The Scientific Revolution: A Historiographical Inquiry

H. F. Cohen

University of Chicago Press, Oct 3, 1994 - Science - 662 pages

In this first book-length historiographical study of the Scientific Revolution, H. Floris Cohen examines the body of work on the intellectual, social, and cultural origins of early modern science. Cohen critically surveys a wide range of scholarship since the nineteenth century, offering new perspectives on how the Scientific Revolution changed forever the way we understand the natural world and our place in it.

Cohen's discussions range from scholarly interpretations of Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, to the question of why the Scientific Revolution took place in seventeenth-century Western Europe, rather than in ancient Greece, China, or the Islamic world. Cohen contends that the emergence of early modern science was essential to the rise of the modern world, in the way it fostered advances in technology.

A valuable entrée to the literature on the Scientific Revolution, this book assesses both a controversial body of scholarship, and contributes to understanding how modern science came into the world.

Contents

• Almost a New Nature: 3
• DEFINING THE NATURE OF THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION: 21
• The Great Tradition: 23
• 22 First Approaches to Understanding the Birth of Early Modern Science: 26
• William Whewell: 29
• 223 The Positivist Picture of the Birth of Early Modern Science as Exemplified by Ernst Mach: 41
• 224 The Duhem Thesis: 47
• 23 Shaping the Concept of the Scientific Revolution: 55
• Anneliese Maier: 58
• 232 Dijksterhuis and the Mathematization of Nature: 61
• Koyres Conception of the Scientific Revolution: 75
• 234 Burtt and the Mathematization of Nature: 90
• 24 The Concept Widens: 99
• 242 New Problems and a New Generation: 109
• The View from England: 114
• 244 Kuhn and the Scientific Revolution: 124
• Westfalls Conception of the Origins of Early Modern Science: 138
• Continuity and Break Weighted in the Balance: 149
• The New Science in a Wider Setting: 153
• 31 The New Science and Its New Method: 154
• 312 From Demonstrative to Tentative Science: 157
• 32 The New Science and Its New Time Frame: 159
• 322 The Reorientation of Science toward an Unknown Future: 162
• 323 When Did Science Become Cumulative?: 166
• 324 From Natural Philosophy to Science: 168
• 33 The New Science and the Old Magic: 171
• 331 The Rosicruciari Conception of Early Modern Science: 172
• 332 Rosicrucians Chemists and Alchemists in 17thcentury Science: 176
• 333 The Elusive Core of the Debate: 178
• 334 The Scientific Revolution and the Disenchantment of the World: 179
• 335 The Debate over the Rationality of Early Modem Science: 181
• 34 The New Science and the Creation of Artificially Produced Nature: 185
• 341 The Nature of Early Modern Experiment: 186
• 342 The Rise of the Scientific Instrument: 191
• Idea and Reality: 193
• 344 The Subjection of Feminine Nature: 197
• 35 The New Science in Its Social Setting: 200
• 351 The New Values of Science: 202
• 352 Societies and Universities: 206
• 353 Patronage: 210
• 36 The New Science in European History: 211
• 362 The Scientific Revolution and the Dissolution of Feudalism: 218
• 363 The Place of the Scientific Revolution in the History of Western Civilization: 225
• From an Aura of Selfevidence toward Messy Contingencies: 231
• THE SEARCH FOR CAUSES OF THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION: 239
• The Emergence of Early Modern Science from Previous Western Though on Nature: 241
• 42 Why Did the Scientific Revolution Not Take Place in Ancient Greece?: 243
• 421 Some Principal Shortcomings of Greek Science: 245
• 422 Help Needed in Crossing the Threshold: 249
• 423 The Problem of Decline: 252
• 43 Medieval Science and Scientific Revolution: 262
• 44 The Emergence of Early Modern Science from Renaissance Thought: 270
• 442 The Impact of Humanism: 273
• 443 The Reform of Aristotelianism: 281
• 444 Hermeticism and NeoPlatonism: 287
• 445 The Revival of Scepticism: 298
• 45 The Harvest of the Internal Route: 305
• The Emergence of Early Modern Science from Events in the History of Western Europe: 310
• 511 Hooykaas and the Biblical WorldView: 312
• 512 The Merton Thesis: 316
• 52 The Active Life of Early Modern Europe: 323
• 521 Olschki and Koyre on the Scientists Response to Europes Budding Dynamism: 324
• Early Modern Science and Capitalism: 330
• 523 Merton on Science and Technology in the 17th Century: 335
• 524 Zilsel and the Social Origins of Early Modern Science: 338
• 525 Hall against External Explanations: 344
• An Interim Assessment: 347
• Landes and Koyre: 353
• 528 Hooykaas and the Voyages of Discovery: 356
• Science Goes from Script to Print: 359
• 53 BenDavid and the Social Legitimation of the New Science: 369
• 54 The Harvest of the External Route: 376
• The Nonemergence of Early Modern Science outside Western Europe: 380
• 62 The Decay of Islamic Science: 386
• 622 Von Grunebaum and the Preservation of the Muslim Community under the Law: 391
• 623 Sayili and the Failed Reconciliation between Science and Religion: 396
• 624 Saunders and the Effects of Barbarian Destruction: 407
• 625 Some Conclusions and Suggestions: 411
• 63 Joseph Needham as a Pioneer in CrossCultural History of Science: 420
• 64 Contributions of NonWestern Science to the Scientific Revolution: 428
• 65 Why the Scientific Revolution Eluded China: 441
• 652 Needhams Key Questions and How He Has Answered Them: 445
• 653 Further Perspectives Offered by Needhams Critics: 468
• 654 Some Conclusions and Suggestions: 476
• 66 The Harvest of the Comparative Route: 485
• SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS THE BANQUET OF TRUTH: 491
• The Scientific Revolution Fifty Years in the Life of a Concept: 493
• 72 The Rise and Decline of the Concept of the Scientific Revolution: 496
• 73 Ideas for Future Conceptions of the Scientific Revolution: 504
• The Structure of the Scientific Revolution: 508
• 82 Sorting Out Possible Causes: 519
• Notes: 529
• Bibliography: 605
• Index: 621

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Scientific Revolution: A Historiographical Inquiry
• Author: H. F. Cohen
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1994
• ISBN: 0226112802, 9780226112800
• Length: 662 pages
• Subjects: Science / General; Science / History