Library Catalog

Newton and the Origin of Civilization /

Buchwald, Jed Z.

Newton and the Origin of Civilization / Mordechai Feingold, Jed Z. Buchwald. - Course Book - 1 online resource (544 p.) : 54 halftones. 14 line illus. 16 tables.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- List of Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Troubled Senses -- 2. Troubled Numbers -- 3. Erudition and Chronology in Seventeenth-Century England -- 4. Isaac Newton on Prophecies and Idolatry -- 5. Aberrant Numbers: The Propagation of Mankind before and after the Deluge -- 6. Newtonian History -- 7. Text and Testimony -- 9. Publication and Reaction -- 10. The War on Newton in England -- 11. The War on Newton in France -- 12. The Demise of Chronology -- 13. Evidence and History -- Appendix A: Signs, Conventions, Dating, and Definitions -- Appendix B: Newton's Computational Methods -- Appendix C: Commented Extracts from Newton's MS Calculations -- Appendix D: Placing Colures on the Original Star Globe -- Appendix E: Hesiod, Thales, and Stellar Risings and Settings -- Bibliography -- Index

restricted access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

Isaac Newton's Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended, published in 1728, one year after the great man's death, unleashed a storm of controversy. And for good reason. The book presents a drastically revised timeline for ancient civilizations, contracting Greek history by five hundred years and Egypt's by a millennium. Newton and the Origin of Civilization tells the story of how one of the most celebrated figures in the history of mathematics, optics, and mechanics came to apply his unique ways of thinking to problems of history, theology, and mythology, and of how his radical ideas produced an uproar that reverberated in Europe's learned circles throughout the eighteenth century and beyond. Jed Buchwald and Mordechai Feingold reveal the manner in which Newton strove for nearly half a century to rectify universal history by reading ancient texts through the lens of astronomy, and to create a tight theoretical system for interpreting the evolution of civilization on the basis of population dynamics. It was during Newton's earliest years at Cambridge that he developed the core of his singular method for generating and working with trustworthy knowledge, which he applied to his study of the past with the same rigor he brought to his work in physics and mathematics. Drawing extensively on Newton's unpublished papers and a host of other primary sources, Buchwald and Feingold reconcile Isaac Newton the rational scientist with Newton the natural philosopher, alchemist, theologian, and chronologist of ancient history.




Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.


In English.

9780691154787 9781400845187

10.1515/9781400845187 doi


Chronology, Historical--History--17th century.
Chronology, Historical--History--17th century.
Civilization, Ancient--Philosophy.
Civilization, Ancient--Philosophy.
Philosophers--England--Biography.
Public opinion--History--17th century.--Europe
Public opinion--History--Europe--17th century.
Scientists--England--Biography.
SCIENCE / History.

Aegyptiaca of Manetho. Antonio Conti. Arthur Bedford. Bible. Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms. Church history. Etienne Souciet. France. Genesis. Greek idolatry. HookeЈevelius controversy. Isaac Newton. Jean Du Temps. Johannes Hevelius. John Senex. Marmor Parium. Original of Monarchies. Persika of Ctesias of Cnidus. Robert Hooke. Royal dispensation. Scripture. The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms. Trinity College. Trojan War. alchemist. alchemy. ancient civilization. ancient empires. ancient history. ancient prophecies. anti-Trinitarianism. antiquity. astronomical chronology. astronomical data. astronomical tools. astronomy. calculation. cardinal points. chronological studies. chronologist. chronology. civilization. evolution. globes. heresy. heretic. historical knowledge. historical texts. holy orders. learning. mathematics. measurement. mechanics. monarchy. natural knowledge. natural philosopher. nineteenth century. optics. ordination. perception. population dynamics. population growth. population. publication. radical ideas. science. scientists. seventeenth century. theologian. theology. words.

QC16.N7 / B93 2017

530.092