A Subtle and Mysterious Machine
Subtitle: The Medical World of Walter Charleton (1619-1707) (Studies in History and Philosophy of Science)
Edition: 1 edition
Publisher: Springer
Published: November 28, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 297
ISBN-13: 9781402033773
Subjects: History of medicine; c 1600 to c 1700; Science/Mathematics; History; Science; Philosophy; Epistemology; Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy; General; Biography; Great Britain; History, 17th Century; Physicians
Description: Walter Charleton (1619-1707) has been widely depicted as a natural philosopher whose intellectual career mirrored the intellectual ferment of the scientific revolution. Instead of viewing him as a barometer of intellectual change, I examine the previously unexplored question of his identity as a physician. Examining three of his vernacular medical texts, this volume considers Charleton's thoughts on anatomy, physiology and the methods by which he sought to understand the invisible processes of the body. Although involved in many empirical investigations within the Royal Society, he did not give epistemic primacy to experimental findings, nor did he deliberately identify himself with the empirical methods associated with the 'new science'. Instead Charleton presented himself as a scholarly eclectic, following a classical model of the self.