In this interdisciplinary study of eighteenth-century England,
Patricia Fara explores how natural philosophers constructed
magnetism as a science, appropriating the skills and knowledge of
experienced navigators. For people of this period, magnetic
phenomena reverberated with the symbolism of occult mystery, sexual
attraction, and universal sympathies; in this maritime nation,
magnetic instruments such as navigational compasses heralded
imperial expansion, commercial gain, and scientific progress. By
analyzing such multiple associations, Fara reconstructs cultural
interactions in the days just prior to the creation of disciplinary
science. Not only does this illustrated book provide a
kaleidoscopic view of a changing society, but it also portrays the
emergence of public science.
Linking this rise in interest to the utility and mysteriousness
of magnetism, Fara organizes her discussion into themes, including
commercialization, imperialism, instruments and invention, the role
of language, attitudes toward the past, and the relationship
between religion and natural philosophy. Fara shows that natural
philosophers, proclaiming themselves as the only true experts on
magnetism, actively participated in massive transformations of
English life. In their bids for public recognition as elite
specialists, they engaged in controversies that resonated with
religious, economic, moral, gender, and political implications.
These struggles for social and scientific authority in the
eighteenth century provide the background for better understanding
the cultural topography of modern society.
Originally published in 1996.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand
technology to again make available previously out-of-print books
from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press.
These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these
important books while presenting them in durable paperback
editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly
increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the
thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since
its founding in 1905.
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