THE EDGE OF OBJECTIVITY: An Essay in the History of Scientific Ideas
Language: English
Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1973
- Softcover
- Used
Seller: Russ States, Oil City, PA, U.S.A.Russ States
AbeBooks seller since June 25, 2001
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 5.97
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
(1973), 562pp, illus., some shelfwear to cover, slight soiling to cover, contents clean & unmarked.
Seller Inventory # 20-1268
- Title
- THE EDGE OF OBJECTIVITY: An Essay in the History of Scientific Ideas
- Author
- Gillispie, Charles Coulston
- Publisher
- Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
- Publication year
- 1973
- Condition
- Very Good -
- Dust jacket
- No Jacket
- Binding
- Trade Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0691023506
- ISBN 13
- 9780691023502
- Edition
- 3rd Edition
- Series
- Book 24 of 61: Princeton Science Library
From Galileo's analysis of motion to the theories of evolution and relativity, Charles Gillispie takes us on a masterly tour of the world of scientific ideas. The history of modern science is portrayed here as the development of objectivity through the study of nature.
In the mid-1950s, a young professor at Princeton named Charles Gillispie began teaching Humanities 304, one of the first undergraduate courses offered anywhere in the world on the history of science. From start to finish--Galileo to Einstein--Gillispie introduced the students to the key ideas and individuals in science. The Edge of Objectivity arose out of this course.
It must have been a lively class. The Edge of Objectivity is pointed, opinionated, and selective. Even at six hundred pages, the book is, as the title suggests, an essay. Gillispie is unafraid to rate Mendel higher than Darwin, Maxwell above Faraday. Full of wry turns of phrase, the book effectively captures people and places. And throughout the book, Gillispie pushes an argument. He views science as the progressive development of more objective, detached, mathematical ways of viewing the world, and he orchestrates his characters and ideas around this theme.
In the forty-five years since the publication of The Edge of Objectivity, historians of science have established a full-fledged discipline. They have focused increasingly on the social context of science rather than its internal dynamics, and they have frequently viewed science more as a threatening instance of power than as an accumulation of knowledge. Nevertheless, Gillispie's book remains a sophisticated, fast-moving, idiosyncratic account of the development of scientific ideas over four hundred years, by one of the founding intellects in the history of science.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
An excellent book, stimulating for someone just beginning to take an interest in the history of scientific thought, and sufficiently scholarly in its material and conclusions to be worth reading by the specialist, too.--R. Harr "Journal of the Royal Institute of Chemistry "
This is a wonderful book. . . . Not attempting a survey, [Gillispie chooses] certain aspects to write about with originality and depth [and provides] a light of understanding which diffuses over a whole epoch. . . . We have thus a set of panels starting with Galileo, Kepler, and seventeenth-century cosmology, the eighteenth-century Enlightenment culminating in Lavoisier, the life sciences leading up to Lamarck and Darwin, and nineteenth-century energetics and field physics. . . .--Giorgio de Santillana "American Scientist "
Gillispie has written a bold, penetrating, and very personal book. . . .
Deft evocation of personality, bright flashes of biographical detail, and
enough connected narrative to show the direction and complexity of
scientific advance, are all subordinated to the task of examining the
crucial attitudes and ideas, the signal commitments of thought, which have
shaped modern science and troubled the mind of modern man. . . . All told,
this is an exciting book, based on wide and often deep scholarship, a
pleasure to read and to meditate upon. It is sure to be widely read, often
quoted, and interminably discussed.
--Henry Guerlac "The New York Times "
An excellent book, stimulating for someone just beginning to take an
interest in the history of scientific thought, and sufficiently scholarly in
its material and conclusions to be worth reading by the specialist,
too.
--R. Harr "Journal of the Royal Institute of Chemistry "
This is a wonderful book. . . . Not attempting a survey, [Gillispie chooses]
certain aspects to write about with originality and depth [and provides] a
light of understanding which diffuses over a whole epoch. . . . We have thus
a set of panels starting with Galileo, Kepler, and seventeenth-century
cosmology, the eighteenth-century Enlightenment culminating in Lavoisier,
the life sciences leading up to Lamarck and Darwin, and nineteenth-century
energetics and field physics. . . .
--Giorgio de Santillana "American Scientist "
"An excellent book, stimulating for someone just beginning to take an interest in the history of scientific thought, and sufficiently scholarly in its material and conclusions to be worth reading by the specialist, too."--R. Harr, "Journal of the Royal Institute of Chemistry"
"This is a wonderful book. . . . Not attempting a survey, [Gillispie chooses] certain aspects to write about with originality and depth [and provides] a light of understanding which diffuses over a whole epoch. . . . We have thus a set of panels starting with Galileo, Kepler, and seventeenth-century cosmology, the eighteenth-century Enlightenment culminating in Lavoisier, the life sciences leading up to Lamarck and Darwin, and nineteenth-century energetics and field physics."--Giorgio de Santillana, "American Scientist"
"Gillispie has written a bold, penetrating, and very personal book.... Deft evocation of personality, bright flashes of biographical detail, and enough connected narrative to show the direction and complexity of scientific advance, are all subordinated to the task of examining the crucial attitudes and ideas, the signal commitments of thought, which have shaped modern science and troubled the mind of modern man.... All told, this is an exciting book ... a pleasure to read and meditate upon."--"The New York Times"
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 3.89 | £ 9.12 |
Payment methods
- Check
- Money Order
- Paypal
Store description
Selling hard cover and trade paperback books. Specialties include Science & Technology, History, Religion & Philosophy, Classics.
Seller's business information
Russ States
PA, U.S.A.
Terms of sale
Shipping is additional. Media mail (book rate) is available in US only. Priority mail is also available (West Coast may be higher). Heavy books are usually noted in description and will have an additional postage charge. International shipping, please inquire. Please note that after 14 May 2007 the US Postal Service no longer ships surface to any other countries. All packages have to go by first class mail or Priority mail. I accept checks or money orders from the US only. International customers please use Paypal or credit card. Credit cards users must go through ABEbooks.com . Books are returnable if not as described. Pennsylvania residents must add 6% sales tax.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Russ States, Seneca, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Mailing address: Russ States, P.O. Box 292, Seneca, PA 16346. Orders usually ship within 2 business days. Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. Heavy books are usually noted in description and will have an additional postage charge. Shipping is additional. Media mail (book rate) is available in US only. Priority mail is also available (West Coast may be higher). International shipping, please inquire. Please note that after 14 May 2007 the US Postal Service no longer ships surface to any other countries. All international packages have to go by first class mail or Priority mail. Often books can fit into the Global Priority envelopes which have a standard fee up to 4 pounds. I will use this whenever possible & reduce the shipping costs accordingly.