History of the Inductive Sciences: From the Earliest to the Present Times

di William Whewell (Autore)

Cambridge University Press, 2010

A central figure in Victorian science, William Whewell (1794-1866) held professorships in Mineralogy and Moral Philosophy at Trinity College, Cambridge, before becoming Master of the college in 1841. His mathematical textbooks, such as A Treatise on Dynamics (1823), were instrumental in bringing French analytical methods into British science. This three-volume history, first published in 1837, is one of Whewell's most famous works. Taking the 'acute, but fruitless, essays of Greek philosophy' as a starting point, it provides a history of the physical sciences that culminates with the mechanics, astronomy, and chemistry of 'modern times'. Volume 2 focuses on the rise and development of modern mechanics in the seventeenth century. Whewell shows how Galileo's laws of motion exemplify a paradigmatic shift from 'formal' to 'physical' sciences - a new approach concerned with explaining causes rather than merely observing phenomena. It also discusses the implications for physical astronomy of Newton's discoveries.

• Autore: William Whewell
• Editore: Cambridge University Press
• Collana: History of the Inductive Sciences 3 Volume Set
• Anno: 2010
• Rilegatura: Paperback / softback
• Pagine: 552 p.
• Dimensioni: 216 x 31 mm
• Peso: 690 gr.
• EAN: 9781108019255

Testo in English