Alister E. Mcgrath

Natural Philosophy (eBook, PDF)

On Retrieving a Lost Disciplinary Imaginary

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

Recovering the forgotten discipline of Natural Philosophy for the modern world This book argues for the retrieval of 'natural philosophy', a concept that faded into comparative obscurity as individual scientific disciplines became established and institutionalized. Natural philosophy was understood in the early modern period as a way of exploring the human relationship with the natural world, encompassing what would now be seen as the distinct disciplines of the natural sciences, mathematics, music, philosophy, and theology. The first part of the work represents a critical conversation with the tradition, identifying the essential characteristics of natural philosophy, particularly its emphasis on both learning about and learning from nature. After noting the factors which led to the disintegration of natural philosophy during the nineteenth century, the second part of the work sets out the reasons why natural philosophy should be retrieved, and a creative and innovative proposal for how this might be done. This draws on Karl Popper's 'Three Worlds' and Mary Midgley's notion of using multiple maps in bringing together the many aspects of the human encounter with the natural world. Such a retrieved or 're-imagined' natural philosophy is able to encourage both human attentiveness and respectfulness towards Nature, while enfolding both the desire to understand the natural world, and the need to preserve the affective, imaginative, and aesthetic aspects of the human response to nature.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Oxford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 288
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Dezember 2022
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780192689627
• Artikelnr.: 66260108

Autorenporträt

Alister McGrath studied theology at Oxford and Cambridge, following undergraduate studies in chemistry, and a doctorate in molecular biophysics at Oxford University. He was Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University from 1999-2008, and now serves as the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford, with a special interest in the interdisciplinary field of natural philosophy.

Inhaltsangabe

* Introduction: On Retrieving Natural Philosophy
* Part One: A Critical Conversation with the Tradition
* 1: The Origins of Natural Philosophy: Aristotle
* 2: The Consolidation of Natural Philosophy: The Middle Ages
* 3: Skywatching: The Natural Philosophy of Copernicus, Kepler, and
Galileo
* 4: English Natural Philosophy: Bacon, Boyle, and Newton
* 5: The Parting of the Ways: From Natural Philosophy to Natural
Science
* Part Two: A Reconceived Natural Philosophy: Exploring a Disciplinary
Imaginary
* 6: Reconceiving Natural Philosophy: Laying the Foundations
* 7: Theory: The Contemplation of Nature
* 8: Objectivity: Understanding the External World
* 9: Subjectivity: An Affective Engagement with Nature
* 10: Natural Philosophy: Recasting a Vision
* Acknowledgements
* Works Consulted
* Index