Variorum Collected Studies
2 total works
This is the second selection of articles by Rupert Hall to be published by Variorum. Whereas the first volume focused on Newton and his work, the present one ranges more widely over the interactions between ’pure’ science, ’applied’ science, and craftsmanship, but with an emphasis on the period from the 17th century to the Industrial Revolution. The second and third sections look in particular at the relations between science and warfare, and science and medicine, and the position of the Royal Society forms the focus of several papers. Throughout Professor Hall argues for the need to keep in mind that the distinction between the practical or professional and the intellectual was not then valid in the same way as now; that the problems of the interaction and interdependence between ’knowing’ and ’doing’ are not invariant, but rather historically determined and with defined historical contexts.
Over the last forty years Professor Hall has been a major contributor to the ’new view’ of Newton now generally accepted. Essentially this has derived from the bringing to light and examination of Newton’s vast, but long neglected legacy of manuscripts, and the first studies in this volume illustrate the wealth of information these provide on the earliest phases of his great discoveries in mathematics and science. In particular, they confirm the intensity and originality of Newton’s investigations before and through the ’anni mirabiles’ of 1665-66. Further papers then deal with his relations with contemporaries such as Hooke, Leibniz and Huyghens, again making extensive use of unpublished manuscript material, and with the developing influence of his work. Durant les quarante dernières années, le professeur Hall a été l’un des plus importants contributeurs à la nouvelle appréciation de l’oeuvre de Newton, qui est de nos jours la plus généralement acceptée. Ceci provient essentiellement de l’examen du vaste héritage de manuscrits laissés par Newton et très longtemps négligé; les premières études de ce volume illustrent la richesse d’informations contenues dans ceux-ci quant aux toutes premières phases de ses grandes découvertes dans le domaine des mathématiques et de le science. Ils confirment en particulier l’intensité et l’originalité des recherches de Newton avant et pendant les anni mirabiles de 1665-66. S’ajoutent à ceci plusieurs études, où il est à nouveau fait grand usage de manuscrits inédits, traitant des rapports qu’il entretenait avec ses contemporains tels, Hooke, Leibniz et Huyghens, ainsi que de l’influence progressive de ses travaux.