James, Frank A.J.L. (Author)
Ruston, Sharon (Author)
Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
Volume: 66
Issue: 2-3
Pages: 95-102
Publication date: 2019
Language: English
This special issue of Ambix brings together eight new studies on Humphry Davy together with an appreciation of the life and work of David Knight, much of whose scholarship was devoted to understanding Davy. Taken together they provide a much richer and more nuanced account of aspects of Davy’s life, showing how he and his work fitted into the very complex and difficult social, cultural and political contexts of the opening decades of the nineteenth century. Taking as our starting point Thomas Carlyle’s 1829 critique of modern science, in this introduction we weld together the themes that emerge from these papers, many of which ground their results in the project to publish Davy’s Letters. This project has provided evidence that helps us critique the disciplinary boundaries that led to Davy becoming seen mostly as a chemist, while his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge has generally been categorised as a poet. Such boundaries are now breaking down fruitfully as these essays all illustrate in their different ways. A consequence of the new understandings being produced, is that we need to consider anew what constitutes chemistry and chemists, how reputations and commemorations are constructed, the role of audiences (especially women) in developing knowledge and the use of language and literature, which, among other things, are key elements linking chemistry with other parts of society and culture. Davy provides an excellent location by which to address the historical issues involved, giving us an opportunity to balance carefully these and other components (such as human agency) in understanding how knowledge is constructed.
...MoreArticle Sharon Ruston (2019) Humphry Davy: Analogy, Priority, and the “true philosopher”. Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (pp. 121-139).
Article Andrew Lacey (2019) New Light on John Davy. Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (pp. 195-213).
Article Frank A. J. L. James (2019) Constructing Humphry Davy’s Biographical Image. Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (pp. 214-238).
Article Jan Golinski (2019) “The Fitness of Their Union”: Travel and Health in the Letters of Humphry and Jane Davy. Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (pp. 181-194).
Article David Knight (2019) Sources and Resources for Davy: 1960 and Now. Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (pp. 239-245).
Article Hattie Lloyd Edmondson (2019) Chivalrous Chemistry. Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (pp. 103-120).
Article Gregory Tate (2019) Humphry Davy and the Problem of Analogy. Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (pp. 140-157).
Article Tim Fulford (2019) Davy Takes to the Hills: Dialogic Enquiry and the Aesthetics of the Prospect View. Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (pp. 158-180).
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