What does it mean to be an empiricist? : empiricisms in eighteenth century sciences / Siegfried Bodenmann, Anne-Lise Rey, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bodenmann, Siegfried, editor.

Rey-Courtel, Anne-Lise, editor.

Series:

Boston studies in the philosophy and history of science ; v. 331.

Boston studies in the philosophy and history of science ; volume 331

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Empiricism--History--18th century.

Empiricism.

Philosophy and science.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

ix, 297 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Production:

©2018.

Place of Publication:

Cham, Switzerland : Springer, [2018]

Summary:

"This book begins with an observation: At the time when empiricism arose and slowly established itself, the word itself had not yet been coined. Hence the central question of this volume: What does it mean to conduct empirical science in early modern Europe? How can we catch the elusive figure of the empiricist? Our answer focuses on the practices established by representative scholars. This approach allows us to demonstrate two things. First, that empiricism is not a monolith but exists in a plurality of forms. Today's understanding of the empirical sciences was gradually shaped by the exchanges among scholars combining different traditions, world views and experimental settings. Second, the long proclaimed antagonism between empiricism and rationalism is not the whole story. Our case studies show that a very fruitful exchange between both systems of thought occurred. It is a story of integration, appropriation and transformation more than one of mere opposition. We asked twelve authors to explore these fascinating new facets of empiricisms. The plurality of their voices mirrors the multiple faces of the concept itself. Every contribution can be understood as a piece of a much larger puzzle. Together, they help us better understand the emergence of empiricism and the inventiveness of the scientific enterprise"--Back cover.

Contents:

Four Methods of Empirical Inquiry in the Aftermath of Newton's Challenge / Eric Schliesser

Fictitious Empiricism, Material Experiments. Conditions for Thinking the Enlightenment "Issue of Empiricism" / Marc Ratcliff

Experimentum crucis: Newton's Empiricism at the Crossroads / Philippe Hamou

The Experiments of Willem Jacob's Gravesande: A Validation of Leibnizian Dynamics Against Newton? / Anne-Lise Rey

Empiricism as a Rhetoric of Legitimation: Maupertuis and the Shape of the Earth / Siegfried Bodenmann

Philosophical and Scientific Empiricism and Rationalism in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries / Catherine Wilson

Buffon's Natural History: The Catalogue of Facts and the Temptation of System / Thierry Hoquet

What Does It Mean to Be an Empiricist in Medicine? Baglivi's De praxi medica (1696) / Raphaële Andrault

Empiricism and Certainty in Science: The Franco-Berlin School of Empiricism / André Charrak

Was Early Eighteenth-Century Chemistry an Empirical Science? / Bernard Joly

Conducting Observations and Tests: Lambert's Theory of Empirical Science / Christian Leduc

From Locke to Materialism: Empiricism, the Brain and the Stirrings of Ontology / Charles T. Wolfe.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-290) and index.

ISBN:

9783319698588

3319698583

OCLC:

1016842616

Publisher Number:

9783319698588

10.1007/978-3-319-69860-1