Gunpowder and the rise of early modern science

火药与早期现代科学的兴起

• 批准号: AH/I023201/2
• 负责人: Sophie Weeks
• 金额: $ 4.04万
• 依托单位: University of York
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Training Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2013 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FI023201%2F2
• 关键词: Gunpowder; rise; early; modern; science

Francis Bacon's (1561-1626) motto 'knowledge is power' is well known. It aptly captures the application of scientific theorizing to technological solutions. Bacon pioneered a new method of science which called for the joining of theory and practice. Yet despite its impact on the emerging new sciences, the knowledge-power relation, as projected by Bacon and interpreted by his followers, is not well understood. In particular, few studies have examined in detail the synthesis of scientific theory and military practice during the early modern era. The purpose of this project is to investigate the role of gunpowder in early modern science. Gunpowder technology offers an especially fruitful locus for inquiry as it so vividly illustrates Bacon's belief that knowledge of nature's hidden forces will allow us to control its marvellous power.To stimulate a more analytical approach to questions of military practice and scientific theorizing, this project aims to recover and interpret the role of gunpowder in the rise of early modern science. Using printed sources, together with historical reconstruction of early modern gunpowder experiments, the project student will seek, as a primary aim, to throw new light on the relationship between science and gunpowder technology. The combination of RA expertise with University of Leeds specialisms will illuminate the synthesis of scientific theory and military practice in this formative period. This project has been explicitly designed to partner with the RA where appropriate technical and safety expertise with gunpowder exists to undertake historical reconstructions.The project student will, as a second aim, explore the interaction in the early modern world between natural philosophers concerned with causal and theoretical ideas about nature and artisans, powdermakers and craftsmen concerned with trade processes and the manual arts. The sociologist Edgar Zilsel was among the first to point to the traditional skills of artisans as being central to the emergence of natural science. Through a focus on gunpowder, the project explores the fluid boundaries between scholars and craftsmen, between pure and applied science. Historical analysis will be aided by replication of experiments and craft practices at the RA, with reference to, for example, Leonardo da Vinci's (c. 1508) and Robert Hooke's (1663) schemes for determining the force of gunpowder. Gunpowder experiment replication has the capacity to contribute decisively to the ongoing debates concerning artisan-science relations in this formative period.A third aim will be to investigate why gunpowder was at the centre of a number of heated debates among the founder members of the Royal Society. In the mid-1660s, the Royal Society (the oldest scientific institution) began promoting Bacon's project, seeking knowledge of the natural world through observation and experiment. Bacon's stipulation that scholars write descriptions of trades called 'histories' to provide information for the new science was adopted as one of the Royal Society's main concerns in its early years. Thomas Henshaw presented a 'History of Saltpetre and Gunpowder' to the Royal Society. This history was fiercely attacked by Henry Stubbe, who argued it was false. To what extent was Stubbe's attack justified? Does Henshaw's history of gunpowder live up to Bacon's concept of a history? How does Henshaw's history compare with other histories of gunpowder? Addressing both the technical issues and wider dynamics of conflict, the project student will seek to answer these questions.Two main project benefits are envisaged: first, a major contribution to our understanding of the relationship between theoretical abstraction and practical application as it featured in early modern experimental science; and second, via an online exhibition and the outreach media of the RA, greater pub

弗朗西斯培根（1561-1626）的座右铭“知识就是力量”是众所周知的。它恰当地抓住了科学理论在技术解决方案中的应用。培根开创了一种理论与实践相结合的新科学方法。然而，尽管知识与权力的关系对新兴科学产生了影响，但培根所提出并由其追随者所解释的知识与权力的关系并没有得到很好的理解。特别是，很少有研究详细审查了现代早期科学理论和军事实践的综合。这个项目的目的是研究火药在早期现代科学中的作用。火药技术提供了一个特别富有成果的研究领域，因为它生动地说明了培根的信念，即对自然界隐藏力量的认识将使我们能够控制其神奇的力量。为了激发对军事实践和科学理论问题的更多分析方法，本项目旨在恢复和解释火药在早期现代科学兴起中的作用。利用印刷资料，以及早期现代火药实验的历史重建，项目学生将寻求，作为一个主要目标，对科学和火药技术之间的关系投下新的光芒。RA专业知识与利兹大学专业知识的结合将照亮科学理论和军事实践在这一形成时期的综合。该项目的目的是与拥有火药技术和安全专业知识的RA合作，进行历史重建。该项目的第二个目的是探索现代早期世界中自然哲学家与工匠之间的相互作用，自然哲学家关注自然的因果和理论思想，工匠，粉末制造商和工匠关注贸易过程和手工艺术。社会学家埃德加·齐尔塞尔（Edgar Zilsel）是最早指出工匠的传统技能是自然科学出现的核心的人之一。通过对火药的关注，该项目探索了学者和工匠之间，纯科学和应用科学之间的流体边界。历史分析将有助于复制实验和工艺实践在RA，参考，例如，列奥纳多达芬奇的（c。1508）和罗伯特·胡克（1663）的计划，以确定火药的力量。火药实验的复制有能力在这一形成时期对正在进行的关于工匠-科学关系的辩论做出决定性的贡献。第三个目标是调查为什么火药是皇家学会创始成员之间激烈辩论的中心。在17世纪60年代中期，皇家学会（最古老的科学机构）开始推广培根的项目，通过观察和实验寻求自然世界的知识。培根的规定，学者写的行业描述所谓的“历史”，以提供信息的新科学被采纳为一个皇家学会的主要关注在其早期。托马斯亨肖向皇家学会提交了一本“硝石和火药的历史”。这段历史遭到亨利·斯图贝的猛烈抨击，他认为这是错误的。斯图贝的攻击在多大程度上是正当的？亨肖的火药史符合培根的历史观吗？亨肖的历史与其他火药历史相比如何？该项目的学生将解决技术问题和冲突的更广泛的动态，寻求回答这些问题。预计两个主要的项目好处：第一，对我们理解早期现代实验科学中理论抽象和实际应用之间的关系做出了重大贡献;第二，通过在线展览和RA的宣传媒体，更大的出版物，