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The Resource Visions of science : books and readers at the dawn of the Victorian age, James A. Secord

Visions of science : books and readers at the dawn of the Victorian age, James A. Secord

Creator
Author
Summary
The first half of the nineteenth century witnessed an extraordinary transformation in British political, literary, and intellectual life. There was widespread social unrest, and debates raged regarding education, the lives of the working class, and the new industrial, machine-governed world. At the same time, modern science emerged in Europe in more or less its current form, as new disciplines and revolutionary concepts, including evolution and the vastness of geologic time, began to take shape. In Visions of Science, James A. Secord offers a new way to capture this unique moment of change. He explores seven key books{u2014}among them Charles Babbage{u2019}s Reflections on the Decline of Science, Charles Lyell{u2019}s Principles ofGeology, Mary Somerville{u2019}s Connexion of the Physical Sciences, and Thomas Carlyle{u2019}s Sartor Resartus{u2014}and shows how literature that reflects on the wider meaning of science can be revelatory when granted the kind of close reading usually reserved for fiction and poetry. These books considered the meanings of science and its place in modern life, looking to the future, coordinating and connecting the sciences, and forging knowledge that would be appropriate for the new age. Their aim was often philosophical, but Secord shows it was just as often imaginative, projective, and practical: to suggest not only how to think about the natural world but also to indicate modes of action and potential consequences in an era of unparalleled change. Visions of Science opens our eyes to how genteel ladies, working men, and the literary elite responded to these remarkable works. It reveals the importance of understanding the physical qualities of books and the key role of printers and publishers, from factories pouring out cheap compendia to fashionable publishing houses in London{u2019}s West End. Secord{u2019}s vivid account takes us to the heart of an information revolution that was to have profound consequences for the making of the modern world. --Provided by publisher
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xiii, 306 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Contents
  • Introduction
  • Fantastic voyages : Humphry Davy's Consolations in travel
  • The economy of intelligence : Charles Babbage's Reflections on the decline of science in England
  • The conduct of everyday life : John Herschel's Preliminary discourse on the study of natural philosophy
  • Mathematics for the million? : Mary Somerville's On the connexion of the physical sciences
  • A philosophy for a new science : Charles Lyell's Principles of geology
  • The problem of mind : George Combe's Constitution of man
  • The torch of science : Thomas Carlyle's Sartor Resartus
  • Epilogue
Isbn
9780226203287
Instance
Label
Visions of science : books and readers at the dawn of the Victorian age
Title
Visions of science
Title remainder
books and readers at the dawn of the Victorian age
Statement of responsibility
James A. Secord
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
The first half of the nineteenth century witnessed an extraordinary transformation in British political, literary, and intellectual life. There was widespread social unrest, and debates raged regarding education, the lives of the working class, and the new industrial, machine-governed world. At the same time, modern science emerged in Europe in more or less its current form, as new disciplines and revolutionary concepts, including evolution and the vastness of geologic time, began to take shape. In Visions of Science, James A. Secord offers a new way to capture this unique moment of change. He explores seven key books{u2014}among them Charles Babbage{u2019}s Reflections on the Decline of Science, Charles Lyell{u2019}s Principles ofGeology, Mary Somerville{u2019}s Connexion of the Physical Sciences, and Thomas Carlyle{u2019}s Sartor Resartus{u2014}and shows how literature that reflects on the wider meaning of science can be revelatory when granted the kind of close reading usually reserved for fiction and poetry. These books considered the meanings of science and its place in modern life, looking to the future, coordinating and connecting the sciences, and forging knowledge that would be appropriate for the new age. Their aim was often philosophical, but Secord shows it was just as often imaginative, projective, and practical: to suggest not only how to think about the natural world but also to indicate modes of action and potential consequences in an era of unparalleled change. Visions of Science opens our eyes to how genteel ladies, working men, and the literary elite responded to these remarkable works. It reveals the importance of understanding the physical qualities of books and the key role of printers and publishers, from factories pouring out cheap compendia to fashionable publishing houses in London{u2019}s West End. Secord{u2019}s vivid account takes us to the heart of an information revolution that was to have profound consequences for the making of the modern world. --Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
ICU/DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Secord, James A
Dewey number
507.2/2
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • plates
Index
index present
LC call number
  • PR468.S34
  • Q127.G4
LC item number
  • S43 2014
  • S44 2014
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Scientific literature
  • Literature and science
  • English prose literature
  • Books and reading
  • Science in popular culture
  • Science
  • Science
  • Science
  • Science
  • Great Britain
Label
Visions of science : books and readers at the dawn of the Victorian age, James A. Secord
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-292) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
  • cri
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent.
  • rdacontent.
  • rdacontent.
Contents
Introduction -- Fantastic voyages : Humphry Davy's Consolations in travel -- The economy of intelligence : Charles Babbage's Reflections on the decline of science in England -- The conduct of everyday life : John Herschel's Preliminary discourse on the study of natural philosophy -- Mathematics for the million? : Mary Somerville's On the connexion of the physical sciences -- A philosophy for a new science : Charles Lyell's Principles of geology -- The problem of mind : George Combe's Constitution of man -- The torch of science : Thomas Carlyle's Sartor Resartus -- Epilogue
Control code
874729231
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xiii, 306 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780226203287
Lccn
2014010721
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations (some color)
System control number
(OCoLC)874729231
Label
Visions of science : books and readers at the dawn of the Victorian age, James A. Secord
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-292) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
  • cri
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent.
  • rdacontent.
  • rdacontent.
Contents
Introduction -- Fantastic voyages : Humphry Davy's Consolations in travel -- The economy of intelligence : Charles Babbage's Reflections on the decline of science in England -- The conduct of everyday life : John Herschel's Preliminary discourse on the study of natural philosophy -- Mathematics for the million? : Mary Somerville's On the connexion of the physical sciences -- A philosophy for a new science : Charles Lyell's Principles of geology -- The problem of mind : George Combe's Constitution of man -- The torch of science : Thomas Carlyle's Sartor Resartus -- Epilogue
Control code
874729231
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xiii, 306 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780226203287
Lccn
2014010721
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations (some color)
System control number
(OCoLC)874729231

Subject

Genre

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