Showing papers in "Aestimatio : Critical Reviews in the History of Science in 2015"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the politics of music in the late fifth century at Athens and discuss the nightingale as a metaphor for music in Greek tragedy, and the role of music as catharsis in politics.
Abstract: Introduction PART I: MOUSIKE AND RELIGION 1. Muses and Mysteries 2. Changing choral worlds: song-dance and society in Athens and beyond 3. Song-dance and state-pilgrimage at Athens 4. Dancing the pyrrhikhe PART II: MOUSIKE ON STAGE 5. Choral prayer in Greek tragedy: euphemia or aischrologia? 6. Choral forms in Aristophanic comedy: musical mimesis and dramatic performance in classical Athens 7. Transforming the nightingale: aspects of Athenian musical discourse in the late fifth century PART III: THE POLITICS OF MOUSIKE 8. The Politics of the New Music 9. Damon of Oa: a music theorist ostracized 10. Athenian strings PART IV: MOUSIKE AND PAIDEIA 11. catharsis: the power of music in Aristotle's Politics 12. Dirty dancing: Xenophon's Symposium 13. The Muses and their arts
84 citations
TL;DR: The concept of sign, a portent observed in the physical world which indicates future events, is found in all ancient cultures, but was first developed in ancient Mesopotamian texts as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The concept of sign, a portent observed in the physical world, which indicates future events, is found in all ancient cultures, but was first developed in ancient Mesopotamian texts. This branch of Babylonian scientific knowledge extensively influenced other parts of the world, and similar texts written in Aramaic, Sanscrit, Sogdian, and other languages. The seminar will investigate how much do we know about the Babylonian theory and hermeneutics of omens, and the scope of their possible influences on other cultures and regions.
77 citations
TL;DR: The early modern genre of historical fiction connected the study of nature and culture from the early Renaissance to the eighteenth century as mentioned in this paper, and it can be seen as a key epistemic tool of early modern intellectual practices.
Abstract: The early modern genre of historia connected the study of nature and the study of culture from the early Renaissance to the eighteenth century. The ubiquity of historia as a descriptive method across a variety of disciplines -- including natural history, medicine, antiquarianism, and philology -- indicates how closely intertwined these scholarly pursuits were in the early modern period. The essays collected in this volume demonstrate that historia can be considered a key epistemic tool of early modern intellectual practices.Focusing on the actual use of historia across disciplines, the essays highlight a distinctive feature of early modern descriptive sciences: the coupling of observational skills with philological learning, empiricism with erudition. Thus the essays bring to light previously unexamined links between the culture of humanism and the scientific revolution.The contributors, from a range of disciplines that echoes the broad scope of early modern historia, examine such topics as the development of a new interest in historical method from the Renaissance artes historicae to the eighteenth-century tension between "history" and "system"; shifts in Aristotelian thought paving the way for revaluation of historia as descriptive knowledge; the rise of the new discipline of natural history; the uses of historia in anatomical and medical investigation and the writing of history by physicians; parallels between the practices of collecting and presenting information in both natural history and antiquarianism; and significant examples of the ease with which early seventeenth-century antiquarian scholars moved from studies of nature to studies of culture.
74 citations
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a glossary of Chinese and Greek terms is presented for understanding ancient societies, including the questionability of belief, the use and abuse of classification, and the use of a common ontology.
Abstract: 1. Understanding Ancient Societies 2. Science in Ancient Civilizations? 3. Carving out Territories 4. A Common Logic 5. Searching for Truth 6. The Questionability of Belief 7. Styles of Inquiry and the Question of a Common Ontology 8. The Use and Abuse of Classification 9. For Example and Against 10. Universities: their Histories and Responsibilities 11. Human Nature and Human Rights 12. A Critique of Democracy Conclusion Glossary of Chinese and Greek Terms
51 citations
TL;DR: The Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists as mentioned in this paper provides a comprehensive English language work to provide a survey of all ancient natural science, from its beginnings through the end of Late Antiquity, including entries which are not mentioned in any other reference work.
Abstract: The Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists is the first comprehensive English language work to provide a survey of all ancient natural science, from its beginnings through the end of Late Antiquity. A team of over 100 of the world’s experts in the field have compiled this Encyclopedia, including entries which are not mentioned in any other reference work – resulting in a unique and hugely ambitious resource which will prove indispensable for anyone seeking the details of the history of ancient science.
Additional features include a Glossary, Gazetteer, and Time-Line. The Glossary explains many Greek (or Latin) terms difficult to translate, whilst the Gazetteer describes the many locales from which scientists came. The Time-Line shows the rapid rise in the practice of science in the 5th century BCE and rapid decline after Hadrian, due to the centralization of Roman power, with consequent loss of a context within which science could flourish.
