Paolo Rossi. The Birth of Modern Science.Trans. Cynthia De Nardi Ipsen. (The Making of Europe.) Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2001. Pbk. x + 276 pp. index. chron. bibl. $15.99. ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m : 0-631-22711-3. Recently we have seen the appearance of a plethora of survey texts on early modern science, a.k.a, the Scientific Revolution, intended for the general reader and the undergraduate textbook market. These include Steven Shapin Steven Shapin is a historian and sociologist of science. He is currently the Franklin L. Ford Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. Before that, he was a professor of sociology at University of California, San Diego, and at the Science Studies Unit, Edinburgh , The Scientific Revolution (1996); John Henry, The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science (1997); James R. Jacob, The Scientific Revolution (1999); and Peter Dear, Revolutionizing the Sciences (2001). The latest entrant into this field is by the distinguished Italian historian of science Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (born September 23, 1956) is an Italian former football (soccer) player. In 1982, he led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball. , who has published prolifically on numerous subjects relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc early modern science and knowledge. This book is part of a series published simultaneously in English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish. It is the longest of the group just listed. Rossi's book is well-written, nicely translated, and quite accessible to the general reader looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. an overview of this important era in the history of science. However, I shall address my comments to the instructor looking for a text to assign in a class on this subject. In some regards Rossi's approach to the Scientific Revolution is quite traditional. Rossi does not waste time agonizing over whether there was a Scientific Revolution or whether that is an appropriate term for whatever did occur; the term is "justifiable" (4). It marked a dramatic break in the history of science. Modern science "acquired in those years some of the basic characteristics which still distinguish it today" (8). The influence of scholars such as Koyre and Westfall is strong: "Modern science was not founded on the ability to generalize generalize /gen·er·al·ize/ (-iz) 1. to spread throughout the body, as when local disease becomes systemic. 2. to form a general principle; to reason inductively. empirical observation but... on the analytical ability to abstract; to abandon the realm of common sense and sensory experience. What fundamentally revolutionized physics was ... its mathematization" (103). The chronology is conventional, beginning with the Renaissance and ending with Newton. There is little on the social, cultural, or technological impact of the Scientific Revolution. But we should not conclude that Rossi is excessively positivist pos·i·tiv·ism n. 1. Philosophy a. A doctrine contending that sense perceptions are the only admissible basis of human knowledge and precise thought. b. . He notes that he has "spent the so-called 'best years' of his life studying the relationship of magic to science during the period of the birth of modern science" (229). So he treats hermeticism Hermeticism or Hermetism Italian Ermetismo Modernist poetic movement originating in Italy in the early 20th century. Works produced within the movement are characterized by unorthodox structure, illogical sequences, and highly subjective language. , the secrets tradition, the chemical philosophy, alchemy alchemy (ăl`kəmē), ancient art of obscure origin that sought to transform base metals (e.g., lead) into silver and gold; forerunner of the science of chemistry. , and natural magic in some detail. Throughout, the author displays his vast knowledge of primary sources. Rossi also offers insightful observations throughout the book. Many of the chapters are excellent stand alone pieces; those on Galileo and Newton are very fine. Other sections do not adequately cover complex material; I do not think anybody is going to be able to grasp infinitesimals from the treatment here. It is unfair to criticize books for what they do not cover, but there is a glaring omission here. Rossi is heavily reliant on older secondary literature and cites very little that was published in the last two decades or so. For example, his treatment of Newton's alchemy does not cite Betty Jo Dobbs' work or even include it in the bibliography. The book does not treat several of the recent hot topics in early modern science such as patronage, gender, or women as either the subjects or objects of science. So there is an ambivalence here that in some ways is representative of the state of a field undergoing major reassessment. Partly committed to key elements of an older historiography historiography Writing of history, especially that based on the critical examination of sources and the synthesis of chosen particulars from those sources into a narrative that will stand the test of critical methods. , yet also committed to showing the richness of early modern thought and approaches to nature, Rossi offers more material in place of a new narrative or synthesis. His book covers many topics, but, divided into seventeen chapters and then into further sections which are often only a page or two long, it seems a little disjointed. Rossi does not offer a unifying thesis, other than the minimalist one that something new was happening, both objectively and in the view of the actors. The lack of a conclusion reinforces this impression. My own preference as course reading would be Peter Deaf's book, which tackles this fundamental problem in a more satisfying way. MARCUS HELLYER Brandeis University Brandeis University, at Waltham, Mass.; coeducational; chartered and opened 1948. Although Brandeis was founded by members of the American Jewish community, the university operates as an independent, nonsectarian institution. |
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