The Heirs of Archimedes: Science and the Art of War through the Age of Enlightenment (Dibner Institute Studies in the History of Science and Technology) [Hardcover]

Brett D. Steele (Editor), Tamera Dorland (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2005 | Series: Dibner Institute Studies in the History of Science and Technology

The integration of scientific knowledge and military power began long before the Manhattan Project. In the third century BC, Archimedes was renowned for his research in mechanics and mathematics as well as for his design and coordination of defensive siegecraft for Syracuse during the Second Punic War. This collection of essays examines the emergence during the early modern era of mathematicians, chemists, and natural philosophers who, along with military engineers, navigators, and artillery officers, followed in the footsteps of Archimedes and synthesized scientific theory and military practice. It is the first collaborative scholarly assessment of these early military-scientific relationships, which have been long neglected by scholars both in the history of science and technology and in military history.From a historical perspective, this volume investigates the deep connections between two central manifestations of Western power, examining the military context of the Scientific Revolution and the scientific context of the Military Revolution. Unlike the classic narratives of the Scientific Revolution that focus on the theories of, and conflicts between, Aristotelian and Platonic worldviews, this volume highlights the emergence of the Archimedean ideal--in which a symbiosis exists between the supply of mechanistic science and the demand for military capability.From a security-studies perspective, this work presents an in-depth study of the central components of military power as well as their dynamic interactions in the political, acquisitional, operational, and tactical domains. The essays in this volume reveal the intellectual and cultural struggles to enhance the capabilities of these components--an exercise in transforming military power that remains relevant for today's armed forces.The volume sets the stage by examining the innovation of gunpowder weaponry in both the Christian and the Islamic states of the late medieval and Renaissance eras. It then explores such topics as the cultural resistance to scientific techniques and the relationship between early modern science and naval power--particularly the intersecting developments in mathematics and oceanic navigation. Other essays address the efforts of early practitioners and theorists of chemistry to increase the power and consistency of gunpowder. The final essays analyze the application of advanced scientific knowledge and Enlightenment ideals to the military engineering and artillery organizations of the eighteenth century. The volume concludes by noting the global spread of the Archimedean ideal during the nineteenth century as an essential means for resisting Western imperialism.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sarah Webber, M.A., is a graduate student in the Section on Humanities and Law, Department of Preventive and Societal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her dissertation will be on the history of female circumcision and clitoridectomy in the United States during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Toby Schonfeld, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Section on Humanities and Law, Department of Preventive and Societal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her dissertation was titled "Technology and Tradition: Jewish Bioethics in the Age of Genetics." Naomi Seiler, JD, is a Greenwall Fellow in Bioethics and Health Policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She has written about abstinence education and sterilization policies in Costa Rica.

Tamera Dorland, a publications and intellectual-property consultantfor Deloitte, has taught literature and writing courses at UCLA.

Brett D. Steele, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the National Defense University's College of International Security Studies. He has previously taught in the electrical engineering and history departments at UCLA, and in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. Dr. Steele has also held research positions at the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology, the RAND Corporation, and the Homeland Security Institute.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (March 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026219516X
• ISBN-13: 978-0262195164
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,606,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History In It's Finest Review, December 22, 2008

By 

T. T. Graves (Modesto, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Heirs of Archimedes: Science and the Art of War through the Age of Enlightenment (Dibner Institute Studies in the History of Science and Technology) (Hardcover)

The book progresses into modern Warfare as it shows the development of Canon through out the ages. . .Interesting to read the synopsis of where and why certain weapons were to be deployed, and ultimately redeveloped for modern battle tactics.Slow reading due to the depth of information on each page,nicely organized.