Chemistry in the Scientific Revolution

科学革命中的化学

• 批准号: 8821955
• 负责人: Edward Davis
• 金额: $ 0.9万
• 依托单位: Messiah College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1989
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1989-05-15 至 1990-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8821955&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Chemistry; Scientific; Revolution

"Scientific revolution" has many meanings, the most common being the overthrow of one theory for another. The "revolution" concerning the theory of continental drift and plate tectonics is a recent example of such a revolution. Much rarer, however, has been those kinds of global scientific revolutions which radically alter our view of the world around us. While there may be more, four readily come to mind: the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th Centuries, the Darwinian Revolution, the Einsteinian Revolution and the Revolution ensuing from Quantum Theory. These revolutions represent not just a change in theories or sets of theories, but a radical shift of our views of ourselves and our place in the Universe. Studies of these global revolutions consequently remain centrally important for understanding both science and human nature itself. Dr. Davis is examining the papers of one of the central figures in the first scientific revolution, Robert Boyle. Boyle, second only to Newton, made lasting contributions to the establishment of the mechanical philosophy. As an experimental scientist and aggressive polemicist, Boyle sought to demonstrate the philosophical, theological, and scientific deficiencies of the Aristotelian, Renaissance and Cartesian systems of nature. It is in no small part owing to Boyle's defense of atomism that Newton and his followers also rejected these other systems. Despite his importance, Boyle's unpublished papers have never been analyzed as a whole for what they reveal about the development of his thought. Collaborating with Dr. Michael Hunter of the University of London, Dr. Davis will undertake an analytical study of he relationship of Boyle's unpublished and published writings. The long term goal is to complete a work which will shed entirely new light on our understanding of a man whose work can be seen as a microcosm of the scientific revolution.

“科学革命”有多种含义，最常见的是用一种理论推翻另一种理论。 大陆漂移说和板块构造理论的“革命”就是这种革命的最新例子。 然而，更为罕见的是那些从根本上改变我们对周围世界的看法的全球科学革命。 虽然可能还有更多，但我很容易想到其中的四个：16 世纪和 17 世纪的科学革命、达尔文革命、爱因斯坦革命和量子理论引发的革命。 这些革命不仅代表了理论或理论集的变化，而且代表了我们对自己和我们在宇宙中的地位的看法的根本转变。 因此，对这些全球革命的研究对于理解科学和人性本身仍然至关重要。 戴维斯博士正在审查第一次科学革命的核心人物之一罗伯特·博伊尔的论文。 波义耳对机械哲学的建立做出了仅次于牛顿的持久贡献。 作为一名实验科学家和激进的辩论家，波义耳试图证明亚里士多德、文艺复兴和笛卡尔自然体系在哲学、神学和科学上的缺陷。 牛顿和他的追随者也拒绝了这些其他体系，这在很大程度上要归功于波义耳对原子论的辩护。 尽管博伊尔很重要，但他未发表的论文从未被整体分析过，因为它们揭示了他的思想发展。 戴维斯博士将与伦敦大学的迈克尔·亨特博士合作，对博伊尔未发表和已发表的著作之间的关系进行分析研究。 长期目标是完成一部工作，它将为我们对一个可以被视为科学革命缩影的人的理解提供全新的视角。