The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, Prehistory to A.D. 1450, Second EditionWhen it was first published in 1992, The Beginnings of Western Science was lauded as the first successful attempt ever to present a unified account of both ancient and medieval science in a single volume. Chronicling the development of scientific ideas, practices, and institutions from pre-Socratic Greek philosophy to late-Medieval scholasticism, David C. Lindberg surveyed all the most important themes in the history of science, including developments in cosmology, astronomy, mechanics, optics, alchemy, natural history, and medicine. In addition, he offered an illuminating account of the transmission of Greek science to medieval Islam and subsequently to medieval Europe. The Beginnings of Western Science was, and remains, a landmark in the history of science, shaping the way students and scholars understand these critically formative periods of scientific development. It reemerges here in a second edition that includes revisions on nearly every page, as well as several sections that have been completely rewritten. For example, the section on Islamic science has been thoroughly retooled to reveal the magnitude and sophistication of medieval Muslim scientific achievement. And the book now reflects a sharper awareness of the importance of Mesopotamian science for the development of Greek astronomy. In all, the second edition of The Beginnings of Western Science captures the current state of our understanding of more than two millennia of science and promises to continue to inspire both students and general readers. |
Contents
1 | |
2 The Greeks and the Cosmos | 21 |
3 Aristotles Philosophy of Nature | 45 |
4 Hellenistic Natural Philosophy | 67 |
5 The Mathematical Sciences in Antiquity | 82 |
6 Greek and Roman Medicine | 111 |
7 Roman and Early Medieval Science | 132 |
8 Islamic Science | 163 |
10 The Recovery and Assimilation of Greekand Islamic Science | 225 |
11 The Medieval Cosmos | 254 |
12 The Physics of the Sublunar Region | 286 |
13 Medieval Medicine and Natural History | 321 |
14 The Legacy of Ancient and Medieval Science | 357 |
Notes | 369 |
Bibliography | 413 |
463 | |
Other editions - View all
The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific ..., Part 1450 David C. Lindberg No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
Abbāsid achievement Albert Almagest ancient Arabic argued Aristotelian Aristotle Aristotle’s astrology astronomy Averroes Avicenna Babylonian body Byzantine Cambridge University Press celestial sphere chap Christian Clagett classical commentary cosmology cosmos culture David defined definition developed different divine Early Greek earth effect effort elements Empire Erasistratus example fig figure final finally find fire first five fixed G. E. R. Lloyd Galen geometrical Greek Science H.unayn heavens Hellenistic Hippocratic History human Ibn al-Haytham identified important influence influential intellectual Islamic knowledge Latin learning Lindberg mathematical medicine Medieval Science Middle Ages modern motion natural philosophy Nicole Oresme observation offered optics Oresme Oxford Paris physical physician Pierre Duhem planetary planets Plato practice problem Ptolemy Ptolemy’s question reflection Renaissance Roger Bacon Roman scholars schools scientific Scientific Revolution significant sources specific Stoic studies texts theology things thirteenth century tion tradition trans translation treatises twelfth century vols Western