The Origins of the Idea of Scientific Progress

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Focusing on the epistemological roots of scientific progress, this volume presents a fresh interpretation of early modern science and philosophy. It argues that scientific progress served as a methodological tool to navigate nature's unpredictability, contrasting Renaissance natural philosophy with a new knowledge regime that emphasized time in empirical research. Highlighting the contributions of Bernard de Fontenelle and his contemporaries, the book addresses gaps in scholarship regarding the early philosophers' understanding of progress, enriching the discourse on the era's intellectual landscape.