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The Very Idea of Modern Science

Francis Bacon and Robert Boyle

  • Book
  • © 2013

Overview

Authors:
  1. Joseph Agassi

    1. University of Tel Aviv, Herzliyah, Israel

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  • New explanation of the contribution of the scientific societies of the classical era
  • Gives a comprehensive account of ideology of the amateur scientific societies
  • Thesis written by one of Karl Popper's students ?

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science (BSPS, volume 298)

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Bacons Doctrine of Prejudice (A Study in a Renaissance Religion)

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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  3. BACONS DOCTRINE OF PREJUDICE

    1. The Riddle of Bacon

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 3-13

    2. Bacon’s Philosophy of Discovery

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 15-33

    3. Ellis’ Major Difficulty

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 35-38

    4. The Function of the Doctrine of Prejudice

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 39-47

    5. Bacon on the Origin of Error and Prejudice

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 49-56

    6. Prejudices of the Senses

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 57-80

    7. Prejudices of Opinions

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 81-108

    8. Bacon’s Influence

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 109-120

    9. Conclusion: The Rise of the Riddle of Bacon

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 121-124

  4. The Religion of Inductivism as a Living Force

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 125-130
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  5. A RELIGION OF INDUCTIVISM AS A LIVING FORCE

    1. Philosophical Background

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 131-137

    2. The Social Background of Classical Science

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 139-155

    3. The Missing Link Between Bacon and the Royal Society

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 157-166

    4. Boyle in the Eyes of Posterity

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 167-178

    5. The Inductive Style

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 179-224

    6. Mechanism

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 225-248

    7. The New Doctrine of Prejudice

      • Joseph Agassi
      Pages 249-264

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 265-315
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Keywords

About this book

This book is a study of the scientific revolution as a movement of amateur science. It describes the ideology of the amateur scientific societies as the philosophy of the Enlightenment Movement and their social structure and the way they made modern science such a magnificent institution. It also shows what was missing in the scientific organization of science and why it gave way to professional science in stages. In particular the book studies the contributions of Sir Francis Bacon and of the Hon. Robert Boyle to the rise of modern science. The philosophy of induction is notoriously problematic, yet its great asset is that it expressed the view of the Enlightenment Movement about science. This explains the ambivalence that we still exhibit towards Sir Francis Bacon whose radicalism and vision of pure and applied science still a major aspect of the fabric of society. Finally, the book discusses Boyle’s philosophy, his agreement with and dissent from Bacon and the way he single-handedlytrained a crowd of poorly educated English aristocrats and rendered them into an army of able amateur researchers.

Reviews

“This detailed study delves into the complexity of the dawn of modern science by considering the interplay between ideology, methodology, metaphysics, and historiography. … The Very Idea of Modern Science is the result of remarkable interdisciplinary erudition and depth. … Bringing a new socio-philosophical dimension to light, it is a must for historians of early modern science and is recommended to scholars and lay readers interested in better understanding the context of modern science.” (Michael Segre, Isis, Vol. 107 (1), March, 2016)

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Tel Aviv, Herzliyah, Israel

    Joseph Agassi

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Very Idea of Modern Science

  • Book Subtitle: Francis Bacon and Robert Boyle

  • Authors: Joseph Agassi

  • Series Title: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5351-8

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-94-007-5350-1Published: 14 December 2012

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-94-007-9775-8Published: 29 January 2015

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-007-5351-8Published: 14 December 2012

  • Series ISSN: 0068-0346

  • Series E-ISSN: 2214-7942

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVIII, 318

  • Topics: Philosophy of Science

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