Voyaging in Strange Seas: The Great Revolution in Science

373 Pages·2014·38.848 MB·English

by  David Knight

David Knight’s landmark history takes us on the great voyage of discovery
that ushered in the modern age. Ideas, experiments, characters, conflicts
and achievements – all come to life in this account of the rise of science
and how it changed the world.

‘Knight ably describes both the scientific advances of astronomy and
mathematics, as well as the political and personal intrigues of the time.
The development of alchemy and its successor discipline of chemistry
are detailed with very interesting information, including the roots of the
“scientific method” and the rise of the concept of experimentation … An
excellent source of information about the history of science … and how
science has influenced the social and political lives of people and countries.’
—New York Journal of Books

‘David Knight’s fresh look at the Scientific Revolution tells the story of
modern science’s birth – and adolescence – from angles that usually go
unexplored … It’s a story worth telling (and reading) once again.’
—Science News
‘The story of the West’s spectacular development, told by a knowledgeable,
patient teacher.’
—Kirkus Reviews
‘By putting the development of empirical science in a social context, Knight
reminds readers that nothing happens in a vacuum, nor are humans at the
end of discovery.’
—Publishers Weekly

David Knight is Emeritus Professor of History and Philosophy of Science,
Durham University.
Cover images: Brass armillary astrolabe, Marshall compound microscope, ‘Elegant and engaging … the ideal book for those who seek an
Boyle’s regular polyhedra and a Galilean telescope. © Science Museum/
Science & Society Picture Library. Background: map of Utopia from Thomas overview of the “long Scientific Revolution”.’
More’s Utopia. © Durham University Library.
ISBN 978-0-300-21275-4
—Frank James, The Royal Institution
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
9 780300 212754
yalebooks.com www.yalebooks.co.uk
VOYAGING IN STRANGE SEAS
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VOYAGING IN
STRANGE SEAS
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the great revolution in science
David Knight
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
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Copyright © 2014 David Knight
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and
except by reviewers for the public press) without written permission from the publishers.
For information about this and other Yale University Press publications, please contact:
U.S. Office: [email protected] www.yalebooks.com
Europe Office: [email protected] www.yalebooks.co.uk
Set in Adobe Caslon Pro by IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd
Printed in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Knight, David M., author.
Voyaging in strange seas: the great revolution in science/David Knight.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-300-17379-6 (cl: alk. paper)
1. Science–History. 2. Discoveries in science–History. 3. Scientific expeditions–
History. I. Title.
Q125.K578 2014
509–dc23
2013041986
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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For Sarah, with thanks for fifty happy years;
and for Letsopa, Penelope, Laura and Hannah, beginning their lives
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I could behold
The antechapel where the statue stood
Of Newton with his prism and silent face,
The marble index of a mind for ever
Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.
William Wordsworth, The Prelude (1850)
The end of our foundation is the knowledge of causes, and secret
motions of things; and the enlarging of the bounds of human
empire, to the effecting of all things possible.
Francis Bacon, New Atlantis (1627)
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CONTENTS
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1 Voyaging in Strange Seas 1
2 The Deep Roots of Modern Science 10
3 Refining Common Sense: The New Philosophy 35
4 Looking Up to Heaven: Mathematics and Telescopes 60
5 Interrogating Nature: The Use of Experiment 84
6 Through Nature to Nature’s God: The Two Books 106
7 Sharing the Vision: Scientific Societies 136
8 Life Is Short, Science Long: The Healing Art 160
9 Making Things Better: Practical Science 184
10 The Ladder of Creation: The Rise of Natural History 207
11 A Global Perspective: Exploring and Measuring 231
12 Enlightenment: Leisure, Electricity and Chemistry 253
13 Revolution, Evolution: How, Then, Did Science Grow? 281
Notes 292
Further Reading 299
Illustration Acknowledgements 305
Acknowledgements 306
Index 307
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