Astronomy, Ancient

Ptolemy's Universe

Ptolemy's Universe

Author: Liba Chaia Taub

Publisher:

ISBN: UOM:39015029476184

Category: Astronomy, Ancient

Page: 216

View: 339

Claudius Ptolemy, one of the greatest scientists of all time, probably lived in Alexandria in the second century A.D. His writings dominated astronomy and cosmology in medieval times. The replacement of his Earth-centered cosmology by the Sun-centered cosmology of Copernicus is the most celebrated event in the history of science. Yet, although there has been much scholarly discussion of the mathematical aspects of Ptolemy's astronomy, little attention has been paid to the philosophical, and particularly the ethical, ideas which animate the astronomy. Ptolemy's Universe is the first modern examination of Ptolemy's thought as a whole, and its place in Greek intellectual culture.
Science

Ptolemy's Theory of Visual Perception

Ptolemy's Theory of Visual Perception

Author: Ptolemy

Publisher: American Philosophical Society

ISBN: 0871698625

Category: Science

Page: 300

View: 804

Mathematics

Ptolemy's Philosophy

Ptolemy's Philosophy

Author: Jacqueline Feke

Publisher: Princeton University Press

ISBN: 9780691210391

Category: Mathematics

Page: 250

View: 140

A stimulating intellectual history of Ptolemy's philosophy and his conception of a world in which mathematics reigns supreme The Greco-Roman mathematician Claudius Ptolemy is one of the most significant figures in the history of science. He is remembered today for his astronomy, but his philosophy is almost entirely lost to history. This groundbreaking book is the first to reconstruct Ptolemy’s general philosophical system—including his metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics—and to explore its relationship to astronomy, harmonics, element theory, astrology, cosmology, psychology, and theology. In this stimulating intellectual history, Jacqueline Feke uncovers references to a complex and sophisticated philosophical agenda scattered among Ptolemy’s technical studies in the physical and mathematical sciences. She shows how he developed a philosophy that was radical and even subversive, appropriating ideas and turning them against the very philosophers from whom he drew influence. Feke reveals how Ptolemy’s unique system is at once a critique of prevailing philosophical trends and a conception of the world in which mathematics reigns supreme. A compelling work of scholarship, Ptolemy’s Philosophy demonstrates how Ptolemy situated mathematics at the very foundation of all philosophy—theoretical and practical—and advanced the mathematical way of life as the true path to human perfection.
History

Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, Volume 49

Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, Volume 49

Author: Brad Inwood

Publisher: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780198749608

Category: History

Page: 421

View: 529

Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy is a volume of original articles on all aspects of ancient philosophy. The articles may be of substantial length, and include critical notices of major books. OSAP is now published twice yearly, in both hardback and paperback. 'The serial Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy (OSAP) is fairly regarded as the leading venue for publication in ancient philosophy. It is where one looks to find the state-of-the-art. That the serial, which presents itself more as an anthology than as a journal, has traditionally allowed space for lengthier studies, has tended only to add to its prestige; it is as if OSAP thus declares that, since it allows as much space as the merits of the subject require, it can be more entirely devoted to the best and most serious scholarship.' Michael Pakaluk, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Study Aids

Let's Review Regents: Earth Science--Physical Setting Revised Edition

Let's Review Regents: Earth Science--Physical Setting Revised Edition

Author: Edward J. Denecke

Publisher: Barrons Educational Series

ISBN: 9781506264646

Category: Study Aids

Page: 801

View: 866

Barron's Let's Review Regents: Earth Science--Physical Setting gives students the step-by-step review and practice they need to prepare for the Regents exam. This updated edition is an ideal companion to high school textbooks and covers all Physical Setting/Earth Science topics prescribed by the New York State Board of Regents. This useful supplement to high school Earth Science textbooks features: Comprehensive topic review covering fundamentals such as astronomy, geology, and meteorology The 2011 Edition Reference Tables for Physical Setting/Earth Science More than 1,100 practice questions with answers covering all exam topics drawn from recent Regents exams One recent full-length Regents exam with answers Looking for additional practice and review? Check out Barron’s Regents Earth Science--Physical Setting Power Pack two-volume set, which includes Regents Exams and Answers: Earth Science--Physical Setting in addition to Let’s Review Regents: Earth Science--Physical Setting.
Science

Growing Up with Science

Growing Up with Science

Author: Marshall Cavendish Corporation

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish

ISBN: 0761475052

Category: Science

Page: 136

View: 682

A seventeen-volume, alphabetically-arranged encyclopedia contains approximately five hundred articles introducing key aspects of science and technology.
Science

How Spacecraft Fly

How Spacecraft Fly

Author: Graham Swinerd

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

ISBN: 9780387765723

Category: Science

Page: 272

View: 825

In this popular science book, Graham Swinerd explains, without the use of mathematics and in an informal way, aerodynamic and astrodynamic flight for non-technical readers who are interested in spaceflight and spacecraft.
Science

