Mechanism and Materialism : : British Natural Philosophy in An Age of Reason / / Robert E. Schofield.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton Legacy Lib. eBook Package 1931-1979
• VerfasserIn: Schofield, Robert E.,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2015]; ©1970
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Series: Princeton Legacy Library ; 1617
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (346 p.)

Robert Schofield explores the rational elements of British experimental natural philosophy in the 18th century by tracing the influence of two opposing concepts of the nature of matter and its action-mechanism and materialism. Both concepts rested on the Newtonian interpretation of their proponents, although each developed more or less independently. By integrating the developments in all the areas of experimental natural philosophy, describing their connections and the influences of Continental science, natural theology, and to a lesser degree social and institutional changes, the author demonstrates that mechanistic concepts dominated interpretations from about 1687 to 1740, when they were replaced by materialistic concepts. A revival of the mechanistic approach early in the next century made England a fertile field for ideas on the dynamic interaction of forces.Originally published in 1970.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Preface -- Contents -- CHAPTER ONE. Newton's Legacy -- PART I. MECHANISM AND DYNAMIC CORPUSCULARITY 1687-1740 -- CHAPTER TWO. Diffusion of a Newtonian Creed -- CHAPTER THREE. Elaboration of a Theory -- CHAPTER FOUR. Experimental Newtonianism -- PART IX. AETHER AND MATERIALISM. 1740-1789 -- CHAPTER FIVE. Second Thoughts and the New Revelation -- CHAPTER SIX. Newtonian Pagans and Heretics -- CHAPTER SEVEN. Early Continental Interactions -- CHAPTER EIGHT. The Imponderable Fluids -- CHAPTER NINE. Vital Physiology and Elementary Chemistry -- PART III. NEO-MECHANISM. 1760-1815 -- CHAPTER TEN. Forces, Fluid Dynamics, and Fields -- CHAPTER ELEVEN. Interregnum, 1789-1815 -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX