Andre Wakefield
Biographic Data
| ID | 3769033 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Andre Wakefield |
| GIVEN NAMES | Andre |
| FAMILY NAME | Wakefield |
| SIGNATURE | WAKEFIELD A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Pitzer College |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 9 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The Origins and History of the Earth
This chapter examines Leibniz’s contribution to the earth sciences. It focuses on his history of the earth, or Protogaea , written during the early 1690s. In this work, Leibniz used minerals and fossils to reconstruct prehistory, applying the methods of the historian to the archives of nature. The argument here is that Leibniz’s history of the earth helped to create conditions for the possibility of geology and paleontology as modern disciplines.
Butterfield’s nightmare
Historians of science and technology once worried about the anachronism that suffused their discipline. Today there is less patience for such critical self-reflection. There are however still certain types of anachronism that historians of science have reason to worry about. My essay interrogates the abiding allure of what I call Disney history. Narratives that link the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution toget…
The New Holy Wars
Reviewed by: The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion vs. Environmental Religion in Contemporary America Andre Wakefield (bio) The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion vs. Environmental Religion in Contemporary America. By Robert H. Nelson. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010. Pp. xxi+388. $39.95. Robert Nelson argues that environmentalism and economics represent competing religious worldviews. Within this framework, debates over i…
Leibniz and the Wind Machines
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz visited the Harz Mountains more than thirty times and spent almost three full years there between 1680 and 1686. His aim was to install wind machines for draining the Harz silver mines. Despite Leibniz’s best efforts—his commitment bordered on obsession—the enterprise ultimately failed. There is still disagreement about exactly what happened. Biographers and historians have mostly asserted that Leibniz, a universal geniu…
Protogaea
Protogaea
Protogaea is an ambitious account of terrestrial history, was central to the development of the earth sciences in the eighteenth century and provides key philosophical insights into the unity of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's thought and writings. Though the works of Leibniz have been widely translated into English, Protogaea has languished in its original Latin for centuries. Now Claudine Cohen and Andre Wakefield offer the first English translatio…
Pierre Simon Laplace, 1749-1827
Reviewed by: Pierre Simon Laplace, 1749–1827: A Determined Scientist Andre Wakefield (bio) Pierre Simon Laplace, 1749–1827: A Determined Scientist. By Roger Hahn . Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005. Pp. xi+310. $35. This is not a trendy book. It does not contain grand theoretical declarations or romantic portraits of daring scientists. Roger Hahn is skeptical of overblown claims and unsupported stories. His book mirrors his subject…
Openness, Secrecy, Authorship
Openness, Secrecy, Authorship: Technical Arts and the Culture of Knowledge from Antiquity to the Renaissance. By Pamela O. Long. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. Pp. xii+364. $55
The Measure of All Things
The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error that Transformed the World. By Ken Alder. New York: The Free Press, 2002. Pp. x+422. $27
Papermaking in Eighteenth-Century France
More than five decades ago, David Landes suggested that the "relatively retarded status" of the French economy could be blamed on French "attitudes and values inimical to the development of enterprise" (Journal of Economic History 9 [1949]: 45). Those familiar with more recent work by Landes and Samuel Huntington know that this kind of thesis, one that links national "culture" directly to economic development (or stagnation), is once again very m…
Leibniz and the Wind Machines
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz visited the Harz Mountains more than thirty times and spent almost three full years there between 1680 and 1686. His aim was to install wind machines for draining the Harz silver mines. Despite Leibniz’s best efforts—his commitment bordered on obsession—the enterprise ultimately failed. There is still disagreement about exactly what happened. Biographers and historians have mostly asserted that Leibniz, a universal geniu…
Papermaking in Eighteenth-Century France
More than five decades ago, David Landes suggested that the "relatively retarded status" of the French economy could be blamed on French "attitudes and values inimical to the development of enterprise" (Journal of Economic History 9 [1949]: 45). Those familiar with more recent work by Landes and Samuel Huntington know that this kind of thesis, one that links national "culture" directly to economic development (or stagnation), is once again very m…
The Measure of All Things
The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error that Transformed the World. By Ken Alder. New York: The Free Press, 2002. Pp. x+422. $27
Openness, Secrecy, Authorship
Openness, Secrecy, Authorship: Technical Arts and the Culture of Knowledge from Antiquity to the Renaissance. By Pamela O. Long. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. Pp. xii+364. $55
Pierre Simon Laplace, 1749-1827
Reviewed by: Pierre Simon Laplace, 1749–1827: A Determined Scientist Andre Wakefield (bio) Pierre Simon Laplace, 1749–1827: A Determined Scientist. By Roger Hahn . Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005. Pp. xi+310. $35. This is not a trendy book. It does not contain grand theoretical declarations or romantic portraits of daring scientists. Roger Hahn is skeptical of overblown claims and unsupported stories. His book mirrors his subject…
Protogaea
Protogaea
Protogaea is an ambitious account of terrestrial history, was central to the development of the earth sciences in the eighteenth century and provides key philosophical insights into the unity of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's thought and writings. Though the works of Leibniz have been widely translated into English, Protogaea has languished in its original Latin for centuries. Now Claudine Cohen and Andre Wakefield offer the first English translatio…
Leibniz and the Wind Machines
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz visited the Harz Mountains more than thirty times and spent almost three full years there between 1680 and 1686. His aim was to install wind machines for draining the Harz silver mines. Despite Leibniz’s best efforts—his commitment bordered on obsession—the enterprise ultimately failed. There is still disagreement about exactly what happened. Biographers and historians have mostly asserted that Leibniz, a universal geniu…
The New Holy Wars
Reviewed by: The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion vs. Environmental Religion in Contemporary America Andre Wakefield (bio) The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion vs. Environmental Religion in Contemporary America. By Robert H. Nelson. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010. Pp. xxi+388. $39.95. Robert Nelson argues that environmentalism and economics represent competing religious worldviews. Within this framework, debates over i…
Butterfield’s nightmare
Historians of science and technology once worried about the anachronism that suffused their discipline. Today there is less patience for such critical self-reflection. There are however still certain types of anachronism that historians of science have reason to worry about. My essay interrogates the abiding allure of what I call Disney history. Narratives that link the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution toget…
The Origins and History of the Earth
This chapter examines Leibniz’s contribution to the earth sciences. It focuses on his history of the earth, or Protogaea , written during the early 1690s. In this work, Leibniz used minerals and fossils to reconstruct prehistory, applying the methods of the historian to the archives of nature. The argument here is that Leibniz’s history of the earth helped to create conditions for the possibility of geology and paleontology as modern disciplines.
History (6 works) · Art (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Mathematics (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Archaeology (3 works) · Art history (3 works) · Literature (3 works)