Solving Everyday Problems with the Scientific Method

Solving Everyday Problems with the Scientific Method

Author: Don K. Mak

Publisher: World Scientific

ISBN: 9789812835093

Category: Science

Page: 235

View: 978

This book describes how one can use The Scientific Method to solve everyday problems including medical ailments, health issues, money management, traveling, shopping, cooking, household chores, etc. It illustrates how to exploit the information collected from our five senses, how to solve problems when no information is available for the present problem situation, how to increase our chances of success by redefining a problem, and how to extrapolate our capabilities by seeing a relationship among heretofore unrelated concepts. One should formulate a hypothesis as early as possible in order to have a sense of direction regarding which path to follow. Occasionally, by making wild conjectures, creative solutions can transpire. However, hypotheses need to be well-tested. Through this way, The Scientific Method can help readers solve problems in both familiar and unfamiliar situations. Containing real-life examples of how various problems are solved ? for instance, how some observant patients cure their own illnesses when medical experts have failed ? this book will train readers to observe what others may have missed and conceive what others may not have contemplated. With practice, they will be able to solve more problems than they could previously imagine.
Social Science

Islam and Science, Medicine, and Technology

Islam and Science, Medicine, and Technology

Author: Sally Ganchy

Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc

ISBN: 9781435850668

Category: Social Science

Page: 66

View: 262

Introduces islamic innovations ranging from the astrolabe to the scientific method.
Philosophy

The Emergence of a Scientific Culture

The Emergence of a Scientific Culture

Author: Stephen Gaukroger

Publisher: Clarendon Press

ISBN: 9780191563911

Category: Philosophy

Page: 576

View: 530

Why did science emerge in the West and how did scientific values come to be regarded as the yardstick for all other forms of knowledge? Stephen Gaukroger shows just how bitterly the cognitive and cultural standing of science was contested in its early development. Rejecting the traditional picture of secularization, he argues that science in the seventeenth century emerged not in opposition to religion but rather was in many respects driven by it. Moreover, science did not present a unified picture of nature but was an unstable field of different, often locally successful but just as often incompatible, programmes. To complicate matters, much depended on attempts to reshape the persona of the natural philosopher, and distinctive new notions of objectivity and impartiality were imported into natural philosophy, changing its character radically by redefining the qualities of its practitioners. The West's sense of itself, its relation to its past, and its sense of its future, have been profoundly altered since the seventeenth century, as cognitive values generally have gradually come to be shaped around scientific ones. Science has not merely brought a new set of such values to the task of understanding the world and our place in it, but rather has completely transformed the task, redefining the goals of enquiry. This distinctive feature of the development of a scientific culture in the West marks it out from other scientifically productive cultures. In The Emergence of a Scientific Culture, Stephen Gaukroger offers a detailed and comprehensive account of the formative stages of this development—-and one which challenges the received wisdom that science was seen to be self-evidently the correct path to knowledge and that the benefits of science were immediately obvious to the disinterested observer.
Science

Science

Science

Author: Patricia Fara

Publisher: OUP Oxford

ISBN: 9780191655579

Category: Science

Page: 424

View: 283

Science: A Four Thousand Year History rewrites science's past. Instead of focussing on difficult experiments and abstract theories, Patricia Fara shows how science has always belonged to the practical world of war, politics, and business. Rather than glorifying scientists as idealized heroes, she tells true stories about real people - men (and some women) who needed to earn their living, who made mistakes, and who trampled down their rivals in their quest for success. Fara sweeps through the centuries, from ancient Babylon right up to the latest hi-tech experiments in genetics and particle physics, illuminating the financial interests, imperial ambitions, and publishing enterprises that have made science the powerful global phenomenon that it is today. She also ranges internationally, illustrating the importance of scientific projects based around the world, from China to the Islamic empire, as well as the more familiar tale of science in Europe, from Copernicus to Charles Darwin and beyond. Above all, this four thousand year history challenges scientific supremacy, arguing controversially that science is successful not because it is always right - but because people have said that it is right.
Science

Ptolemy's Almagest

Ptolemy's Almagest

Author: Ptolemy

Publisher: Princeton University Press

ISBN: 9780691002606

Category: Science

Page: 712

View: 425

Ptolemy's Almagest is one of the most influential scientific works in history. A masterpiece of technical exposition, it was the basic textbook of astronomy for more than a thousand years, and still is the main source for our knowledge of ancient astronomy. This translation, based on the standard Greek text of Heiberg, makes the work accessible to English readers in an intelligible and reliable form. It contains numerous corrections derived from medieval Arabic translations and extensive footnotes that take account of the great progress in understanding the work made in this century, due to the discovery of Babylonian records and other researches. It is designed to stand by itself as an interpretation of the original, but it will also be useful as an aid to reading the Greek text.