51 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a set of opening moves for knowledge is perception, which they call "Knowledge is perception" and "Relativism" for belief puzzles.
Abstract: 1. Opening moves 2. 'Knowledge is perception' 3. Relativism 4. Perception 5. Falsity puzzles 6. Accounts Bibliography Index locorum General index
50 citations
39 citations
TL;DR: Newton studies have undergone radical changes in the last half-century as more of his work has been uncovered and more details of his life and intellectual context have come to light as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Newton studies have undergone radical changes in the last half-century as more of his work has been uncovered and more details of his life and intellectual context have come to light. This volume singles out two strands in recent Newton studies: the intellectual background to Newton's scientific thought and both specific and general aspects of his technical science. The essays make new claims concerning Newton's mathematical methods, experimental investigations, and motivations, as well as the effect that his long presence had on science in England.The book is divided into two parts. The essays in part I shed new light on Newton's motivations and the sources of his method. The essays in part II explore Newton's mathematical philosophy and his development of rational mechanics and celestial dynamics. An appendix includes the last paper by Newton biographer Richard W. Westfall, examining some of the ways that mathematics came to be used in the age of Newton in pursuits and domains other than theoretical or rational mechanics.
34 citations
TL;DR: The Archimedes Palimpsest project as mentioned in this paper is a project dedicated to the preservation and preservation of the Archimede Palimphus from the Euchologion of Abigail Quandt.
Abstract: Introduction: the Archimedes Palimpsest project William Noel Part I. The Manuscripts: Part II. History: 1. The making of the Euchologion Abigail Quandt 2. The strange and eventful history of the Archimedes Palimpsest John Lowden 3. Itinera Archimedea: on Heiberg in Constantinople and Archimedes in Copenhagen Erik Petersen Part III. Conservation: 4. Conserving the Archimedes Palimpsest Abigail Quandt Part IV. The Digital Palimpsest: 5. Imaging and image-processing techniques William A. Christens-Barry, Roger L. Easton, Jr and Keith T. Knox 6. Imaging with x-ray fluorescence Uwe Bergmann 7. The Palimpsest data set Doug Emery, Alex Lee and Michael Toth Part V. The Texts: 8. The Palimpsest in context Natalie Tchernetska and Nigel Wilson 9. The place of Codex C in Archimedes scholarship Reviel Netz Appendix: concordance of foliations.
28 citations
TL;DR: The Dictionary Glossary Bibliography as discussed by the authors is a glossary of dictionaries and dictionaries for the English language with a focus on the use of adjectives and nouns, but without adjectives.
Abstract: Editor's foreword Acknowledgments Citations and Abbreviations Chronology Introduction The Dictionary Glossary Bibliography About the Author
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe a philosophy of perfection and progress for good communities in politics and philosophy in the community, including constitutions and the ruler of a country, and the ideal of good communities.
Abstract: Contents: Preface 'Ethics', 'philosophy' and philosophia Perfection and progress The passions Self, person and individual Self and others Politics 1: constitutions and the ruler Politics 2: good communities Politics 3: philosophia in politics and the community Philosophia and the mainstream Appendix Bibliography Indexes.
TL;DR: In this article, a glossary of key Chinese terms and names is presented, along with a discussion of the consequences of interpreting ancient understandings and their consequences for ontologies. But this glossary is limited to Chinese.
Abstract: Introduction 1. Humanity between Gods and Beasts? 2. Error 3. Ancient Understandings Reassessed and the Consequences for Ontologies 4. Language and Audiences 5. Philosophical Implications Epilogue Glossary of Key Chinese Terms and Names Bibliography Index
TL;DR: A brief biography of MA1/4nster's cosmography is given in this paper, along with a brief history of the Cosmographiae Universalis and its development.
Abstract: Contents: Introduction Sebastian MA1/4nster: a brief biography 16th-century cosmography: its sources, development and ambitions The Cosmographia: genesis of an idea, methods of realisation, versions of the text From centre to periphery: the organisation, topics and content of the Cosmographiae Universalis Understanding the world of MA1/4nster's Cosmographia: evaluating man, celebrating his works and interpreting the book of the world Conclusion Bibliography Index.
TL;DR: Darwinism has proved to be a hardy breed, especially if we judge provocation to be the sign of life as discussed by the authors, and the Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn felt obliged to go on the record once again about the Church's views on the debate over evolution in America.
