Thomas Browne and the Writing of Early Modern Science
Thomas Browne and the Writing of Early Modern Science
$57.00
USDClaire Preston argues that Thomas Browne's work can be fully understood only within the range of disciplines and practices associated with natural philosophy and early modern empiricism. Early modern methods of cataloguing, collecting, experimentation and observation organised his writing on many subjects from medicine and botany to archaeology and antiquarianism. Browne framed philosophical concerns in the terms of civil behaviour, with collaborative networks of intellectual exchange, investigative selflessness, courtesy, modesty and ultimately the generosity of the natural world itself, all characterising the return to 'innocent' knowledge, which, for Browne, is the proper end of human enquiry. In this major evaluation of Browne's oeuvre, Preston examines how the developing essay form, the discourse of scientific experiment, and above all Bacon's model of intellectual progress and cooperation determined the unique character of Browne's contributions to early modern literature, science and philosophy.
- The first major new critical assessment of Browne's oeuvre in 20 years
- An interdisciplinary study of Browne's writing and his scientific and philosophical thought
- Includes a substantial chapter on each of Browne's major works
Reviews & endorsements
"In this loving and robust account, Preston firmly grounds Browne's writing in the social history of natural philosophy and, like salt of the earth, adds new flavors and accents to our impression of the early modern world...The book proves enormously rewarding in its range of inquiry, and it will no doubt be especially enjoyable for those salts of the earth who may already have a loving appreciation for the many dimensions of Thomas Browne." - Colin Milburn, University of California, Davis
"The strongest part of this book is Preston's clear committment to a careful and thoughtful reading of Thomas Browne's works." - Renaissance Quarterly Allison B. Kavley, John Jay College, The City University of New York
Product details
January 2009Paperback
9780521107792
268 pages
229 × 152 × 15 mm
0.4kg
6 b/w illus.
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Browne's civility
- 2. Religio Medici: the junior endeavour
- 3. The civil monument: Pseudodoxia Epidemica and investigative culture
- 4. The laureate of the grave: Urne-Buriall and the failure of memory
- 5. The jocund cabinet and the melancholy museum: a brief excursion into Brownean comedy
- 6. The epitome of the earth: The Garden of Cyrus and verdancy
- 7. The fruits of natural knowledge: the fugitive writings, and a conclusion.
