ルネサンス・バロックの科学・文化・思想
Margaret J. Osler
編
Rethinking the
Scientific Revolution
Cambridge, Cambridge Univ
Press, 2000.
352pp. +Index ISBN: 0521667909 Price: £ 15.95
その９で紹介する 『Natural
Particulars』 に続いて、初期近代科学の研究にとって重要なもう一つの論集 （今度は17世紀の科学革命期について）がつい最近発売されました。寄稿陣の顔ぶれは、こちらもすごいです。この論集は、ニュートンの錬金術研究で本邦でも十分有名になった故人 B.J. ドブス に捧げられていて、いかに、これまでの古い科学史研究で殿堂入り（Canonical）
している科学者達は、歪めらたイメージで捉えられてきているか、実際はどうだったのか、を種々の分野や人物について洗い直しています。90年代以降の初期近代の科学史研究の新しい流れを知りたいと思っている人にはとても有意義な論集です。エディターの紹介文です：
"This book
challenges the traditional historiography of the Scientific Revolution,
probably the single most important unifying concept in the history of science.
Usually referring to the period from Copernicus to Newton (roughly 1500 to
1700), the Scientific Revolution is considered to be the central episode in the
history of science, the historical moment at which that unique way of looking
at the world that we call "modern science" and its attendant
institutions emerged. It has been taken as the terminus a quo of all that
followed. Starting with a dialogue between Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs and Richard S.
Westfall, whose understanding of the Scientific Revolution differed in
important ways, the papers in this volume reconsider canonical figures, their
areas of study, and the formation of disciplinary boundaries during this
seminal period of European intellectual history."
Introduction
1. Margaret J. Osler, "The Canonical Imperative:
Rethinking the Scientific Revolution." p.3-
Part I The Canon in Question
2. B.J.T. Dobbs, "Newton as Final Cause and First
Mover." p.25-
3. Richard S. Westfall, "The Scientific Revolution
Reasserted." p.41-
Part II Canonical Disciplines Re-Formed
4. Peter Barker, "The Role of Religion in the Lutheran Response to
Copernicus." p.59-
5. Bruce Janacek, "Catholic Natural Philosophy:
Alchemy and the Revivification of Sir Kenelm Digby." p.89-
6. Pamela H. Smith, "Vital Spirits: Redemption, Artisanship, and the New
Philosophy in Early Modern Europe." p.119-
7. William E. Burns, "The Terriblest Eclipse
That Hath Been Seen in Our Days": Black Monday and the Debate on Astrology
during the Interregnum." p.137-
8. Jane E. Jenkins, "Arguing about Nothing: Henry More and Robert Boyle on
the Theological Implications of the Void." p.153-
Part III Canonical Figures Reconsidered
9. Jan W. Wojcik, "Pursuing Knowledge: Robert
Boyle and Isaac Newton." p.183-
10. Lawrence M. Principe, "The Alchemies of Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton:
Alternate Approaches and Divergent Deployments." p.201-
11. Paula Findlen, "The Janus
Faces of Science in the Seventeenth Century: Athanasius
Kircher and Isaac Newton."
p.221-
12. James E. Force, "The Nature of Newton's "Holy Alliance"
between Science and Religion: From the Scientific Revolution to Newton (and
Back Again)." p.247-
13. J. E. McGuire, "The Fate of the Date: The Theology of Newton's
Principia Revisited." p.271-
14. Richard H. Popkin, "Newton and Spinoza and
the Bible Scholarship of the Day." p.297-
Part IV The Canon Constructed
15. Margaret C. Jacob, "The Truth of Newton's Science and the Truth of
Science's History: Heroic Science at Its Eighteenth-Century
Formulation." p.315-
Index p.333-