The Microscope in the Dutch Republic: The Shaping Of Discovery by Edward G. RuestowThe Microscope in the Dutch Republic: The Shaping Of Discovery by Edward G. Ruestow

The Microscope in the Dutch Republic: The Shaping Of Discovery

byEdward G. Ruestow

Paperback | January 22, 2004

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Focusing on the two seventeenth-century pioneers of microscopic discovery, the Dutchmen Jan Swammerdam and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, the author demonstrates that their uneasiness with their social circumstances spurred their discoveries. Ruestow argues that while aspects of Dutch culture impeded serious research with the microscope, the contemporary culture shaped how Swammerdam and Leeuwenhoek responded to what they saw through the lens. For those interested in the history of science, this book considers the impact of institutionalization on microscopic research, and dissects the cultural, social and emotional circumstances that shaped early microscopic discovery.
Title:The Microscope in the Dutch Republic: The Shaping Of DiscoveryFormat:PaperbackDimensions:364 pages, 8.98 × 5.98 × 0.83 inPublished:January 22, 2004Publisher:Cambridge University PressLanguage:English

The following ISBNs are associated with this title:

ISBN - 10:0521528631

ISBN - 13:9780521528634

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Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Of light, lenses and glass beads; 2. Seeming invitations; 3. Obstacles; 4. Discovery preempted; 5. Swammerdam; 6. Leeuwenhoek I: A clever burgher; 7. Leeuwenhoek II: Images and ideas; 8. Generation I: Turning against a tradition; 9. Generation II: The search for first beginnings; 10. A new world; Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

"This is an interesting and admirable attempt to reconstruct the social and intellectual context of discovery, in this case, discovery with the microscope in the seventeenth-century Dutch republic. This book represents an important contribution to the study of early modern science and technology in general." Pamela H. Smith, Technology and Culture