The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, Prehistory to A.D. 1450 2nd Edition

by David C. Lindberg (Author)

37 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0226482057

ISBN-10: 9780226482057

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When it was first published in 1992, The Beginnings of Western Science was lauded as the first successful attempt ever to present a unified account of both ancient and medieval science in a single volume. Chronicling the development of scientific ideas, practices, and institutions from pre-Socratic Greek philosophy to late-Medieval scholasticism, David C. Lindberg surveyed all the most important themes in the history of science, including developments in cosmology, astronomy, mechanics, optics, alchemy, natural history, and medicine. In addition, he offered an illuminating account of the transmission of Greek science to medieval Islam and subsequently to medieval Europe.

The Beginnings of Western Science was, and remains, a landmark in the history of science, shaping the way students and scholars understand these critically formative periods of scientific development. It reemerges here in a second edition that includes revisions on nearly every page, as well as several sections that have been completely rewritten. For example, the section on Islamic science has been thoroughly retooled to reveal the magnitude and sophistication of medieval Muslim scientific achievement. And the book now reflects a sharper awareness of the importance of Mesopotamian science for the development of Greek astronomy. In all, the second edition of The Beginnings of Western Science captures the current state of our understanding of more than two millennia of science and promises to continue to inspire both students and general readers.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The value of Lindberg's book as an introductory text for students is clear, but it will also serve as an excellent resource for non-specialists, particularly those teaching comprehensive survey courses. . . . [The book] offers a concise, highly accessible introduction to the essential elements of western knowledge about the natural world that will help guide instructors in developing curricula. . . . The possibilities presented to enrich and enliven a general history course abound.. . . . This second edition of The Beginnings of Western Science will remain a fundamental and reliable resource for many years to come."

(Angela Smith H-Net Review)

"This is a fine book, the culmination of a century of distinguished research on premodern European science. And it tells an important story that . . . needs to be read not only by undergraduates but by professional historians and anyone seeking to understand the origins of modern science."

(F. Jamil Ragep Isis)

About the Author

David C. Lindberg is the Hilldale Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and past-president of the History of Science Society. He is the author or editor of many books, including, with coeditor Ronald L. Numbers, When Science and Christianity Meet, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Product details

Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: University of Chicago Press; 2 edition (April 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780226482057
ISBN-13: 978-0226482057
ASIN: 0226482057
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 37 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #44 in Books > History > Ancient Civilizations > Prehistory
- #238 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Ancient
- #541 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Europe

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Part of the new understanding of the Middle Ages

August 2, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is one of several books that serve as a corrective to the popular myth that the fall of Rome was followed by the "Dark Ages." In this book, the development of modern science is traced from pre-history through the classical period (Greece and Rome) and afterward. Discoveries and the transmission of learning after the fall of Rome in Islamic lands and in the West is covered in readable detail.

Unlike similar books, the author does not wish to address why science withered away in Islam, instead wanting to end that section on a positive note (something to the effect that we should instead be amazed at how long it lasted). It is also rather more detailed tour on the thought and discoveries of the "ancients".

For anyone who has been steeped in the mythology that the history of scientific progress was Greece/Rome, the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment, this book (and/or the others listed below) should be required reading. That would cover mostly anyone educated in our colleges and high schools in the last fifty years.

Other books in this vein worth reading: The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution,Intellectual Curiosity and the Scientific Revolution: A Global Perspective,The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages: Their Religious, Institutional and Intellectual Contexts (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science).

23 people found this helpful

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Medieval science

August 23, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Good introduction to Medieval science in new paradigms. Lindberg knows his History and presents it in an uncomplicated but interesting way. It will give anybody hours of enjoyment. A good beginning for the subject. He starts with Aristotle's influence on Medieval scholarship and then recounts what the Medieval scientist did with it. Revisionist history. Good bibliography.

2 people found this helpful

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Kyle BunkersTop Contributor: Philosophy

Wonderful History of Science

October 28, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Lindberg does an excellent job of tracing the history of the sciences (broadly construed) from prehistory to the late Middle Ages. He covers, physics, optics, medicine, biology, chemistry (in the form of alchemy), astronomy, and astrology with very good contextualization of the knowledge. You learn why smart people in the past would think that astrology makes sense.

The author is very careful about explaining why medieval "scientists" thought as they did, and I find this method much more illuminating than comparing against modern ideas directly (although understanding them from the lens of modernity can be useful). I found the writing quite good and witty with plenty of authorial style shining through.

If you want to know the history of science until the Scientific Revolution beginning in the 1600s (the title says to 1450), then this is a great book to introduce you to all relevant aspects of philosophy.

2 people found this helpful

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Douglas Vaughan

Very interesting read!

September 2, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very interesting history of science and philosophy through the Middle ages.

One person found this helpful

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September 25, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Interesting book, fast delivery.

Comment

September 14, 2017

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cheap

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May 28, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

as expected

Comment

informative and inspiring

April 23, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

An informative and inspiring introduction to the history of scientific development. If you really want to have a grasp of the history, this is a wonderful starting point, easy to follow.

One person found this helpful

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