Spatial knowledge takes different forms in different societies and at different times in history depending on the spatial experiences accounted for and the available means for the external representation of knowledge. The volume presents and analyses manifestations of spatial thinking in the language and practices of recent non-literate societies, in the administrative institutions of early civilizations, in discursive contexts of ancient Greece and China, in early modern natural philosophy and metaphysics, and in twentieth-century physics, and discusses their historical and structural relations
Focusing on the evolution of human spatial knowledge, this monograph examines its fundamental structures and the influence of societal conditions on its development. By adopting a historical lens and incorporating insights from multiple disciplines, it offers fresh perspectives on longstanding epistemological issues, particularly the interplay between experiential learning and inherent cognitive frameworks.
The English Galileo―the title of this book draws on the extraordinary prominence of Galileo Galilei in the historiography of the early modern Scienti?c Revolution. At the same time it questions the uniqueness of Galileo (not as a person, of course, but as an early modern phenomenon) by proclaiming another ?gure of his Thomas H- riot. But putting Harriot on a pedestal next to Galileo is not a concern of this book, which is rather motivated by questions of the following How did modern s- ence come about? What were the processes of knowledge and concept transformation that led from premodern to modern science, and, more speci?cally, from preclassical to classical mechanics? Which aspects of these developments rely on the peculiarities of particular historical actors and what aspects re?ect more general characteristics of the knowledge system at the time and its potentials for development? To answer such questions it is obviously necessary to complement the existing studies on Galileo’s science with studies on the work of his lesser-known contemporaries; and it is imp- tant that these studies are carried out in similar detail to make the different prota- nists’ work comparable. Without such comparison―this is the basic assumption of this book―our understanding of the shared knowledge of early modern thinking and the processes of knowledge transformation from which modern science emerged will remain incomplete and biased.
This four-volume work offers an extensive study of the creation of general relativity, documenting Einstein's 1912 Zurich Notebook and its pivotal role in developing this fundamental theory. It includes translations of key sources, detailed commentaries, and analyses, showcasing the transition from classical to modern physics and redefining concepts of space, time, and gravitation.
