Revolutionizing the Sciences : European Knowledge in Transition, 1500-1700 (Paperback, 3 ed)

Preface.- Introduction: Natural Philosophy and Instrumentality.- 'What Was Worth Knowing' in 1500.- Humanism and Ancient Wisdom: How to Learn Things in the Sixteenth Century.- Paracelsus and Bacon: Philosophy as Practical Knowledge.- Mathematical Practitioners and Mathematical Philosophers.- Mechanism and Corpuscles: Descartes Builds a Universe.- Extra-Curricular Activities: New Places for Natural Knowledge.- Experiment: How to Learn Things about Nature in the Seventeenth Century.- Cartesians and Newtonians.- Conclusion: What Was Worth Knowing by the Eighteenth Century?.- Notes and References.- Documentation and Further Reading.- Dramatis Personae.- Glossary of Major Terms.- Index.