The Construction of Modern Science

The interplay between the Platonic-Pythagorean tradition and the mechanical philosophy during the 'scientific revolution'.

Zusammenfassung
This introduction to the history of science in the seventeenth century examines the so-called 'scientific revolution' in terms of the interplay between the Platonic-Pythagorean tradition, which look on nature in geometric terms, and the mechanical philosophy which conceived of nature as a huge machine.

Inhalt

Introduction; 1. Celestial dynamics and terrestrial mechanics; 2. The mechanical philosophy; 3. Mechanical science; 4. Mechanical chemistry; 5. Biology and the mechanical philosophy; 6. Organization of the scientific enterprise; 7. The science of mechanics; 8. Newtonian dynamics; Index.