Description
Book SynopsisHow did science come to have such a central place in Western culture? How did our ways of thinking, and our moral, political, and social values come to be modelled around scientific values? Stephen Gaukroger traces the story of how these values developed, and how they influenced society and culture from the 19th to the mid-20th century.
Trade ReviewThis is a remarkable work of scholarship and the fifty-page bibliography is a testament to the author's breadth of knowledge and reading, which forms the scientific basis for his outstanding contribution to the field. * Dr. Arpan K. Banerjee, Hektoen International *
The question the author has set out to answer is, on the face of it, quite simple: How is it that science, utterly marginal in Europe's medieval culture, has become central to our modern culture? It is this very question that, for many a historian but also philosopher or sociologist of science, has stood in the background or even at the forefront of their decision to become one. Yet no one so far has had the courage, and the stamina, and the scholarly experience, and the vast erudition, and the organizing power, and the familiarity with a number of indispensable languages that Stephen Gaukroger displays and that are needed to engage the question on anything like the scale it deserves. . . . there are many reasons for profoundly admiring Gaukroger's achievement. * H. Floris Cohen, Isis *
This is the much-awaited fourth volume of a series, Science and the Shaping of Modernity, that canvasses the history of science with a keen eye to the broader cultural context.... The erudition and dense attention to detail are breathtaking at times. I marvel to think that one scholar could command so much knowledge of the subject, both primary and secondary sources, and bring to bear such sophisticated philosophical judgment. * Margaret Schabas, University of British Columbia *
This is a remarkable work of scholarship and the fifty-page bibliography is a testament to the author's breadth of knowledge and reading, which forms the scientific basis for his outstanding contribution to the field. * Arpan Banerjee, Hektoen International Journal *
Table of ContentsPreface List of Illustrations List of Plates Introduction Part I: Civilization 1: Science and the Origins of Civilization 2: The Evolution of Civilization Part II: The Unity of Science 3: The Promotion of Unification 4: The Unity of the Physical Sciences 5: The Autonomy of the Material Sciences 6: The Autonomy of the Life Sciences 7: The Unity of the Life Sciences Part III: The Expansion of Scientific Understanding 8: The Problem of the Human Sciences 9: Understanding the World: Science versus Philosophy Part IV: The Pursuit of Science by Other Means: 'Applied' and 'Popular Science' 10: Technology and the Limits of Scientific Theorizing 11: Science For and By the Public Part V: Science and the Civilizing Process 12: The Modernization of the Population: Accommodating the Human to the Scientific Image Conclusion 13: Science and the Shaping of Modernity Bibliography of Works Cited Index
