Synopses & Reviews
This book presents a new view of Robert Boyle (1627-91), the leading British scientist in the generation before Newton. It comprises a series of essays by scholars from Europe and North America that scrutinize Boyle's writing on science, philosophy and theology, bringing out the subtlety and complexity of his ideas. Particular attention is given to Boyle's interest in alchemy and to other facets of his ideas that might initially seem surprising in a leading advocate of the mechanical philosophy. Many of the essays use material from among Boyle's extensive manuscripts, which have recently been catalogued for the first time. The introduction surveys the state of Boyle studies and deploys the findings of the essays to offer a reevaluation of Boyle. The book also includes a complete bibliography of writings on Boyle since 1940.
Review
"...Hunter deserves thanks for a volume that sets the stage for future research that will honor both intellectual traditions and context." Times Literaru Supplement
Review
"...these essays open up new perspectives on Boyle...they place him more closely in the context of his own day: a most important time, in which the first lasting scientific institutions were formed and the 'new philosophy' gained wide acceptance...Anybody interested in the `Scientific Revolution' or in how great scientists' minds work will find Hunter's book fascinating. The contributors have made their pieces accessible and the essays go well together." David Knight, Nature
Synopsis
This book presents a new view of Robert Boyle (1627-91), the leading British scientist in the generation before Newton, bringing out the subtlety of his ideas and the complexity of his relationship with his context.
Table of Contents
List of abbreviations; Preface; 1. Introduction Michael Hunter; 2. Virtue, providence and political neutralism: Boyle and interregnum politics Malcolm Oster; 3. Science writing and writing science: Boyle and rhetorical theory John T. Harwood; 4. Learning from experience: Boyle's construction of an experimental philosophy Rose-Mary Sargent; 5. Carneades and the chemists: a study of The Sceptical Chymist and its impact on seventeenth-century chemistry Antonio Clericuzio; 6. Boyle's alchemical pursuits Lawrence M. Principe; 7. Boyle's debt to corpuscular alchemy William R. Newman; 8. Boyle and cosmical qualities John Henry; 9. The theological context of Boyle's Things above Reason Jan W. Wojcik; 10. 'Parcere nominibus': Boyle, Hooke and the rhetorical interpretation of Descartes Edward B. Davis; 11. Teleological reasoning in Boyle's Disquisition about Final Causes Timothy Shanahan; 12. Locke and Boyle on miracles and God's existence J. J. Macintosh; Bibliography of writings on Boyle published since 1940; Index.