Patricia Fara is a historian of science whose work illuminates the intricate relationship between art, Enlightenment England, and the contributions of women to scientific discovery. She delves into how visual culture and societal roles have shaped the trajectory of scientific thought. Through her accessible writings and lectures, Fara brings the history of science to life for a broad audience. Based at the University of Cambridge, she explores the dynamic interplay of art and societal forces in the evolution of scientific ideas.
2018 marked the centenary not only of the Armistice but also of women gaining the vote. A Lab of One's Own commemorates both anniversaries by exploring how the War gave female scientists, doctors, and engineers unprecedented opportunities to undertake endeavours normally reserved for men.
In Science , Patricia Fara rewrites science's past to provide new ways of understanding and questioning our modern technological society. Sweeping through the centuries from ancient Babylon right up to the latest hi-tech experiments in genetics and particle physics, Fara's book also rangesinternationally, challenging notions of European superiority by emphasizing the importance of scientific projects based around the world, including revealing discussions of China and the Islamic Empire alongside the more familiar stories about Copernicus's sun-centered astronomy, Newton's gravity,and Darwin's theory of evolution.We see for instance how Muslim leaders encouraged science by building massive libraries, hospitals, and astronomical observatories and we rediscover the significance of medieval Europe--long overlooked--where, surprisingly, religious institutions ensured science's survival, as the learningpreserved in monasteries was subsequently developed in new and unique universities. Instead of focussing on esoteric experiments and abstract theories, she explains how science belongs to the practical world of war, politics, and business. And rather than glorifying scientists asidealized 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.
Benjamin Franklin's Enlightenment world of philosophy, spectacle and electricity.
Isaac Newton is universally celebrated as a genius of science, renowned for his innovatory work on gravity and optics. Yet Newton did not always enjoy such legendary status, and his posthumous reputation has constantly changed and is riddled with contradictions.
"Presents Newton as a wealthy, ambitious Londoner with international connections, challenging the prevailing view of Newton as a solitary, reclusive genius. A unique narrative structure based on a Hogarth's painting 'The Indian Emperor', incorporating iconographic evidence to identify Newton as a participant in aristocratic metropolitan circles. Relates Newton and his science to Britain's imperial networks and the African slave trade, exposing Britain's greatest scientific hero as a participant in global trading based on slavery"--Publisher's description
"When the imperial explorer James Cook returned from his first voyage to Australia, scandal writers mercilessly satirised the amorous exploits of his botanist Joseph Banks, whose trousers were reportedly stolen while he was inside the tent of Queen Oberea of Tahiti. Was the pursuit of scientific truth really what drove Enlightenment science? In Sweden and Britain, both imperial powers, Banks and Carl Linneaus ruled over their own small scientific empires, promoting botanical exploration to justify the exploitation of territories, peoples and natural resources. Regarding native peoples with disdain, these two scientific emperors portrayed the Arctic North and the Pacific Ocean as uncorrupted Edens, free from the shackles of Western sexual mores. Patricia Fara reveals the existence, barely concealed under Banks' and Linnaeus' camouflage of noble Enlightenment, of the altogether more seedy drives to conquer, subdue and deflower in the name of the British Imperial state." -- Provided by publisher.
At the end of the 17th century, magnetism was a dark, mysterious force, known about since ancient Greece but still poorly understood. Tales abounded of magnets' ability to attract reluctant lovers, and magnetic expertise lay in the hands of seafarers, who had long used compasses to guide their ships. This book tells the stories of three men who were lured by nature's strangest power. Edmond Halley set out to map the Earth's magnetic patterns and improve navigation, showing how science could help England to expand her empire. Gowin Knight, a poor clergyman's son, climbed to fame and fortune by developing powerful artificial magnets used in compasses, scientific experiments and popular magic tricks. And although Franz Mesmer claimed that his 'animal magnetism', based on harnessing invisible streams of magnetic fluid, was the revolutionary medicine of the future, he was ultimately denounced as a quack. The move from magnetic mysticism to celebrating scientific rationality is a microcosm of the Enlightenment itself. In this book the author portrays the colourful protagonists of the magnetic revolution in this tumultuous and turbulent age.
Isaac Newton je oslavován jako jeden z největších vědeckých géniů světa, jako legendární hrdina, jemuž bylo dáno, aby díky pádu jablka nově zformuloval zákony přírody. Newton proslul svými revolučními myšlenkami o gravitaci a optice a stal se tak vědeckým idolem moderní doby, v níž si geniální člověk zjednává stejnou úctu, jaká byla dříve prokazována jen světcům. Ale Newton nebyl za génia uznán okamžitě. O jeho slávu se zasloužili věrní příznivci, kteří odráželi sveřepé útoky na jeho teorie a vyvraceli tvrzení, že zešílel. Tento samotářský učenec psal víc o alchymii a teologii než o světě přírody a jeho posmrtnou pověst komplikují rozpory. Tato kniha o Newtonovi zkoumá, jak byl život tohoto muže opět a opět nově vykládán, stejně jako jeho dílo. Pojednává o jeho proměně nejen v prvního vědeckého génia, ale také v lidového hrdinu. Patricia Fara vypráví o tom, jak Newtonovu novou kosmologii přijímali kladně i s kritickými výhradami odborníci, a zároveň rozebírá, proč podivínský badatel ovlivnil myšlení lidí, kteří se v jeho převratných objevech vlastně vůbec nevyznali. Rozborem výtvarných děl, poezie a prózy dospívá k tomu, jak se Newton stal kulturní veličinou, jejíž myšlenky se rozšířily po celém světě a pronikly do všech aspektů života. Newton je kniha přístupně psaná a doplněná obrazovou přílohou, v níž nalézáme podmanivé a objevné líčení proměn v postojích k našemu intelektuálnímu dědictví.
