Description
Book SynopsisThe first book-length intellectual history of autodidacticism, this novel, thought-provoking work will interest a wide range of historians, including scholars of the history of science, philosophy, literature, Europe, and the Middle East.
Trade ReviewThis highly interesting volume can be described in three ways. First it is a historical analysis of the concept of autodidacticism. Second, it is the history of a particular book. Finally, the book is self-described as an exercise in interdisciplinarity... The method of this historiographic proposal is described as "historical sampling," whereby the appropriation of a text in various cultural contexts is displayed and compared. In all three of the abovementioned ways, the present reviewer judges the book to be a success. Moreover, it is written in such a lively style with rich detail that it is engrossing from start to finish. -- M. V. Dougherty Renaissance Quarterly 2011
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction: The Pursuit of the Natural Self
1. Taming the Mystic: Marrakesh, 1160s
2. Climbing the Ladder of Philosophy: Barcelona, 1348
3. Defying Authority, Denying Predestination, and Conquering Nature: Florence, 1493
4. Employing the Self and Experimenting with Nature: Oxford, 1671
Conclusion: Sampling the History of Autodidacticism
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index
