Lawrence Lipking. What Galileo Saw

This book seeks to establish connections with the history of science. Without considering the latest developments that are in fact transforming this discipline into a history of knowledge, the book expresses that there is more to the history of science than “just science.” The main message that Lawrence Lipking conveys is that “imagination” has to be investigated in order to understand the different stages of scientific thinking. At this level, the book is of historical character. The author travels through major scientific events of the seventeenth century while exploring the formation of its key scientific figures’ imaginations. He accomplishes his research by focusing strongly on literary works, followed by philosophical ones such as those of Francis Bacon, John Locke, and David Hume. Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, René Descartes, and Robert Fludd are the major figures whose scientific achievements are analyzed from this perspective. The number of literary works—in the vast meaning of the term—that are considered in this work expatiates from William Shakespeare and Sir Thomas Browne to John Milton and John Donne. Lipking mainly considers English literature.

Art · Art history · Astrobiology · Character (mathematics) · Copernicus · Epistemology · Galileo (satellite navigation) · History of science · Interpretation (philosophy) · Kepler · Literature · Meaning (existential) · Order (exchange) · Perspective (graphical) · Scientific revolution · Sociology of scientific knowledge · Visual arts · Classics · Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies · History · Philosophy