Instruments and the Imagination.

Language: English

Published by Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995., 1995

0691029970 / 9780691029979

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  • Hardcover
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Seller: Ted Kottler, Bookseller, Redondo Beach, CA, U.S.A.Ted Kottler, Bookseller

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Hardcover

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First Edition. xiv, 337, [1] pp; text figs. Original cloth. Near Fine, in near fine dust jacket. 'Magnetic clocks that were said to operate by the movements of sunflower seeds, magic lanterns, ocular harpsichords, Aeolian harps, and other instruments of "natural magic" are among the marvels revealed in this book by Thomas L. Hankins and Robert J. Silverman. When instruments were a novelty in natural philosophy and it was unclear how they should be used, decisions about which instruments were acceptable were crucial in defining the boundaries of acceptable science. This book raises and answers fascinating questions about the connections between natural science and natural magic, the meaning of demonstration, and the role of language and the senses in science' (Princeton University Press Web site). 'This is an important, welcome, and brilliantly executed book. . . . One of the best available discussions of the ways in which Renaissance magic was transformed into forms of natural philosophical reasoning' (Simon Schaffer, Cambridge University). 'This imaginative and intellectually stimulating book reminds us that artifacts have an intellectual context, as well as a social one, and that a thick vein of the irrational runs through all of technology' (George Basalla, Technology and Culture). TABLE OF CONTENTS: Ch. 1 Instruments and Images: Subjects for the Historiography of Science 3 Ch. 2 Athanasius Kircher's Sunflower Clock 14 Ch. 3 The Magic Lantern and the Art of Demonstration 37 Ch. 4 The Ocular Harpsichord of Louis-Bertrand Castel; or, The Instrument That Wasn't 72 Ch. 5 The Aeolian Harp and the Romantic Quest of Nature 86 Ch. 6 Science since Babel: Graphs, Automatic Recording Devices, and the Universal Language of Instruments 113 Ch. 7 The Giant Eyes of Science: The Stereoscope and Photographic Depiction in the Nineteenth Century 148 Ch. 8 Vox Mechanica: The History of Speaking Machines 178 Ch. 9 Conclusion 221.

Seller Inventory # 02132

Title
Instruments and the Imagination.
Author
HANKINS, Thomas L. & Robert J. SILVERMAN:
Publisher
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995.
Publication year
1995
Condition
Near Fine
Dust jacket
Near Fine
Binding
Hardcover
Language
English
ISBN 10
0691029970
ISBN 13
9780691029979
Edition
1st Edition
Printing
1st Printing

Ted Kottler, Bookseller

Redondo Beach, CA, U.S.A.

3-star seller

AbeBooks seller since January 5, 2002

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I specialize in modern books on economics, science and philosophy, with an additional emphasis on scholarly books of all kinds.

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Neurology/Psychology, Medicine, Biology, Physical Sciences, Art History: Antiquity through the Renaissance, Economics, Philosophy & Religion: Antiquity through the Renaissance, History of Mathematics, History of Science, History of Medicine

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Ted Kottler, Bookseller

CA, U.S.A.