Sympathetic attractions : magnetic practices, beliefs, and symbolism in eighteenth-century England / Patricia Fara.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fara, Patricia, author.

Series:

Princeton Legacy Library ; 342

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Magnets--England--History--18th century.

Magnets.

Science--England--History--18th century.

Science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (342 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

Course Book

Other Title:

Magnetic practices, beliefs, and symbolism in eighteenth-century England

Sympathetic attractions : magnetic practices, beliefs, and symbolism in 18th century England

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [1996]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this interdisciplinary study of eighteenth-century England, Patricia Fara explores how natural philosophers constructed magnetism as a science, appropriating the skills and knowledge of experienced navigators. For people of this period, magnetic phenomena reverberated with the symbolism of occult mystery, sexual attraction, and universal sympathies; in this maritime nation, magnetic instruments such as navigational compasses heralded imperial expansion, commercial gain, and scientific progress. By analyzing such multiple associations, Fara reconstructs cultural interactions in the days just prior to the creation of disciplinary science. Not only does this illustrated book provide a kaleidoscopic view of a changing society, but it also portrays the emergence of public science.Linking this rise in interest to the utility and mysteriousness of magnetism, Fara organizes her discussion into themes, including commercialization, imperialism, instruments and invention, the role of language, attitudes toward the past, and the relationship between religion and natural philosophy. Fara shows that natural philosophers, proclaiming themselves as the only true experts on magnetism, actively participated in massive transformations of English life. In their bids for public recognition as elite specialists, they engaged in controversies that resonated with religious, economic, moral, gender, and political implications. These struggles for social and scientific authority in the eighteenth century provide the background for better understanding the cultural topography of modern society.Originally published in 1996.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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

FIGURES AND TABLES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABBREVIATIONS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE. Mapping Enlightenment England: Practitioners and Philosophers

CHAPTER TWO. "A Treasure of Hidden Vertues": Marketing Natural Philosophy

CHAPTER THREE. The Direction of Invention: Setting a New Course for Compasses

CHAPTER FOUR. An Attractive Empire: Mapping Terrestrial Magnetism

CHAPTER FIVE. Measuring Power: Patterns in Experimental Natural Philosophy

CHAPTER SIX God's Mysterious Creation: The Divine Attraction of Natural Knowledge

CHAPTER SEVEN. A Powerful Language: Images of Nature and the Nature of Science

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX. Magnetic Longitude Schemes

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (pages [269]-317) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-691-63491-2

0-691-60607-2

1-4008-6436-4

OCLC:

889252586