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This volume collects reflections on the role of philosophy in case studies in the history of science. Case studies have played a prominent role in recent history and philosophy of science. They have been used to illustrate, question, explore, or explicate philosophical points of view. Even if not explicitly so, historical narratives are always guided by philosophical background assumptions. But what happens if different philosophies lead to different narratives of the same historical episodes? Can historical case studies decide between competing philosophical viewpoints? What are the criteria that a case study has to fulfill in order to be philosophically relevant? Bringing together leading practitioners in the fields of history and philosophy of the physical and the life sciences, this volume addresses this methodological problem and proposes ways of rendering explicit philosophical assumptions of historical work.

Philosophy of science --- History as a science --- Science --- Philosophy and science --- History --- Historiography --- Philosophy --- Science - Historiography --- Science - Philosophy --- History. --- Philosophy and science. --- History of Science. --- Philosophy of Science.

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Today, an increasing number of historians are turning to the history of recent and contemporary science. When doing so, they are confronted with new and unfamiliar methodological and theoretical problems: How to handle the huge amounts of published and unpublished sources? Is it possible to write a synthetic history of recent science? What level of scientific training is necessary to understand recent and contemporary science? Does the lack of historical distance prevent good scholarship? Can (and will) historians of recent science share the turf with other professional groups, such as active scientists, scholars of science and technology studies, and science journalism? How to deal with scientists' and technocrats' constant interference with our work? Whose history are we writing? Whose science? The thirteen contributors to this volume are active researchers in what has been called 'the last frontier' in the history of science.

Science --- Technology --- Historiography --- Historiographies --- Applied science --- Arts, Useful --- Science, Applied --- Useful arts --- Industrial arts --- Material culture --- Natural science --- Science of science --- Sciences --- history --- Conferences - Meetings --- Natural sciences --- Science - Historiography - Congresses. --- Technology - Historiography - Congresses.

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Thomas Hankins and Robert Silverman investigate an array of instruments from the seventeenth through the nineteenth century that seem at first to be marginal to science--magnetic clocks that were said to operate by the movements of sunflower seeds, magic lanterns, ocular harpsichords (machines that played different colored lights in harmonious mixtures), Aeolian harps (a form of wind chime), and other instruments of "natural magic" designed to produce wondrous effects. By looking at these and the first recording instruments, the stereoscope, and speaking machines, the authors show that "scientific instruments" first made their appearance as devices used to evoke wonder in the beholder, as in works of magic and the theater.The authors also demonstrate that these instruments, even though they were often "tricks," were seen by their inventors as more than trickery. In the view of Athanasius Kircher, for instance, the sunflower clock was not merely a hoax, but an effort to demonstrate, however fraudulently, his truly held belief that the ability of a flower to follow the sun was due to the same cosmic magnetic influence as that which moved the planets and caused the rotation of the earth. The marvels revealed in this work raise and answer questions about the connections between natural science and natural magic, the meaning of demonstration, the role of language and the senses in science, and the connections among art, music, literature, and natural science.Originally published in 1995.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Creative ability in science --- Creativite en sciences --- Creativiteit in de wetenschap --- Scientific creativity --- Instruments scientifiques. --- Creative ability in science. --- Scientific apparatus and instruments. --- Instrumenten. --- Naturwissenschaften. --- Wissenschaftliches Instrument. --- Appareils et instruments scientifiques --- Créativité en sciences. --- Musiktheorie. --- Naturwissenschaftliches Instrument. --- Créativité en sciences --- Créativité en sciences --- Apparatus, Scientific --- Scientific apparatus and instruments --- Science --- Sciences --- History --- History. --- Historiography. --- Methodology. --- Histoire --- Historiographie --- Méthodologie --- Scientific method --- Logic, Symbolic and mathematical --- Instruments, Scientific --- Scientific instruments --- Research --- Methodology --- Instruments --- Equipment and supplies --- History of civilization --- Pure sciences. Natural sciences (general) --- Europe --- Historiography --- Scientific apparatus and instruments - Europe - History. --- Science - Historiography --- Scientific apparatus and instruments - Europe - History --- Science - Europe - History --- Science - Methodology