Natural philosophy : on retrieving a lost disciplinary imaginary / Alister E. McGrath.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGrath, Alister E., 1953- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Philosophy--History.

Science.

Physics--History.

Physics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (209 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2023.

Summary:

This text argues for the retrieval of the concept of 'natural philosophy', encompassing the natural sciences, philosophy, and theology, amongst others. It identifies the essential characteristics of natural philosophy from its Aristotelian roots onwards, and then makes a creative proposal on how we might reincorporate it into our current worldview.

Contents:

Intro

Halftitle page

Series page

Title page

Copyright page

Acknowledgements

Contents

Introduction: On Retrieving Natural Philosophy

Natural Philosophy: A Lost Conceptual Space

Retrieval: An Objection Considered

Philosophical Progress and the Retrieval of the Past

The Method to be Adopted

Part I. A Critical Conversation with the Tradition

1. The Origins of Natural Philosophy: Aristotle

Theōria: The Nature of and Benefits of Explanation

Observational Respectfulness and Natural Philosophy

Explaining Nature: Aristotle on Induction

2. The Consolidation of Natural Philosophy: The Middle Ages

The Universities and Early Medieval Natural Philosophy

Natural Philosophies: Christian, Islamic, and Jewish

The Decline of Aristotelian Natural Philosophy

The Utility of Natural Philosophy: Alchemy and Magic

3. Skywatching: The Natural Philosophy of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo

Copernicus and Tycho Brahe

Kepler on the Harmonies of Nature

Kepler's Correlation of Theology and Natural Philosophy

Galileo: Natural Philosophy and the Extension of Human Vision

Galileo and the Language of Mathematics

4. English Natural Philosophy: Bacon, Boyle, and Newton

Francis Bacon: Natural Philosophy and the Improvement of Humanity

Bacon's Experimental Natural Philosophical Method

Robert Boyle: Interpreter of a Baconian Natural Philosophy

Boyle on the Purposes of Natural Philosophy

Newton's Integrative Natural Philosophy

Physico-Theology: The Religious Dimension of Natural Philosophy

5. The Parting of the Ways: From Natural Philosophy to Natural Science

The Enlightenment Reformulation of Newtonian Natural Philosophy

The Romantic Reaction against Popular Newtonianism

Objectivity: A Disengaged Account of Nature.

The Transition from 'Theistic Science' to 'Naturalistic Science'

Darwin: Natural Philosophy and the Status of Humanity within Nature

Thomas H. Huxley: The Separation of Philosophy and Natural Science

Part II. A Reconceived Natural Philosophy: Exploring a Disciplinary Imaginary

6. Reconceiving Natural Philosophy: Laying the Foundations

Why We Need a Critical Retrieval of Natural Philosophy

Disciplinary Specificity and the Fragmentation of Knowledge

Mary Midgley on Mapping the Natural World

Karl Popper's Three Worlds

7. Theory: The Contemplation of Nature

Theōria: A Way of Beholding the World

Seeing Nature through a Theoretical Lens

Hans-Georg Gadamer on Theory and Practice

Natural Philosophy as a Disciplinary Imaginary

8. Objectivity: Understanding the External World

Science and the Quest for Objectivity

Thomas Nagel on the Limits of Objectivity

Scientism_ The Redundancy of Philosophy?

Neo-Confucianism_ Scientism and Natural Philosophy in Twentieth-Century China

9. Subjectivity: An Affective Engagement with Nature

Human Subjectivity: Space and Time versus Place and History

Beauty and Wonder: An Affective Engagement with Nature

Responding to Nature: Science, Poetry, and the Imagination

10. Natural Philosophy: Recasting a Vision

On Bridging Popper's Three Worlds

Seeing though Many Eyes: A Reimagined Natural Philosophy

A Retrieved Natural Philosophy: Two Strategies

On Integrating Multiple Perspectives

From Theory to Practice: Shaping our Engagement with Nature

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

This edition also issued in print: 2023.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on November 2, 2022).

Other Format:

Print version: McGrath, Alister E. Natural Philosophy

ISBN:

9780191956485

0191956481

9780192689634

0192689630

9780192689627

0192689622