Robert Hooke was England's first professional scientist, and a pioneer in the field of science communication. He was also one of the few early scientists to leave a detailed manual describing how others could follow his lead and become 'experimental philosophers' themselves.
This new biography takes Hooke's scientific method as its starting point, exploring what Hooke himself saw as the key aspects of a scientific life. It follows Hooke through the shops of instrument makers and craftsmen, into coffee-houses and bookshops, onto building sites and into the king's audience chamber at Whitehall Palace. It uses new evidence to explain how Hooke's observations and conversations with workmen, philosophical colleagues, craftsmen and London's wealthy elite underpinned his scientific research in unexpected but significant ways.
Hooke emerges as a champion of the mundane, whose greatest gift was to see the potential for new knowledge in the least promising aspects of everyday life.
By:
Felicity Henderson
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 138mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781789149548
ISBN 10: 1789149541
Series: Renaissance Lives
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 25 November 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Introduction: Mad, Foolish and Phantastick 1 The Present Deficiency of Natural Philosophy 2 A city, where all the noises and business in the world do meet 3 Much Love and Service to all My Friends 4 These My Poor Labours 5 A Man Who Is Mechanically Minded 6 Curiosity and Beauty 7 An Excellent System of Nature 8 A Discourse of Earthquakes Epilogue: The Teeth of Time Chronology References Select Bibliography Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index
Felicity Henderson is a senior lecturer in archives and material culture at the University of Exeter. She has written widely about Robert Hooke.
Reviews for Robert Hooke's Experimental Philosophy
"""In her splendid myth-busting account, Felicity Henderson searches out the true Robert Hooke, scrutinising his own words to reveal an inspired researcher who drew up the blueprint for modern science. Beautifully written and illustrated, this penetrating book explores the thoughts and activities of a man who profoundly influenced the future.""--Patricia Fara, author of 'Life after Gravity: Isaac Newton's London Career'"
