On the Shoulders of Giants: The Post-Italianate EditionWith playfulness and a large dose of wit, Robert Merton traces the origin of Newton's aphorism, "If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Using as a model the discursive and digressive style of Sterne's Tristram Shandy, Merton presents a whimsical yet scholarly work which deals with the questions of creativity, tradition, plagiarism, the transmission of knowledge, and the concept of progress. "This book is the delightful apotheosis of donmanship: Merton parodies scholarliness while being faultlessly scholarly; he scourges pedantry while brandishing his own abstruse learning on every page. The most recondite and obscure scholarly squabbles are transmuted into the material of comedy as the ostensible subject is shouldered to one side by yet another hobby horse from Merton's densely populated stable. He has created a jeu d'esprit which is profoundly suggestive both in detail and as a whole."—Sean French, Times Literary Supplement |
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allusion Anatomy of Melancholy anatopic ancient Aphorism appears Aubrey Azariah Bacon Bartlett Bartlett's Familiar Quotations behavior Bentham Bernard of Chartres Bernardian Burton chapter citation claim course Didacus Stella digressions discovery dwarfs edition English essay evidence fact Father figure George Sarton giant-and-dwarf giant-dwarf Goodman Gyants Hakewill Hakewill's Hooke hypothesis idea John Aubrey John of Salisbury Jones knowledge later Latin learning least letter Lucan matter Merton modern Newton Ogden Nash once original OTSOG Parvus-complex passage perhaps Peter of Blois philosopher phrase plagiarism Pope Priscian published quotation quoted Rabelais reader refer Robert Ross Sarton scholarly scholars scientific scientists Scriblerus seventeenth-century Shandean shoulders of giants simile sociological stand Stella in Luc story surely Swift tell Temple Temple's thing tion translation Tristram truth turn Umberto Eco Vives volume William word writing
References to this book
The Balance of Power in International Relations: Metaphors, Myths and Models Richard Little No preview available - 2007 |