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The History and Philosophy of Western Science

From Antiquity to the 19th Century

The History and Philosophy of Western Science cover

The History and Philosophy of Western Science

From Antiquity to the 19th Century

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Pre-order. Available Nov 12 2026
$547.50

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Description

How did we learn how to learn about the natural world? Across a set of three volumes spanning more than 2000 years of philosophical thinking in the West, this collection tells the story of invention and discovery.

Approaching the history and philosophy of science chronologically, the volumes total more than 1000 pages and bring together a team of over 50 experts to explore observations about the natural world. They chart the development of methods and disciplines alongside the appearance of new language, categories, mathematical models, and theories.

Each volume is overseen by its own specialist editor and divided into the same three Parts: I. Key Historical Developments, II. Philosophical Issues, and III: Social Issues and World Views. By situating the practice of philosophy and science in their cultural and social contexts, the essays place developments in cosmology, biology, experiment, experience, and theories of time, space, and matter in conversation with broader social issues, including women in early modern science, science and religion, the rise of research universities, and race.

Through this sustained reflection on the significance of historical events for scientific developments we see that centuries of advancements in the West have never simply been the work of individuals working in isolation. The story of the history and philosophy of science is one of communication, disagreement, and the accumulation of ideas, impacted by our wider culture and shaped by the world we live in.

Table of Contents

VOLUME I
The History and Philosophy of Ancient and Medieval Science: 450BCE to 1450, Edited by Liba Taub and Robert Goulding
Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
General Editor's Preface, Daniel J. McKaughan and Holly VandeWall
Volume Editor's Introduction, Liba Taub

Part I: Key Historical Developments
1. Scientific People and Places, E. R. Truitt
2. Philosophical and Scientific Schools of Thought in the Greco-Roman World, Liba Taub
3. Life Sciences: Greek and Roman Antiquity, Nahyan Fancy
4. The Physical World: Physics, Meteorology, Alchemy, and Technology, 400 BC – AD 1400, Craig Martin
5. The Mathematical World, Alberto Bardi
Part II: Philosophical Issues
6. Philosophy and Science in the Islamic world and Latin Christendom, Peter Adamson
7. Theories of Space, Time, Motion, Barbara M. Sattler
8. Matter Theory, Robert Goulding
9. Freedom, determinism, and astrology, H. Darrel Rutkin
Part III: Social, Political, and Cultural Issues
10. Life Sciences: From Baghdad to Paris, Nahyan Fancy
11. Nature in the Frame of Medieval Learning, Richard J. Oosterhoff
12. Elite Knowledge and Craft Expertise, Pouyan Rezvani
13. Magic, Science, and Religion, Nicolas Weill-Parot
Index

VOLUME II
The History and Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution: 1450-1750, Edited by Marius Stan
Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
General Editor's Preface, Daniel J. McKaughan and Holly VandeWall
Volume Editor's Introduction, Marius Stan

Part I: Key Historical Developments
1. The Emergence of the Calculus in the 17th Century, Sepideh Alassi
2. Mechanics from Galileo to Lagrange, Marius Stan
3. Transformations in Astronomy, David Marshall Miller
4. Key developments in Early Modern Optics, Delphine Bellis
5. Milestones in Early Modern Medicine and the Life Sciences, Gideon Manning
6. The Fate of Mechanistic Biology, 1670 to 1760, Phillip Sloan
Part II: Philosophical Issues
7. Explanation, Causation, and Methods of Practice in Early Modern Scholastic Natural Philosophy, Craig Martin
8. Mathematizing Nature, Douglas Jesseph
9. New Doctrines of Matter, Victor Boantza
10. Epistemological Theories: Descartes and Locke, Alan Nelson
11. Science and Experiment, Peter Anstey
12. Hypotheses in Natural Philosophy, Areins Pelayo
13. Laws and Natural Philosophy, Marius Stan
14. If It Wasn't a Scientific Revolution, What Was It? Dan Garber
Part III: Social, Political, and Cultural Issues
15. Science Incorporated: The Academies under the Old Regime of Science, Maria Pia Donato
16. Women in Early-Modern Science, Aaron Wells
17. Science-religion relations in the early modern period, Stephen Snobelen
Index

VOLUME III
The History and Philosophy of Modern Science: 1750 to 1900, Edited by Erik L. Peterson and Elise Crull
Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
General Editors' Introduction, Daniel J. McKaughan and Holly VandeWall
Volume Editors' Introduction, Erik L. Peterson and Elise Crull

Part I: Key Historical Developments
1. Light, Electricity, and Magnetism, Friedrich Steinle
2. The Spark of Mechanistic Biology in the Nineteenth Century: The Roots of Electrophysiology, William Bechtel and Richard Vagnino
3. Chemistry and Heat, Hasok Chang
4. Mathematics, 1750 to 1900, Jeremy Gray
Part II: Philosophical Issues
5. Determinism and Chance, Marij van Strien
6. Transcendental Idealism and its Influence on Nineteenth-Century Science, Michael E. Cuffaro
7. Evolution in the Long century, Phillip R. Sloan
8. Hypothesis and Consilience in the Nineteenth Century, Klodian Coko
Part III: Social, Political, and Cultural Issues
9. Science and Religion: From Essentialist Categories to Global Traditions, Kraig J. Bartel and Stephen P. Weldon
10. The Rise of Scientific Societies and Universities, Edward Gillin
11. Science on Display and as Display: A Case Study in Glass, Marvin Bolt
12. The Use and Abuse of Race in Scientific Thought, Jim Bindon
13. Scientific Exploration, Sarah Pickman
14. Women and Gender in the History and Philosophy of Western Science, 1750 to 1900, Andrea Reichenberger
Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published Nov 12 2026
Format Hardback - Pack
Edition 1st
ISBN 9781350181694
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Dimensions Not specified
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Daniel J. McKaughan

Daniel J. McKaughan is Associate Professor in the…

Anthology Editor

Holly VandeWall

Holly VandeWall is Assistant Professor of the Prac…

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