James Tait Black Memorial Prizes
English Naturalists from Neckam to Ray: A Study of the Making of the Modern World (Cambridge Library Collection - Botany and Horticulture)
This scholarly study traces the development of English natural history from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century through the lives and writings of figures such as William Turner, John Caius, Thomas Penny, John Gerard, and John Parkinson. It presents the changing view of nature as a sequence of biographies that leads from superstition and inherited lore toward the rise of modern science.
Work Information
By following the lives of naturalists, the book shows how modern science took shape.
Charles E. Raven's book is a classic study first published in 1947 and later reissued by Cambridge University Press in 2010. Drawing on rich biography and documentary research, it follows the path from medieval natural lore and Renaissance botany to the formation of a modern understanding of nature, giving English natural history a vivid historical arc.
Review Summaries
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Its breadth of learning and the recovery of new material are highly valued, while some readers note that the frequent source notes interrupt the flow of the narrative. It is received as a substantial classic with major value for the study of natural history.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Published
- 2010-11-18
- Pages
- 394 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 15.24 x 2.51 x 22.86 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781108016346
- ISBN-10
- 1108016340
- Price
- 10724 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Professional & Technical/Professional Science/Biological Sciences
C. E. Raven (1885–1964) was an academic theologian elected Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge in 1932, who developed an interest in natural history and the history of scientific thought. First published in 1947, this volume demonstrates how changing attitudes to the natural world reflected and influenced the transformations in scientific thought between the medieval period and the eighteenth century. Raven's focus on the field of 'natural history' reveals how the scientific ideas behind modern biological studies developed from the richly illustrated and often fantastical bestiaries of the medieval world. The subjects of this volume are grouped chronologically into Pioneers, Explorers and Popularisers, with biographical details woven together with discussions of their academic work. The book provided a wealth of new information concerning the founders of natural history and remains a valuable contribution to this subject.