Instruments and the Imagination

出版者:Princeton University Press

作者:Thomas L. Hankins

页数:352

出版时间:1995

价格:USD 37.00

装帧:Paperback

isbn号码:9780691005492

图书标签:英文科学史古技文仪器forHBScienceSTSMaterialCulture

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Thomas Hankins and Robert Silverman investigate an array of instruments from the seventeenth through the nineteenth century that seem at first to be marginal to science--magnetic clocks that were said to operate by the movements of sunflower seeds, magic lanterns, ocular harpsichords (machines that played different colored lights in harmonious mixtures), Aeolian harps (a form of wind chime), and other instruments of "natural magic" designed to produce wondrous effects. By looking at these and the first recording instruments, the stereoscope, and speaking machines, the authors show that "scientific instruments" first made their appearance as devices used to evoke wonder in the beholder, as in works of magic and the theater.

The authors also demonstrate that these instruments, even though they were often "tricks," were seen by their inventors as more than trickery. In the view of Athanasius Kircher, for instance, the sunflower clock was not merely a hoax, but an effort to demonstrate, however fraudulently, his truly held belief that the ability of a flower to follow the sun was due to the same cosmic magnetic influence as that which moved the planets and caused the rotation of the earth. The marvels revealed in this work raise and answer questions about the connections between natural science and natural magic, the meaning of demonstration, the role of language and the senses in science, and the connections among art, music, literature, and natural science.

Originally published in 1995.

用户评价

很有现象学的味道。这不是对各种仪器前史的猎奇式的探索，而恰恰是一门科学史的应有之义——搅动现代科学仪器身前久已沉淀，被我们遗忘的多重意义。刻画出的是近代实验哲学与自然魔法之间复杂微妙的关联，以及二者最终分道扬镳的思想基础。

除了序言之外都不是那么有用，但是二十年前开始把仪器当作研究科学实践和方法的核心也算是某种思路上的突破了？倒是浪漫主义文学里提及的科学仪器、以及一些特别怪异的仪器，读来真稀奇。

很有现象学的味道。这不是对各种仪器前史的猎奇式的探索，而恰恰是一门科学史的应有之义——搅动现代科学仪器身前久已沉淀，被我们遗忘的多重意义。刻画出的是近代实验哲学与自然魔法之间复杂微妙的关联，以及二者最终分道扬镳的思想基础。

很有现象学的味道。这不是对各种仪器前史的猎奇式的探索，而恰恰是一门科学史的应有之义——搅动现代科学仪器身前久已沉淀，被我们遗忘的多重意义。刻画出的是近代实验哲学与自然魔法之间复杂微妙的关联，以及二者最终分道扬镳的思想基础。

很有现象学的味道。这不是对各种仪器前史的猎奇式的探索，而恰恰是一门科学史的应有之义——搅动现代科学仪器身前久已沉淀，被我们遗忘的多重意义。刻画出的是近代实验哲学与自然魔法之间复杂微妙的关联，以及二者最终分道扬镳的思想基础。