Literature, Language, and the Rise of the Intellectual Disciplines in Britain, 1680-1820 [Hardcover]

Robin Valenza (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521767024 | ISBN-13: 978-0521767026 | Publication Date: October 30, 2009 | Edition: 1

The divide between the sciences and the humanities, which often seem to speak entirely different languages, has its roots in the way intellectual disciplines developed in the long eighteenth century. As various fields of study became defined and to some degree professionalized, their ways of communicating evolved into an increasingly specialist vocabulary. Chemists, physicists, philosophers, and poets argued about whether their discourses should become more and more specialised, or whether they should aim to remain intelligible to the layperson. In this interdisciplinary 2009 study, Robin Valenza shows how Isaac Newton, Samuel Johnson, David Hume, Adam Smith, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth invented new intellectual languages. By offering a much-needed account of the rise of the modern disciplines, Robin Valenza shows why the sciences and humanities diverged so strongly, and argues that literature has a special role in navigating between the languages of different areas of thought.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review of the hardback: 'Her lively, lucid explorations of Newtonian science, Scottish philosophy and Romantic poetics offer some provocative new perspectives on the organisation of knowledge in the long eighteenth century; they also invite her academic readers to temper the scepticism of the specialist with the more conversible qualities of intellectual agility and lightly worn eclecticism.' Review of English Studies

Book Description

By offering a much-needed account of the rise of the modern disciplines, Robin Valenza shows why the sciences and humanities diverged so strongly, and argues that literature has a special role in navigating between the languages of different areas of thought. He focuses on eighteenth-century physics, philosophy, and poetry.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (October 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521767024
• ISBN-13: 978-0521767026
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,557,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, January 24, 2010

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Avid Reader (FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Literature, Language, and the Rise of the Intellectual Disciplines in Britain, 1680-1820 (Hardcover)

I found this book to be very enlightening. I was especially fascinated by the controversy surrounding Newton's work. Valenza gives great insight into the development of the different disciplines during the long 18th century.