A Short History of Scientific Thought

Description

An essential introductory textbook that shows students how science came to be such an important aspect of modern culture. Lively and readable, it provides a rich historical survey of the major developments in scientific thought, from the Ancient Greeks to the twentieth century. John Henry also explains how new scientific theories have emerged and analyses their impact on contemporary thinking. This is an ideal core text for modules on the History of Science, Medicine and Technology, or the History and Philosophy of Science - or a supplementary text for broader modules on European History or Intellectual History - which may be offered at the upper levels of an undergraduate History, Philosophy or Science degree. In addition it is a crucial resource for students who may be studying the history of science for the first time as part of a taught postgraduate degree in European History, Intellectual History, Science or Philosophy.

JOHN HENRY Professor of the History of Science at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He has published widely in the history of science from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, including The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science, now in its third edition

A Short History of Scientific Thought offers a traditional survey of the development of Western natural philosophy and mathematical sciences and traces their transformation into basic subject fields of modern scientific inquiry and today's chief scientific theories, for example quantum mechanics and evolution ... Henry's book is a suitable replacement for twentieth-century surveys used in the undergraduate classroom, a use that is enhanced by his emphasis on scientific content and minimal engagement with historiographical debate. * Jole Shackelford, Science and Education, Vol. 48 *