| Description |
1 online resource (x, 286 pages) : illustrations |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Description |
text file |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 250-273) and indexes. |
| Contents |
Mechanics and the mechanical : some problems of terminology -- 'Mechanistic' thought before mechanics? -- Mechanics in the fourth century -- The theory and practice of ancient Greek mechanics -- Ancient Greek mechanics continued : the case of pneumatics -- The philosophical reception of mechanics in antiquity. |
| Summary |
"It has often been thought that the ancient Greeks did not take mechanics seriously as part of the workings of nature, and that this contributed to the marginalization of their natural philosophy. In this book Sylvia Berryman challenges that assumption, arguing that the idea that the world works 'like a machine' can be found in ancient Greek thought, predating the early modern philosophy with which it is most closely associated. Her discussion ranges over topics including balancing and equilibrium, lifting water, sphere-making and models of the heavens, and ancient Greek pneumatic theory, with detailed analysis of thinkers such as Aristotle, Archimedes and Hero of Alexandria. Her book shows scholars of ancient Greek philosophy why it is necessary to pay attention to mechanics, and shows historians of science why the differences between ancient and modern reactions to mechanics are not as great as was generally thought. Her historical treatment of the meaning of 'mechanistic' or 'mechanical' is of value to contemporary philosophical debates about explanation."--Jacket. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Philosophy, Ancient.
|
|
Philosophy, Ancient. |
|
Philosophy of nature -- History.
|
|
Philosophy of nature. |
|
History. |
|
Mechanism (Philosophy) -- History.
|
|
Mechanism (Philosophy) |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
|
|
History.
|
| Other Form: |
Print version: Berryman, Sylvia. Mechanical hypothesis in ancient Greek natural philosophy. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009 (DLC) 2009281848 |
| ISBN |
9780511604980 (electronic book) |
|
051160498X (electronic book) |
|
0521763762 (hardback) |
|
9780521763769 (hardback) |
|
9780521763769 (hardback) |
| Standard No. |
9786612317897 |
|
