John Robison and Natural Philosohy in the Scottish Enlightenment

约翰·罗宾逊(1739-1805)是爱丁堡大学自然哲学(即物理学)教授。在他的职业生涯中，罗宾逊教授深入参与了科技史上的几个重大事件，包括蒸汽机的发展和化学科学的突破。他还塑造了他的家乡学科--物理学，为19世纪革命性的科学发展奠定了基础。尽管如此，还没有对罗宾逊进行广泛的历史研究。利用原始手稿资料，本研究将纠正这一疏忽，从而阐明科学的概念方面与一个人的国家和机构地位之间的联系。这些成果将被编入一本书中，暂时书名为《苏格兰启蒙运动中的自然哲学》。

John Robison (1739-1805) was a professor of natural philosophy (i.e., physics) at the University of Edinburgh. In his career Professor Robison was deeply involved in several major events in the history of science and technology, including development of the steam engine and breakthroughs in the science of chemistry. He also shaped his home discipline, physics, in ways that lay the foundation for revolutionary scientific developments in the nineteenth century. For all this, there has been no extensive historical study of Robison. Using original manuscript sources, the present study will remedy this oversight, thereby illuminating the connection between conceptual aspects of scienec and a person's national and institutional position. The results will be incorporated into a book, provisionally titled Natural Philosophy in the Scottish Enlightenment.