism, and terrestrial magnetism The big questions – the origins of humans, the nature of reality and the impact of science. As a jargon-free and comprehensive study of the history of Western science, this book is an essential introductory guide for academics and researchers of the history of science, as well as general readers interested in learning more about the field. History of Western Science Cover -1 Endorsements 2 Half Title 4 Series Page 6 Title Page 8 Copyright Page 9 Contents 10 Preface 12 Introduction 16 Part I: The Scientific Revolution 20 1. Antiquity and the Middle Ages 24 Greek philosophers and nature 25 Greek mathematics 29 Medicine in antiquity 33 The classical tradition in mediaeval Europe 35 2. The sixteenth century: the Aristotelian worldview in decline 45 New intellectual currents: humanism and Hermeticism 46 Natural history and medicine 51 Mathematics and 'natural magic' 57 Astronomy 63 Philosophy of nature 70 3. The seventeenth century: a new worldview 76 Galileo and a new view of the heavens 76 Descartes and mechanistic science 84 The emergence of an experimental tradition 91 Mathematization of science 97 The mathematical science of Isaac Newton 99 A revolution in the prevailing worldview? 106 Part II: Autonomous science: methods, theories and researchers 1700-2000 112 4. The eighteenth century: disseminating the idea of science 118 Knowledge and practice: instruments 118 Collecting and classifying: natural history 124 From alchemy to chemistry 127 Newtonian mechanics and its problems 131 5. The nineteenth century (i): science at the service of the rationalization of society 139 A 'scientific' system of measurement 140 The modern hospital 141 Observatories, measuring stations and a global science 143 Science and Western imperialism 147 6. The nineteenth century (ii): professional science 152 Universities and professors 152 Women in science 155 Laboratories 158 Classification and conferences 159 The rise of the experiment: physiology 162 Measuring and experimenting in the study of nature 165 Further mathematization 168 Statistics 172 7. The twentieth century: industrial science 177 The rise of industrial science 177 The science of measurement 181 Research institutes 184 Control and modelling 188 Independence under pressure 191 Part III: The scientific worldview 198 8. The origin of the world 204 The Bible and the new image of the world 204 The development of geology 208 The origin of the universe 212 9. The nature of life and the origin of human beings 217 Early scientific ideas about humankind and its place in the world 217 The idea of evolution 219 Darwin's contribution 220 Descent 223 The mysteries of the mind 225 The mechanism of heredity 227 Heredity and evolution 229 A science of human beings? 231 10. The nature of reality 233 A rational world? 233 The building blocks of reality 235 Research into radiation 239 The theory of relativity 241 Quantum mechanics 243 In search of a theory of everything 245 11. The influence of science on the general worldview 247 Scientification? 247 Accommodation of scientific findings 250 Rejection of scientific findings 253 Concluding remarks 255 Further reading 259 Index 263 History,of,Science;,History;,Science;,Basics;,Introduction,to,history; History of Science,History,Science,Basics,Introduction to history A History of Western Science: The Basics, offers a short introduction to the history science in the western world that is accessible to all through avoiding technical language and mathematical intricacies. A coherent narrative of how science developed in interaction with society over time is also provided in this comprehensive guide. The first part discusses the period up to 1700, with a focus on the conceptual shift and new ideas about nature that happened in early modern Europe. Part two focusses on the practical and institutional aspects of the scientific enterprise and discusses how science established itself in western society post 1700s, whilst part three discusses how during the same period modern science has impacted our general view of the world, and passes in review some of the major discoveries and debates. Key topics discussed within the book include: - natural philosophy, medicine, and mathematics in the ancient and medieval worlds - the key figures in the history of science Galileo, Descartes, Isaac Newton, Darwin and Einstein as well as lesser-known men and women who have developed the field - the development of scientific instruments, the transformation of alchemy into chemistry, weights and measures, the emergence of the modern hospital and its effects on medicine and the systematic collection of data on meteorology, volcanism, terrestrial magnetism - And explores the big questions - the origins of humans, nature of reality and the impact science. As a jargon-free and comprehensive study of the history of western science, this book is an essential introductory guide for students of the history of science, as well as general readers interested in learning more about the field.