Buchwald, Jed Z. (Author)
Feingold, Mordechai (Author)
Princeton University Press
Publication date: 2013
Language: English
Physical Details: ix + 528 pp.; ill.; bibl.; index
Isaac Newton's Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended, published in 1728, one year after the great man's death, unleashed a storm of controversy. And for good reason. The book presents a drastically revised timeline for ancient civilizations, contracting Greek history by five hundred years and Egypt's by a millennium. Newton and the Origin of Civilization tells the story of how one of the most celebrated figures in the history of mathematics, optics, and mechanics came to apply his unique ways of thinking to problems of history, theology, and mythology, and of how his radical ideas produced an uproar that reverberated in Europe's learned circles throughout the eighteenth century and beyond. Jed Buchwald and Mordechai Feingold reveal the manner in which Newton strove for nearly half a century to rectify universal history by reading ancient texts through the lens of astronomy, and to create a tight theoretical system for interpreting the evolution of civilization on the basis of population dynamics. It was during Newton's earliest years at Cambridge that he developed the core of his singular method for generating and working with trustworthy knowledge, which he applied to his study of the past with the same rigor he brought to his work in physics and mathematics. Drawing extensively on Newton's unpublished papers and a host of other primary sources, Buchwald and Feingold reconcile Isaac Newton the rational scientist with Newton the natural philosopher, alchemist, theologian, and chronologist of ancient history.
...MoreReview John Henry (2013) Review of "Newton and the Origin of Civilization". Science and Education (pp. 2357-2362).
Review Stephen D. Snobelen (2015) Review of "Newton and the Origin of Civilization". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 880-888).
Review Maarten Bullynck (2016) Review of "Newton and the Origin of Civilization". Historia Mathematica (pp. 213-215).
Review Ksiazkiewicz, Allison (2013) Review of "Newton and the Origin of Civilization". British Journal for the History of Science (pp. 345-347).
Review Panza, Marco (2015) Review of "Newton and the Origin of Civilization". Journal for the History of Astronomy (pp. 252-254).
Review Barker, Peter (2015) Review of "Newton and the Origin of Civilization". Renaissance Quarterly (pp. 662-664).
Review Smeenk, Chris (2014) Review of "Newton and the Origin of Civilization". HOPOS (pp. 383-387).
Review Jacob, Margaret C. (2014) Review of "Newton and the Origin of Civilization". American Historical Review (pp. 460-462).
Essay Review Fara, Patricia (2013) Isaac Newton and the Left Eye of History. Metascience: An International Review Journal for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (pp. 323-327).
Article John Henry (2021) Reassessing the Wider Aspects of Newton’s Thought – A Symposium. Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period (pp. 117-123).
Article Niccolò Guicciardini (2021) Lessons for the Historian of Newtonian Mathematics. Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period (pp. 124-135).
Article Scott Mandelbrote (2021) Beyond a Boundary: Reflections on Newton the Historian, Theologian, and Alchemist. Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period (pp. 136-151).
Article Steffen Ducheyne (2021) Towards a Comparative Perspective on Newton’s Working Methods. Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period (pp. 152-161).
Article Stephen D. Snobelen (2021) Theology in Newton’s Study of Alchemy, Chronology and Nature. Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period (pp. 162-180).
Article Mordechai Feingold (2021) How Important Was Religion to Newton’s “Secular” Studies?. Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period (pp. 181-190).
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