This volume unpacks the history of science from the new sciences of the seventeenth to the twenty-first century allowing students and general readers to see the impact science has had on our worldview across the centuries providing them with a deeper understanding of the history of science The book offers two parallel narratives, a chronological explanation of the development of science, followed by an investigation into what impact this same period in the sciences had on the answers people gave to the “big questions� of human existence. Providing a in depth but very accessible guide to both sides of scientific enquiry. Covers all the key figures in the history of science such as Galileo, Descartes, Isaac Newton, Darwin and Einstein as well as lesser known men and women who have developed the field. Allowing readers to see the range of people in each discipline and how their contribution shaped and influence science and the world around them.

This volume unpacks the history of science from the new sciences of the seventeenth to the twenty-first century allowing students and general readers to see the impact science has had on our worldview across the centuries providing them with a deeper understanding of the history of science The book offers two parallel narratives, a chronological explanation of the development of science, followed by an investigation into what impact this same period in the sciences had on the answers people gave to the “big questions� of human existence. Providing a in depth but very accessible guide to both sides of scientific enquiry. Covers all the key figures in the history of science such as Galileo, Descartes, Isaac Newton, Darwin and Einstein as well as lesser known men and women who have developed the field. Allowing readers to see the range of people in each discipline and how their contribution shaped and influence science and the world around them.

This book is the first extensive study of ideas on earthquakes before the Lisbon earthquake in 1755. The earthquake had a deep impact on European culture, and the reactions to it stood in a long tradition that, before this study, had yet to be explored in detail. Thinking on Earthquakes investigates both scholarly theories and views that were propagated among the early modern European population. Through a chronological approach, Vermij reveals that in contrast to the Ancient and medieval philosophers who suggested rational explanations for earthquakes, supernatural ideas made a powerful comeback in the sixteenth century. By analysing a variety of sources such as pamphlets, sermons, and treatises, this study shows how changes in the ideas on earthquakes were a result of social and political demands as well as from improvements in the means of communication, rather than from scientific methods. Thus, Vermij presents an illuminating case for the production of knowledge in early modern Europe. A range of events are explored, including the Ferrara earthquake in 1570 and the Vienna earthquake in 1590, making this study an invaluable source for students and scholars of the history of science and the history of ideas in early modern Europe.

This book is the first extensive study of ideas on earthquakes before the Lisbon earthquake in 1755. The earthquake had a deep impact on European culture, and the reactions to it stood in a long tradition that, before this study, had yet to be explored in detail. Thinking on Earthquakes investigates both scholarly theories and views that were propagated among the early modern European population. Through a chronological approach, Vermij reveals that in contrast to the Ancient and medieval philosophers who suggested rational explanations for earthquakes, supernatural ideas made a powerful comeback in the sixteenth century. By analysing a variety of sources such as pamphlets, sermons, and treatises, this study shows how changes in the ideas on earthquakes were a result of social and political demands as well as from improvements in the means of communication, rather than from scientific methods. Thus, Vermij presents an illuminating case for the production of knowledge in early modern Europe. A range of events are explored, including the Ferrara earthquake in 1570 and the Vienna earthquake in 1590, making this study an invaluable source for students and scholars of the history of science and the history of ideas in early modern Europe.