Wilson, A. (Cover date: Spring 2023) The Great Instauration of the Eighteenth Century. Journal of Early Modern Studies, 12 (1). pp. 187-229. ISSN 2285-6382
Abstract
This paper argues that there took place in the eighteenth century a specific, distinctive and essential phase in the emergence of modern science, a phase which can be characterised as “the Great Instauration” in that it witnessed the large-scale realisation of Francis Bacon’s earlier vision—albeit not, for the most part, through the specific means which Bacon had proposed. That claim is exemplified in three fields—the “physico-mathematical sciences,” chemistry and electricity—each of which yielded dramatic and permanent advances in knowledge; and an attempt is then made to render those advances intelligible in terms of specific social and technical themes. The paper proposes that the eighteenth-century Great Instauration arose from the development of an international natural-philosophical community, made possible by new institutions and especially by new publication media. And it suggests that what made this social development epistemologically fruitful was an inherently progressive process which had been anticipated by Bacon, namely what Sophie Weeks has called his “cybernetic” account of knowledge-making—the refinement of both questions and techniques in the light of Nature’s response to investigation.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This item is protected by copyright. This is an author produced version of an article published in Journal of Early Modern Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Eighteenth century, Great Instauration, Francis Bacon, mathematico-physical sciences, chemistry, electricity, natural philosophy, modern science |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Aug 2023 15:52 |
Last Modified: | 21 Sep 2023 12:58 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Philosophy Documentation Center |
Identification Number: | 10.5840/jems20231217 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:202436 |