Schofield Mechanism and Materialism

British Natural Philosophy in An Age of Reason
1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4008-7102-5
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 346 Seiten

Reihe: Princeton Legacy Library

Robert Schofield explores the rational elements of British experimental natural philosophy in the 18th century by tracing the influence of two opposing concepts of the nature of matter and its action—mechanism and materialism. Both concepts rested on the Newtonian interpretation of their proponents, although each developed more or less independently. By integrating the developments in all the areas of experimental natural philosophy, describing their connections and the influences of Continental science, natural theology, and to a lesser degree social and institutional changes, the author demonstrates that mechanistic concepts dominated interpretations from about 1687 to 1740, when they were replaced by materialistic concepts. A revival of the mechanistic approach early in the next century made England a fertile field for ideas on the dynamic interaction of forces.

Originally published in 1970.

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Autoren/Hrsg.

Schofield, Robert E.

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Physik Physik Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter, pg. i
Preface, pg. v
Contents, pg. vii
CHAPTER ONE. Newton’s Legacy, pg. 3
CHAPTER TWO. Diffusion of a Newtonian Creed, pg. 19
CHAPTER THREE. Elaboration of a Theory, pg. 40
CHAPTER FOUR. Experimental Newtonianism, pg. 63
CHAPTER FIVE. Second Thoughts and the New Revelation, pg. 91
CHAPTER SIX. Newtonian Pagans and Heretics, pg. 115
CHAPTER SEVEN. Early Continental Interactions, pg. 134
CHAPTER EIGHT. The Imponderable Fluids, pg. 157
CHAPTER NINE. Vital Physiology and Elementary Chemistry, pg. 191
CHAPTER TEN. Forces, Fluid Dynamics, and Fields, pg. 235
CHAPTER ELEVEN. Interregnum, 1789–1815, pg. 277
BIBLIOGRAPHY, pg. 299
INDEX, pg. 323