The History of Science: 1700-1900

De: Frederick Gregory, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Frederick Gregory

The scientific theories that were first discovered and made public in the years 1700-1900 are some of the most pivotal in history. Landmark theories of planetary motion, the workings of nature, and the speed of light were all ideas that took the world by storm.

Now you can share in that story of discovery in a series of 36 lectures designed to give you a rock-solid understanding of the great discoveries of Newton, Darwin, Franklin, Pasteur, and so many others. You’ll see clearly how these great thinkers brought their ideas into a world and a time that resisted them, gaining a new admiration for their achievements in an atmosphere where scientific advancement had to struggle against established ways of both scientific and religious thinking.

While many presentations of scientific history often neglect to consider its context - the societies and cultures in which our most influential "natural philosophers" (the term scientist didn’t exist until the mid-19th century) made their contributions - these lectures put that context in the forefront where it belongs, exploring how dynamics of time and place help determine the questions that get asked and the directions scientists pursue in response.

The result is a series that adds invaluable historical depth and dimension to your study of science. As much about history as science - and often far more so, with the focus on the climate and process of scientific discovery rather than the science itself - this course will enhance your ability to see contemporary scientific events in a vividly informed context.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses

Worth listening from start to finish

Not a scientist in any respect, I loved these lectures. What I could understand was fascinating and what I couldn't was worth exposing myself to. I sometimes listen at faster speeds-- to fiction. But this book had me listening at normal all the time-- which turned out to be very rewarding. I am very glad I found this book!

Kuhn Enthusiasts Rejoice

For people, like me, who became interested in the history of science after reading Thomas Kuhn’s “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”, this course is a welcome supplement.

It goes through many of the same kind of contemporary examples that Kuhn used to draw his conclusions of the process by which science “advances”, and provides the listener with a greater appreciation of how intellectual shifts actually occur.

This course is not as philosophical as is Kuhn’s work. It makes no broad claims about the process of science. But those who are familiar with Kuhn can, I think, overlay those conclusions here with relative ease.

Opened my eyes

Loved it. Tied many things I studied in school together.

Wish he was my instructor I would ha e stayed with science

great overview

This covers a large amount of time and broad topics in science. The listener gets to see science from the perspective of people at the time, not just as we see it today. He did a fantastic job with an enormous amount of information.

Compulsory learning for every human.

Amazing to see how science has developed over the last few centuries. How recent many of these paradigm shifts are. Should be compulsory for everyone. Wish they would do one for the 20th century!

Excellent

Brilliant! Just brilliant. I have learnt a lot of things from this book. The narrator was too good.

History of Science!

get ready to explore history! you'll enjoy this! so much fun! so much fun! so much fun!

A challenging topic well presented

Professor Gregory does a great job explaining important concepts and contextualizing major figures in their respective eras. I really enjoyed his approach to the subject matter, regularly making connections across lectures and showing the continuities in questions, fields, and cultural guardrails, even as answers and methods changed. While I found the course engaging, it was one that took time to digest, so I never listened to more than two lectures a day. I was worried it would be too dry when I ordered it, but I loved his lecture style and thought the balance between cultural change and scientific development was perfect.

I loved it!

Good overview. Gave me a new perspective. Good job.
Wish the narrator publishes a book to dig deeper into the narrative.

Excellent Narrative for History of Science

If you could sum up The History of Science: 1700-1900 in three words, what would they be?

Narrative, Educational, Thought-provoking

What other book might you compare The History of Science: 1700-1900 to and why?

There is another book called "A Little History of Science" by William Bynum...only this lecture series was much longer and provided greater detail.

Which character – as performed by Professor Frederick Gregory – was your favorite?

Not sure I understand the question. He's a lecturer.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction, but many thought-provoking questions.

Any additional comments?

This was an excellent summary of science and highlights of major milestones in scientific discoveries throughout the 1700 & 1800's. Prof. Gregory has put together an incredible lecture series that provides the audience with an illustrative narrative that did not feel like reading through a dull history book, but instead felt like a moving story with key players.

Something unexpected was that he was able to work into his narrative the religious perspectives of nearly every philosopher and scientist that was highlighted. One key factor I gained from this presentation was how easy we tend to overlook religious and cultural differences when studying history, and I am guilty of this myself, but rarely do I ever consider the historical figure's time as it was relative to their way of thinking. As Prof. Gregory points out, we tend to apply our own prejudices and understanding on people of the past and ask why how they did or why they did not arrive at the "obvious" conclusions for areas that have since been made well known to us.

Overall, this was an incredible series on the history of science and truly covered all aspects of the major disciplines: astronomy, biology, geology, physics, medicine, etc.

Pros: the religious perspective offered with each influential scientist/philosopher
Cons: would have been interesting to keep going into the 1900's; however I recognize that for scope (and length) purposes this was not feasible.
Bottom line: a great read for anyone interested in the realm of science or anyone who as ever questioned how we ever got to our present day understanding.