Abstract: If survival of the fittest is a principle as relevant to ideas as it is to species, Darwinism has proved to be a hardy breed, especially if we judge provocation to be a sign of life. Last November alone, voters in Pennsylvania ousted school board members who had instated policies that gave Intelligent Design a hearing alongside Darwin in ninthgrade biology, while the Kansas Board of Education removed obstacles to teaching both perspectives. The Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn felt obliged to go on the record once again about the Church’s views on the debate over evolution in America. And an ambitious exhibition simply entitled ‘Darwin’ opened at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. One reviewer [Rothstein 2005], citing an 1844 letter in which Darwin says that writing about his ideas was ‘like confessing a murder’, takes the curator to task for domesticating a ‘bizarre’ and ‘shocking’ idea. What is so unnerving about Darwinism? The Cardinal is blunt: ‘It’s all about materialism, that’s the key issue’ [Heneghan 2005]. It is the idea that matter is the only reality.
TL;DR: Levi ben Gershom, known as Gersonides (1288-1344), was one of the most influential Medieval Jewish philosophers, and surely the most renowned among Hebrew-writing Jewish authors active in Provence during the Late Middle Ages.
Abstract: Levi ben Gershom, known as Gersonides (1288–1344), was one of the most influential Medieval Jewish philosophers, and surely the most renowned among Hebrew-writing Jewish authors active in Provence during the Late Middle Ages. Possibly born in Orange (now in the French department of Vaucluse), he spent all his life near the area of the Rhone Delta; for a period he was at the papal court, then in Avignon, where he acted as an official astronomer and astrologer— and maybe as a physician too. Many of Gersonides’ minor works are of scientific interest since they concern the different fields of logic, arithmetic, geometry, musicology, and astronomy; however, his major and best-known writings, in approximate chronological order, are the following:
TL;DR: The social context of magic in the 3rd Millennium & Middle Kingdom (John Baines) The End is Near (Leonard Lesko) Corn Mummies: Amulets of Life (Maria Costanza Centrone) The Spitting Goddess and the Stoney Eye: Divinity and Flint in Pharaonic Egypt (Carolyn Graves-Brown) Magic, Dreams and Prophecy in Egyptian Narrative Literature (Alan B Lloyd) Nocturnal Ciphers in the Ancient Near East: Egyptian Dream Exegesis from a Comparative Perspective (Scott Noegel) In Search of the Sorcerer
Abstract: The Social Context of Magic in the 3rd Millennium & Middle Kingdom (John Baines) The End is Near (Leonard Lesko) Corn Mummies: \"Amulets of Life\" (Maria Costanza Centrone) The Spitting Goddess and the Stoney Eye: Divinity and Flint in Pharaonic Egypt (Carolyn Graves-Brown) Magic, Dreams and Prophecy in Egyptian Narrative Literature (Alan B Lloyd) Nocturnal Ciphers in the Ancient Near East: Egyptian Dream Exegesis from a Comparative Perspective (Scott Noegel) In Search of the Sorcerer's Apprentice (Daniel Ogden) Sinuhe's Dream (Richard B Parkinson) A black cat from right, and a scarab on your head: New sources for Ancient Egyptian Divination (Joachim Quack) The Dreams of the Twins of St. Petersburg (John Ray) 'and each staff transformed into a snake' The Serpent Wand in Egyptian Magic (Robert K Ritner) A Lost Dream Episode (Anthony J Spalinger) Introduction: Tomorrow is Yesterday (Kasia Szpakowska) Entangled or Connected: The power of knots and knotting in Ancient Egypt (Willemina Wendrich)
TL;DR: During the Renaissance, collections of letters both satisfied humanist enthusiasm for ancient literary forms and provided the flexibility of a format appropriate to many types of inquiry, and may be regarded as products of medical humanism.
Abstract: During the Renaissance, collections of letters both satisfied humanist enthusiasm for ancient literary forms and provided the flexibility of a format appropriate to many types of inquiry. The printed collections of medical letters by Giovanni Manardo of Ferrara and other physicians in early sixteenth-century Europe may thus be regarded as products of medical humanism. The letters of mid- and late sixteenth-century Italian and German physicians examined in "Communities of Learned Experience" by Nancy G. Siraisi also illustrate practices associated with the concepts of the Republic of Letters: open and relatively informal communication among a learned community and a liberal exchange of information and ideas. Additionally, such published medical correspondence may often have served to provide mutual reinforcement of professional reputation. Siraisi uses some of these collections to compare approaches to sharing medical knowledge across broad regions of Europe and within a city, with the goal of illuminating geographic differences as well as diversity within social, urban, courtly, and academic environments. The collections she has selected include essays on general medical topics addressed to colleagues or disciples, some advice for individual patients (usually written at the request of the patient's doctor), and a strong dose of controversy.
