The Scientific Revolution

This work contains Steven Shapin's historical exploration into the origins of the modern scientific worldview. What historians have traditionally called the Scientific Revolution was, in Shapin's view, a diversity of practices and ideas that developed over the course of nearly two centuries. Rejecting the idea that there is anything like an "essence" of early modern science, th...

This work contains Steven Shapin's historical exploration into the origins of the modern scientific worldview. What historians have traditionally called the Scientific Revolution was, in Shapin's view, a diversity of practices and ideas that developed over the course of nearly two centuries. Rejecting the idea that there is anything like an "essence" of early modern science, the author shows that the Scientific Revolution in reality lacked the jarring abruptness and cataclysmic nature implied by its "revolutionary" name.

史蒂文·夏平（Steven Shapin,1943-），当代著名的科学知识社会学家、科学史家。出生于美国纽约，早年在里德学院攻读生物学，获学士学位；后在宾夕法尼亚大学科学史与科学社会学系攻读科学史，1972年获博士学位。同年起至1989年任职于英国爱丁堡大学科学研究部，历任讲师、高级讲师；1989年至2004年在加州大学圣迭戈分校任社会学教授；他与布鲁尔、巴恩斯等人一起从事科学知识社会学研究，是爱丁堡学派的主要成员之一。主要著作包括：《利维坦与空气泵：霍布斯、玻意耳与实验生活》、《真理的社会史：17世纪英格兰的文明与科学》，以及这本《科学革命》。