* A lively introduction to the birth of modern science exploring clashes between science and tradition. * Covers the key discoveries and experiments that advanced modern science. * Discusses the ideas that accompanied scientific advances, including the effects on religion and the view of God. .

Series Editor's Preface by Jacques Le Goff. Introduction. 1. Obstacles. 2. Secrets. 3. Engineers. 4. The Unseen World. 5. A New Universe. 6. Galileo. 7. Descartes. 8. Countless Other Worlds. 9. Mechanical Philosophy. 10. Chemical Philosophy. 11. Magnetic Philosophy. 12. The Heart and Generation. 13. Time and Nature. 14. Classification. 15. Instruments and Theories. 16. Academies. 17. Newton. Chronology. Bibliography. Index.

This history of the birth of modern science is ideal for those engaging with the subject for the first time. It shatters the illusion that science is 'dry' and divorced from culture by exploring the powerful clashes between traditions and value systems that gave rise to it. The author shows how many of the characteristics that distinguish science today emerged in the midst of the wars and plagues of the seventeenth century and defines what was new about this form of knowledge. Rossi's account covers topics such as the new astronomy, discoveries made with microscopes, the principle of inertia, experiments on voids, and the circulatory system. Alongside these, each chapter also addresses the great ideas that were central to this intellectual revolution: the new appraisal of technology, a new view of God as an engineer or clock maker, the introduction of the dimension of time into the study of nature, and so on. This passionate book will enable readers to engage with the complex relationship of science and philosophy.