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The Singular and the Making of Knowledge at the Royal Society of London in the Eighteenth Century

The Singular and the Making of Knowledge at the Royal Society of London in the Eighteenth Century

Hardback (01 Apr 2009)

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Publisher's Synopsis

The central subject of this book is the status of singular experiences in the making of natural knowledge at the Royal Society of London in the eighteenth century. It makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the importance of the reporting and display of extraordinary phenomena at the Royal Society in this period, and shows that the success of these practices was largely based on their multiple roles within the Society, where singular experiences not only promoted natural historical and medical knowledge but also played a social and epistemological role. However, singular experiences were problematic in terms of authentication and the book reveals how eighteenth-century literary satires made the Royal Society an easy and favoured target for their interest in them. The book demonstrates the variety and intricacy of elements involved in the making and circulation of natural knowledge in the period. It provides an interdisciplinary and innovative approach to the place of the singular in one of the oldest and most import scientific institutions in the world.

Book information

ISBN: 9781443803571
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Pub.
Imprint: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Pub date:
DEWEY: 506.041
DEWEY edition: 22
Number of pages: 214
Weight: 454g
Height: 212mm
Width: 148mm
Spine width: 23mm