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Classification is an important part of science, yet the specific
methods used to construct Enlightenment systems of natural history
have proven to be the bAte noir of studies of eighteenth-century
culture. One reason that systematic classification has received so
little attention is that natural history was an extremely diverse
subject which appealed to a wide range of practitioners, including
wealthy patrons, professionals, and educators. In order to show how
the classification practices of a defined institutional setting
enabled naturalists to create systems of natural history, this book
focuses on developments at Edinburgh's medical school, one of
Europe's leading medical programs. In particular, it concentrates
on one of Scotland's most influential Enlightenment naturalists,
Rev Dr John Walker, the professor of natural history at the school
from 1779 to 1803. Walker was a traveller, cleric, author and
advisor to extremely powerful aristocratic and government patrons,
as well as teacher to hundreds of students, some of whom would go
on to become influential industrialists, scientists, physicians and
politicians. This book explains how Walker used his networks of
patrons and early training in chemistry to become an
eighteenth-century naturalist. Walker's mineralogy was based firmly
in chemistry, an approach common in Edinburgh's medical school, but
a connection that has been generally overlooked in the history of
British geology. By explicitly connecting eighteenth-century
geology to the chemistry being taught in medical settings, this
book offers a dynamic new interpretation of the nascent earth
sciences as they were practiced in Enlightenment Britain. Because
of Walker's influence on his many students, the book also provides
a unique insight into how many of Britain's leading Regency and
Victorian intellectuals were taught to think about the composition
and structure of the material world.
Classification is an important part of science, yet the specific
methods used to construct Enlightenment systems of natural history
have proven to be the bAte noir of studies of eighteenth-century
culture. One reason that systematic classification has received so
little attention is that natural history was an extremely diverse
subject which appealed to a wide range of practitioners, including
wealthy patrons, professionals, and educators. In order to show how
the classification practices of a defined institutional setting
enabled naturalists to create systems of natural history, this book
focuses on developments at Edinburgh's medical school, one of
Europe's leading medical programs. In particular, it concentrates
on one of Scotland's most influential Enlightenment naturalists,
Rev Dr John Walker, the professor of natural history at the school
from 1779 to 1803. Walker was a traveller, cleric, author and
advisor to extremely powerful aristocratic and government patrons,
as well as teacher to hundreds of students, some of whom would go
on to become influential industrialists, scientists, physicians and
politicians. This book explains how Walker used his networks of
patrons and early training in chemistry to become an
eighteenth-century naturalist. Walker's mineralogy was based firmly
in chemistry, an approach common in Edinburgh's medical school, but
a connection that has been generally overlooked in the history of
British geology. By explicitly connecting eighteenth-century
geology to the chemistry being taught in medical settings, this
book offers a dynamic new interpretation of the nascent earth
sciences as they were practiced in Enlightenment Britain. Because
of Walker's influence on his many students, the book also provides
a unique insight into how many of Britain's leading Regency and
Victorian intellectuals were taught to think about the composition
and structure of the material world.
The years between 1700 and 1900 witnessed a fundamental transition
in attitudes towards science, as earlier concepts of natural
philosophy were replaced with a more modern conception of science.
This process was by no means a simple progression, and the changing
attitudes to science was marked by bitter arguments and fundamental
differences of opinion, many of which are still not entirely
resolved today. Approaching the subject from a number of cultural
angles, the essays in this volume explore the fluid relationship
between science and belief during this crucial period, and help to
trace the development of science as an independent field of study
that did not look to religion to provide answers to the workings of
the universe. Taking a broadly chronological approach, each essay
in this book addresses a theme that helps illuminate these concerns
and highlights how beliefs - both religious and secular - have
impinged and influenced the scientific world. By addressing such
key issues such as the ongoing debate between Christian
fundamentalists and followers of Darwin, and the rise of
'respectable atheism', fascinating insights are provided that help
to chart the ever-shifting discourse of science and beliefs.
The years between 1700 and 1900 witnessed a fundamental transition
in attitudes towards science, as earlier concepts of natural
philosophy were replaced with a more modern conception of science.
This process was by no means a simple progression, and the changing
attitudes to science was marked by bitter arguments and fundamental
differences of opinion, many of which are still not entirely
resolved today. Approaching the subject from a number of cultural
angles, the essays in this volume explore the fluid relationship
between science and belief during this crucial period, and help to
trace the development of science as an independent field of study
that did not look to religion to provide answers to the workings of
the universe. Taking a broadly chronological approach, each essay
in this book addresses a theme that helps illuminate these concerns
and highlights how beliefs - both religious and secular - have
impinged and influenced the scientific world. By addressing such
key issues such as the ongoing debate between Christian
fundamentalists and followers of Darwin, and the rise of
'respectable atheism', fascinating insights are provided that help
to chart the ever-shifting discourse of science and beliefs.
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