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Science for a Polite Society: Gender, Culture, and the Demonstration of
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Science for a Polite Society: Gender, Culture, and the Demonstration of Enlightenment Paperback - 1997

by Geoffrey V. Sutton

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Author Geoffrey Sutton explains the social, cultural, and intellectual origins of modern science. Sutton paints a vivid picture of how 17th and 18th century drawing-room experiments of leaping electrical arcs and chemical explosions persuaded the skeptical to believe. Includes figures, notes, bibliography, index.

Reader reviews for Science for a Polite Society: Gender, Culture, and the Demonstration of Enlightenment

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Traditional accounts of the scientific revolution focus on such thinkers as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton, and usually portray it as a process of steady, rational progress. There is another side to this story, and its protagonists are more likely to be women than men, dilettante aristocrats than highly educated natural philosophers. The setting is not the laboratory, but rather the literary salons of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France, and the action takes place sometime between Europe's last great witch hunts and the emergence of the modern world.Science for a Polite Society is an intriguing reexamination of the social, cultural, and intellectual context of the origins of modern science. The elite of French society accepted science largely because of their personal involvement and fascination with the emerging philosophy of nature. Members of salon society, especially women, were avid readers of works of natural philosophy and active participants in experiments for the edification of their peers. Some of these women went on to champion the new science and played a significant role in securing its acceptance by polite society.As Geoffrey Sutton points out, the sheer entertainment value of startling displays of electricity and chemical explosions would have played an important role in persuading the skeptical. We can only imagine the effects of such drawing-room experiments on an audience that lived in a world illuminated by tallow candles. For many, leaping electrical arcs and window-rattling detonations must have been as convincing as Newton's mathematically elegant description of the motions of the planets.With the acceptance and triumph of the new science came a prestige that made it a model of what rationality should be. The Enlightenment adopted the methods of scientific thought as the model for human progress. To be an ?enlightened? thinker meant believing that the application of scientific methods could reform political and economic life, to the lasting benefit of humanity. We live with the ambiguous results of that legacy even today, although in our own century we are perhaps more impressed by the ability of science to frighten, rather than to awe and entertain.

Details

  • Title Science for a Polite Society: Gender, Culture, and the Demonstration of Enlightenment
  • Author Geoffrey V. Sutton
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 408
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Routledge, Boulder, CO
  • Publication date 1997-09-05
  • Features Bibliography, Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780813315768 / 081331576X
  • Weight 1.29 lbs (0.59 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.24 x 6.12 x 1.15 in (23.47 x 15.54 x 2.92 cm)
  • Reading level 1420
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 17th Century
    • Chronological Period: 18th Century
    • Cultural Region: French
  • Category Science
  • Library of Congress subjects Science - History - 17th century, Science - Philosophy - History - 17th century
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 95020157
  • Dewey Decimal Code 509.409

About the author

Geoffrey V. Sutton teaches at Macalester College.

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Science For A Polite Society: Gender, Culture, And The Demonstration Of Enlightenment

Science For A Polite Society: Gender, Culture, And The Demonstration Of Enlightenment

by Sutton, Geoffrey V.

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Science for a Polite Society : Gender, Culture, and the Demonstration of Enlightenment

by Geoffrey V. Sutton

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Routledge, 1997. Paperback. Very Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. The spine remains undamaged.
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Science for a Polite Society : Gender, Culture, and the Demonstration of Enlightenment

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Science for a Polite Society : Gender, Culture, and the Demonstration of Enlightenment

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Science for a Polite Society: Gender, Culture, and the Demonstration of Enlightenment

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SCIENCE FOR A POLITE SOCIETY : Gender, Culture & the Demonstration of Enlightenment
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Science for a Polite Society: Gender, Culture, and the Demonstration of Enlightenment

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