TL;DR: Roller as mentioned in this paper is the first comprehensive treatment of Eratosthenes' Geographica since R.M.Bentham's largely inaccessible, unpublished PhD thesis, The Fragments ofEratostse [1948].
Abstract: Roller’s Eratosthenes’ Geography is the first comprehensive treatment of Eratosthenes’ Geographica since R.M.Bentham’s largely inaccessible, unpublished PhD thesis, The Fragments of Eratosthenes [1948]. Two earlier German editions exist: Bernhardy 1880 and Seidel 1789. Roller’s assessment of the Geographica is balanced and synoptic, and it relies on the best of current and earlier scholarship. Asserting that ‘Eratosthenes’ world overflowed with geographical data’ [10], Roller brings together that data and contextualizes it within the intellectual settings of both Eratosthenes’ Hellenistic Alexandria and the academic milieux of later extractors.
TL;DR: In this paper, Proust et al. presente et analyse du point de vue historique, mettant au jour de nouveaux aspects de la formation des scribes dans la periode babylonienne ancienne ainsi que le role des mathematiques au sein de ce cursus.
Abstract: Le volume contient les copies manuscrites, les photographies et les etudes de toutes les tablettes mathematiques et metrologiques de la collection Hilprecht de Iena (a l'exception du texte astronomico-mathematique dit " texte de Hilprecht " HS 245). L'etude des textes mathematico-metrologiques par l'historienne des mathematiques Christine Proust repose sur des travaux preparatoires accomplis par Joachim Oelsner pendant plusieurs annees. Dans cette edition sont inclus les extraits lexicaux et litteraires conserves sur plusieurs tablettes (etudies par Manfred Krebernik). Les tablettes proviennent, autant que l'on puisse en apporter la preuve, de Nippur et remontent pour l'essentiel a la periode babylonienne ancienne (1ere moitie du 2eme millenaire avant J. C.). Concernant deux textes du 3e millenaire, deja publies anterieurement, la nouvelle edition offre une synthese et une actualisation de la recherche effectuee jusqu'a present. Les autres textes sont, pour la plupart, publies pour la premiere fois. Dans une introduction detaillee, le corpus est presente et analyse du point de vue historique, mettant au jour de nouveaux aspects de la formation des scribes dans la periode babylonienne ancienne ainsi que le role des mathematiques au sein de ce cursus. Une reconstruction de toutes les tablettes mathematiques, un glossaire des termes mathematiques ainsi qu'un index des termes attestes dans les passages non mathematiques completent le volume.
TL;DR: The book as mentioned in this paper explores scientific and technological history in Islamic culture from health care to astronomy to reveal the innovations of Muslim society that have shaped our modern world, and provides insight into the everyday life of the historic Muslim society and related Western growth.
Abstract: Companion to the record-breaking London exhibit, this book is rich with vibrant images and little known facts that highlight revolutionising discoveries made throughout Muslim history that effected world change and continue to shape our world today. The beautifully illustrated volume mirrors the original self-published book in stunning illustrations, information, and scope, but has a more accessible presentation and price to appeal to both trade consumers and exhibit visitors. The book explores scientific and technological history in Islamic culture from health care to astronomy to reveal the innovations of Muslim society that have shaped our modern world. Complete with a foldout timeline and map illustrating the worldly contributions of Muslims, remarkable photographs and colourful illustrations, artefacts, historic documents and drawings, this book not only reveals 1001 Muslim inventions, but provides insight into the everyday life of the historic Muslim society and related Western growth.
TL;DR: In this article, a collection of papers studies the Hippocratic writings in their relationship to the intellectual, social, cultural and literary context in which they were written, including not only the Greek world, but also the medical thought and practice of other civilisations in the Mediterranean, such as Babylonian and Egyptian medicine.
Abstract: This collection of papers studies the Hippocratic writings in their relationship to the intellectual, social, cultural and literary context in which they were written. 'Context' includes not only the Greek world, but also the medical thought and practice of other civilisations in the Mediterranean, such as Babylonian and Egyptian medicine. A further point of interest are the relations between the Hippocratic writings and 'non-Hippocratic' medical authors of the fifth and fourth century BCE, such as "Diocles of Carystus", "Praxagoras of Cos", as well as Plato, Aristotle and Theophrastus. The collection further includes studies of some of the less well-known works in the "Hippocratic Corpus", such as "Internal Affections", "On the Eye", and "Prorrheticon". And finally, a number of papers are devoted to the impact and reception of Hippocratic thought in later antiquity and the early modern period.