Natural Philosophy

On Retrieving a Lost Disciplinary Imaginary
Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-0-19-286573-1
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 258 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 546 g

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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

McGrath, Alister E.

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Wissenschaftstheorie, Wissenschaftsphilosophie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Bioethik, Tierethik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Erkenntnistheorie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Angewandte Ethik & Soziale Verantwortung Bioethik, Tierethik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- 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

Über Autor(innen)

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.