Mastery of Nature

Svetozar Y. Minkov is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Roosevelt University. Bernhardt L. Trout is the Raymond F. Baddour, ScD, (1949) Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Addressing a mix of technology, politics, culture, and philosophy of science, the essays in Mastery of Nature connect the intellectual stages of philosophical and scientific development with unusual precision and depth. The collection amounts to a rare exchange between philosophical critics of the modern scientific project and its serious defenders." (Robert Faulkner, Boston College) "This volume is an ambitious undertaking made possible by an impressive group of contributors whose essays, while diverse, work together to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Mastery of Nature is a significant contribution to several fields, including political philosophy, intellectual history, and philosophy of science." (Ronna Burger, Tulane University)

• Preface-Ralph LernerIntroduction-Daniel A. Doneson, Svetozar Y. Minkov, and Bernhardt L. TroutPART I. THE PROJECT FOR MASTERYChapter 1. Machiavelli and the Discovery of Fact-Harvey C. MansfieldChapter 2. The Place of the Treatment of the Conquest of Nature in Francis Bacon's On the Wisdom of the Ancients-Svetozar Y. MinkovChapter 3. Hobbes on Nature and Its Conquest-Devin StaufferChapter 4. Devising Nature: An Essay on Descartes's Discourse on Method-Stuart D. WarnerChapter 5. Montesquieu, Commerce, and Science-Diana J. SchaubChapter 6. Bacon and Franklin on Religion and Mastery of Nature-Jerry WeinbergerPART II. ANCIENT ALTERNATIVES AND ANTICIPATIONSChapter 7. On the Supremacy of Contemplation in Aristotle and Plato-Robert C. BartlettChapter 8. Xenophon and the Conquest of Nature-Christopher NadonChapter 9. Lucretius on Rebelling Against the "Laws" of Nature-Paul LudwigPART III. CONSEQUENCES, CRITIQUES, AND CORRECTIONSChapter 10. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Return to Nature vs. Conquest of Nature-Arthur MelzerChapter 11. Kant on Organism and History: Ambiguous Endings-Richard VelkleyChapter 12. Beyond the Island of Truth: Hegel and the Shipwreck of Science-Michael A. GillespieChapter 13. Separating the Moral and Theological Prejudices and Taking Hold of Human Evolution-Lise van BoxelChapter 14. Mastery of Nature and Its Limits: The Question of Heidegger-Mark BlitzChapter 15. What Is Natural Philosophy? The Perspective of Contemporary Science-Adam SchulmanChapter 16. Quantum Mechanics and Political Philosophy-Bernhardt L. TroutNotesList of ContributorsIndexAcknowledgments