Observing God: Thomas Dick, Evangelicalism, and Popular Science in Victorian Britain and America - Hardcover

Astore, William J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0754602028 ISBN 13: 9780754602026

Publisher: Routledge, 2001

Synopsis

Scottish theologian, educator, astronomer and popularizer of science, Thomas Dick (1774-1857) promoted a Christianized form of science to inhibit secularization, to win converts to Christianity, and to persuade evangelicals that science was sacred. His devotional theology of nature made radical claims for cultural authority. This book presents the first detailed analysis of his life and works. After an extended biographical introduction, Dick's theology of nature is examined within the context of natural theology, and also his views on the plurality of worlds, the nebular hypothesis and geology. Other chapters deal with Dick's use of aesthetics to shape social behaviour for millennial purposes, and with the publishing history of his works, their availability and their reception. In the final part, the author explores Dick's influence in America. His pacifism won him Northern evangelical supporters, while his writings dominated the burgeoning field of popular science, powerfully shaping science's cultural meaning and its uses.

About this title

Review

'Astore has done a fine job in showing how it was possible for an evangelical Christian in mid-19th century Britain to be one of the most successful science popularisers of his day. In bringing Thomas Dick to life he challenges our stereotypes with a winning portrait of an astonishing man whose fame spread to America and doubtless to the inhabitants of extra-terrestrial worlds whose numbers he cheerfully counted. Fascinating.' Professor John Hedley Brooke, University of Oxford 'One of the strengths of Astore's work is his consideration of Dick's reception in America... Astore shows how Dick's combination of evangelicalism, abolitionism and pacifism fitted beautifully into Northern antebellum society... an important contribution to recent scholarship... not written as a biography of Dick, but as an analysis of the role of popular astronomy within British and American life, particularly for evangelicals. The story occupies the same time span as Herschel's mapping of the southern hemisphere and Nichol's support for the nebular hypothesis, yet Astore provides us with a fascinating picture of Victorian astronomy.' British Journal for the History of Science '... particularly welcome because it bypasses the scientific elite but instead tackes a number of historical problems concerning the popularization of science in the second quarter of the nineteenth century... Astore has made a major contribution to our understanding of science and religion in the nineteenth century.' Annals of Science 'As an account of a leading but often neglected author, Observing God makes an important contribution to the growing literature on science popularisation. In addition, the book is of wider interest for its detailed analysis of how a range of readers made use of Dick's works... Unusually, Astore deals with readers both in Britain and the United States, where Dick's writings enjoyed a remarkable and sustained popularity. This is the most significant aspect of the book, which points to ways that an engagement with issues of reception and readership has the potential for reinvigorating the study of transatlantic intellectual history.' Jim Secord, Scottish Journal of Theology 'A strength of Astore's book is its attention to the publication, circulation, and international reception of Dick's works... Observing God is the first book to analyze Thomas Dick's life and works in depth. It will be of particular relevance to scholars concerned with the relationship between science and evangelical religion. However, given the extent of Dick's cultural influence, it will also be of interest to all those engaged with the broader issue of how natural knowledge was communicated to and appropriated by diverse nineteenth-century audiences in Britain, America, and beyond.' Isis

About the Author

William J. Astore, USAF Academy, Colorado, USA

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0754602028
• ISBN 13: 9780754602026
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 314