Science For A Polite Society: Gender, Culture, And The Demonstration Of Enlightenment

by Geoffrey V. Sutton

Overview

This book is an intriguing re-examination of the social, cultural, and intellectual context of the origins of modern science. It shows that the French adopted science as basis for their enlightenment because of their personal fascination with philosophy of nature and the history of its creatures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367317898
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/13/2019
Pages:	407
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Geoffrey V. Sutton teaches at Macalester College.

Table of Contents

The Introduction, in which the Author offers two tales of the Scientific Revolution — Science in the Reign of Louis XIII — Pawning off the New Science: Theophraste Renaudot and the Conferences of the Bureau d'adresse — Of Black Sheep, False Suns, and Systematic Thought: Rene Descartes and His World — Science in the Reign of Louis XIV — A Science for a Polite Society: the Crown as the second most Philosophical Hat in Paris — A Pretty Novel of Physics, in which Cogito, ergo sum meets l'Etat, c'est moi — Science in the Reign of Louis XV — The Demonstration of Enlightenment — The Discovery of the Newtonian World; or, Flattening the Poles if not the Cartesians — Electricity in the Eighteenth Century; or, The Philosophy of Shocks and Sparks — The Conclusion, in which the Author Draws a Moral

Editorial Reviews

A re-examination of the social, cultural, and intellectual context of the origins of modern science which finds its basis was not the laboratory, but the literary salons of 17th- and 18th-century France. Members of salon society--particularly women--were avid readers of works of natural philosophy and active participants in experiments for the edification of their peers. Some went on to champion the new science and played a significant role in securing its acceptance by polite society, bringing a prestige that made science a model of what rationality should be. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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