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  • © 2008

Mechanics and Natural Philosophy before the Scientific Revolution

  • The emergence of the modern science of mechanics in the Renaissance
  • The conflicts between Aristotelian natural philosophy and mechanics
  • Science before the Scientific Revolution
  • The appropriation and transformation of ancient learning in the Renaissance

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science (BSPS, volume 254)

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-11
  2. Ancient and Medieval Mechanics

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 12-12
    2. Theory and Practice in Heron’S Mechanics

      • Mark J. Schiefsky
      Pages 15-49
    3. Bradwardine’S Rule: A Mathematical Law?

      • Jean Celeyrette, U.M.R. Savoirs Et Textes (Cnrs-Lille)
      Pages 51-66
    4. Concepts of Impetus and the History of Mechanics

      • Jürgen Sarnowsky
      Pages 121-145
  3. Back Matter

    Pages 275-306

About this book

Modern mechanics was forged in the seventeenth century from materials inherited from Antiquity and transformed in the period from the Middle Ages through to the sixteenth century. These materials were transmitted through a number of textual traditions and within several disciplines and practices, including ancient and medieval natural philosophy, statics, the theory and design of machines, and mathematics.

This volume deals with a variety of moments in the history of mechanics when conflicts arose within one textual tradition, between different traditions, or between textual traditions and the wider world of practice. Its purpose is to show how the accommodations sometimes made in the course of these conflicts ultimately contributed to the emergence of modern mechanics.

The first part of the volume is concerned with ancient mechanics and its transformations in the Middle Ages; the second part with the reappropriation of ancient mechanics and especially with the reception of the Pseudo-Aristotelian Mechanica in the Renaissance; and the third and final part, with early-modern mechanics in specific social, national, and institutional contexts.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

    Walter Roy Laird

  • Université Grenoble II, Institut universitaire de France, France

    Sophie Roux

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access