The First Scientist: Anaximander and His Legacy PDF
Preview The First Scientist: Anaximander and His Legacy
THE FIRST SCIENTIST ANAXIMANDER AND HIS LEGACY CARLO ROVELLI Translated by Marion Lignana Rosenberg WESTHOLME Yardley Frontispiece: A relief of Anaximander. (Courtesy of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Special Superintendence for the Archaeological Heritage of Rome) ©2007 Carlo Rovelli Originally published as Anaximandre de Milet, ou la naissance de la pensée scientifique by Éditions Dunod ©Dunod, Paris, 2009, pour la tradution française. ISBN 978-2-10-052939-1 English translation ©2011 Westholme Publishing The author and publisher thank FQXi (the Foundational Questions Institute) for the grant that has supported the English translation of this book. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Westholme Publishing, LLC 904 Edgewood Road Yardley, Pennsylvania 19067 Visit our Web site at www.westholmepublishing.com ISBN: 978-1-59416-535-1 (electronic) Also available in hardcover. Produced in the United States of America. To Bonnie CONTENTS Introduction ONE The Sixth Century Knowledge and Astronomy The Gods Miletus TWO Anaximander’s Contributions THREE Atmospheric Phenomena Cosmological and Biological Naturalism FOUR Earth Floats in Space, Suspended in the Void FIVE Invisible Entities and Natural Laws Thales: Water Anaximenes: Compressing and Rarefying Anaximander: Apeiron The Idea of Natural Law: Anaximander, Pythagoras, and Plato SIX Rebellion Becomes Virtue SEVEN Writing, Democracy, and Cultural Crossbreeding The Greek Alphabet Science and Democracy Cultural Crossbreeding EIGHT What Is Science? The Crumbling of Nineteenth-Century Illusions Science Cannot be Reduced to Verifiable Predictions Exploring Forms of Thought About the World The Evolving Worldview The Rules of the Game and Commensurability Why is Science Reliable? In Praise of Uncertainty NINE Between Cultural Relativism and Absolute Thought TEN Can We Understand the World Without Gods? The Conflict ELEVEN Prescientific Thought The Nature of Mythical-Religious Thought The Different Functions of the Divine Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index Illustration Credits Acknowledgments Rerum fores aperuisse, Anaximander Milesius traditur primus. It is said that Anaximander of Miletus first opened the doors of nature. —Pliny, Natural History 2
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