David Brewster and the culture of science in Scotland, 1793-1843 / Bill Jenkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jenkins, Bill, 1967- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Brewster, David, 1781-1868.

Brewster, David.

Science--Scotland--History--19th century.

Science.

Enlightenment--Scotland.

Enlightenment.

Scotland--Intellectual life--19th century.

Scotland.

Scotland--Civilization--19th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 240 pages) : illustrations (black and white), digital, PDF file(s)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2025.

Summary:

The decades between the French Revolution and the mid-nineteenth century were a period of radical transformation in Scottish society and culture on many levels. The Scottish Enlightenment had seen a striking blossoming of the natural sciences, with the development of a distinctive and influential national scientific culture. The natural philosopher David Brewster was educated in Edinburgh amidst the intellectual ferment of the late Enlightenment but lived to end his days as a grand old man of Victorian science. This book uses the long and eventful career of Brewster as a lens through which to explore themes of rupture and continuity in Scottish scientific culture in a period of dramatic social and political change.

Contents:

Intro

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

1 Introduction: David Brewster and the History of Natural Philosophy in Scotland

PART I SCIENCE IN EARLY NINETEENTH-CENTURY SCOTLAND

2 Politics and Patronage: Science in an Age of Revolution, Reaction and Reform

3 Science and Religion between Enlightenment and Disruption

4 The Philosophy of Science

PART II BUILDING A LIFE IN SCOTTISH SCIENCE

5 Scientific Book and Periodical Publishing in Scotland

6 Scientific Societies and Associations

7 Scientific Education in Scotland: Natural Philosophy and the 'Democratic Intellect'

8 Conclusion

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed on July 16, 2025).

ISBN:

9781399528597

1399528599

9781399528580

1399528580