The Scientific Revolution (science.culture) [Paperback]

Steven Shapin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226750213 | ISBN-13: 978-0226750217 | Publication Date: 1998

"There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it." With this provocative and apparently paradoxical claim, Steven Shapin begins his bold vibrant exploration of the origins of the modern scientific worldview.

"Shapin's account is informed, nuanced, and articulated with clarity. . . . This is not to attack or devalue science but to reveal its richness as the human endeavor that it most surely is. . . .Shapin's book is an impressive achievement."—David C. Lindberg, Science

"Shapin has used the crucial 17th century as a platform for presenting the power of science-studies approaches. At the same time, he has presented the period in fresh perspective."—Chronicle of Higher Education

"Timely and highly readable . . . A book which every scientist curious about our predecessors should read."—Trevor Pinch, New Scientist

"It's hard to believe that there could be a more accessible, informed or concise account of how it [the scientific revolution], and we have come to this. The Scientific Revolution should be a set text in all the disciplines. And in all the indisciplines, too."—Adam Phillips, London Review of Books

"Shapin's treatise on the currents that engendered modern science is a combination of history and philosophy of science for the interested and educated layperson."—Publishers Weekly

"Superlative, accessible, and engaging. . . . Absolute must-reading."—Robert S. Frey, Bridges

"This vibrant historical exploration of the origins of modern science argues that in the 1600s science emerged from a variety of beliefs, practices, and influences. . . . This history reminds us that diversity is part of any intellectual endeavor."—Choice

"Most readers will conclude that there was indeed something dramatic enough to be called the Scientific Revolution going on, and that this is an excellent book about it."—Anthony Gottlieb, The New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the last ten years, a new school of sociology has grown up that sees science as not only relativistic but as a purely human construct; that ties scientists' findings about "nature" to their standing in the cultural and political milieu of which they are a part. Steven Shapin adds to this revisionist literature with a fascinating, paradoxical book that at once questions our notions of the scientific revolution of the last century and deepens our understanding of it. Shapin examines four themes in the history of modern science: mechanism (the idea of nature as a machine); objectivism; methodology and impartiality; and altruism (the idea that science can better the lot of mankind). He does so in three deft, incisive sections: "What Was Known?"; "How Was It Known?"; and "What Was the Knowledge For?" This excellent study, written for the layman, explains how the scientists' world shaped their knowledge of the natural world.

From Publishers Weekly

"There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it," says Shapin, a professor of sociology at U.C., San Diego in his introduction, "There was, rather, a diverse array of cultural practices aimed at understanding explaining, and controlling the natural world." Shapin's treatise on the currents that engendered modern science is a combination of history and philosophy of science for the interested and educated layperson, and it is indeed considerably more readable than many of the other philosophy of science books currently available. Several puzzling aspects of the writings of 16th- and 17th-century scientists are put into new perspective in his section titled: "Science as Religion's Handmaid." There are three basic sections of the book: "What Was Known?" covers major differences between the "new knowledge" of the scientific revolution and received wisdom of the ancients. "How Was It Known?" covers sources of authority (e.g., books or experience) and some of the experimental groundwork of major players such as Boyle and Galileo. And "What Was The Knowledge For?" explores the interactions of the new science with the political, religious and cultural dimensions of the European society in which it was embedded. This slim book would have benefited from a deeper consideration of the rivalry between English and Continental science (and scientists) and the relationship of the new science to the design and production of war machines. But Shapin does help the reader understand the direct intellectual link between that time and our own. Illustrations, all taken from original sources, add a nice touch.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226750213
• ISBN-13: 978-0226750217
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Scientific Revolution changed how we see the world, December 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Scientific Revolution (science.culture) (Paperback)

I am amazed by the review written by the reader from Sydney. This book does not pretend to give a chronological narrative of who did what when in the making of modern science. There are many books that do that job. Instead, Shapin is interested in what difference the Scientific Revolution made to how people at the time, and how we, think about the natural world. The major changes may have been the new idea that nature could be investigated and understood, not merely regarded with awe and fear; that careful, repeatable experiments could yield information about how nature works; and that this new approach to nature changed how human beings regarded our relation to the natural world and our place in it. If nature is something that we can explore and understand, then we have a new power; we are no longer on a par with the natural world, because we can see into it. The ways in which knowledge is acquired, or made, and why it matters that we pursue and develop this knowledge are part of Shapin's central theme. These are not small questions, and to my mind they are addressed elegantly in this short but very substantial book.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful examination of science history., March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Scientific Revolution (science.culture) (Paperback)

Shapin opens his 'Scientific Revolution' with the paradoxical statement, "there was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it." Shapin proceeds to use the next 150 or so pages to explain himself. The book is firmly structured in three sections, addressing the what, how, and why of scientific knowledge in the seventeenth century; the contents of each section are similarly well-structured, but seem to discuss more than the simple titles suggest. Examining the very foundations of scientific thought and the manner in which the modern distinction between legitimate science and voodoo came about, Shapin uses the Scientific Revolution as a venue for introducing his and other scholars' views on both the essential nature of modern science and the way in which ideas evolve. Explanatory notes where appropriate make the reading accessible to those unfamiliar with science history or philosophy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book with a lot of unique insight, June 22, 2010

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Steven E. Romer "Author -- The Textbook of th... (Woodstock) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Scientific Revolution (science.culture) (Paperback)

I have studied science and the history of science for a long time. I taught experimental methodology at Emory University also. This book is a must-read for it's unique insights into the culture and mindset of the times when science arose and how it related to the politics of the era (revolutions, protestant reformation, and freedom etc.). I enjoyed how the author shows the relationship of religious ideas of the time to science -- they were reading the "other holy book" or "the book of nature" which was available for all to read.

An especially interesting aspect of this book for me was that at the end of it he shows that practical ideas or purposes were not the motive for the research that was done, and that much of the best practical applications of the research which was done around the 16-1700's did not come into play until much later -- hundreds of years later in many instances. The abstract pursuit of truth about the world, the reading of "the other holy book" was the thing. (I emphasize this aspect of science in my own book also)The Textbook of the Universe: The Genetic Ascent to God.

It also brings to light other important differences with other cultures -- such as why science never took off in asia before western ideas invaded over there. Oriental philosophy and thinking tends to be resolutely practical to the point that it could be considered a form of blindness for them. Their history of philosophy is filled with practical conundrums, not abstract theories of universal truths. They never had any individualistic freedom movements either. That difference is an extremely important insight into the western impetus to science. We did it naturally, and it was originally a fundamentally religious pursuit for us. The other main insight in this book is that our urges for freedom and individualism were bound up inextricably with our desire to read the "book of nature". This is the core of western thinking in general which gave rise to science. It defines us. I can think of no greater insight to the nature of western European thinking than this. Science, freedom, individualism, and our natural ideas of religion -- they go together.

I have read no other book that illustrates and elucidates this supremely important point and foundation of science better than this one little book. It is small, but it is a powerhouse. Other than that, it is a great read, hard to put down. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the scientific revolution.