Peter Dear is professor of science and technology studies and history at Cornell University. He is the author of Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge and Its Ambitions, 1500-1700 and Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.

"Just as the body of knowledge evolves over time, so does the way scientists view the world they are explaining. This interplay between knowledge and mental model is the subject of Peter Dear's book. He shows how mechanistic explanations in physics and chemistry became ever more frequent after the industrial revolution, only to be supplanted by the nihilism of quantum theory in the social turmoil that followed the first world war. It is full of insights into how society, culture, and people's perception interweave across biology, chemistry, and physics." - Adrian Barnett, New Scientist "Eloquently written, and embracing an impressive range of topics, Peter Dear's The Intelligibility of Nature admirably demonstrates that historians can make trenchant comments on the present as well as the past." - Patricia Fara, Times Literary Supplement "Scientists who wish to reflect on their vocation will gain valuable insights from this beautifully contrived book, and all readers will be prompted to think more carefully about the nature and ethos of science." - Richard Yeo, Nature"

Peter Dear is professor of science and technology studies and history at Cornell University. He is the author of Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge and Its Ambitions, 1500-1700 and Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.

"Just as the body of knowledge evolves over time, so does the way scientists view the world they are explaining. This interplay between knowledge and mental model is the subject of Peter Dear's book. He shows how mechanistic explanations in physics and chemistry became ever more frequent after the industrial revolution, only to be supplanted by the nihilism of quantum theory in the social turmoil that followed the first world war. It is full of insights into how society, culture, and people's perception interweave across biology, chemistry, and physics." - Adrian Barnett, New Scientist "Eloquently written, and embracing an impressive range of topics, Peter Dear's The Intelligibility of Nature admirably demonstrates that historians can make trenchant comments on the present as well as the past." - Patricia Fara, Times Literary Supplement "Scientists who wish to reflect on their vocation will gain valuable insights from this beautifully contrived book, and all readers will be prompted to think more carefully about the nature and ethos of science." - Richard Yeo, Nature"

Peter Dear is professor of science and technology studies and history at Cornell University. He is the author of Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge and Its Ambitions, 1500-1700 and Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.

"Just as the body of knowledge evolves over time, so does the way scientists view the world they are explaining. This interplay between knowledge and mental model is the subject of Peter Dear's book. He shows how mechanistic explanations in physics and chemistry became ever more frequent after the industrial revolution, only to be supplanted by the nihilism of quantum theory in the social turmoil that followed the first world war. It is full of insights into how society, culture, and people's perception interweave across biology, chemistry, and physics." - Adrian Barnett, New Scientist "Eloquently written, and embracing an impressive range of topics, Peter Dear's The Intelligibility of Nature admirably demonstrates that historians can make trenchant comments on the present as well as the past." - Patricia Fara, Times Literary Supplement "Scientists who wish to reflect on their vocation will gain valuable insights from this beautifully contrived book, and all readers will be prompted to think more carefully about the nature and ethos of science." - Richard Yeo, Nature"