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Articles by William Eamon
The Scientific Revolution
Before we get into your five books, would you be able to recommend a brief, general introduction to the scientific revolution? Yes, The Scientific Revolution by Steven Schapin would serve that purpose very well. Thanks. When we first contacted you about doing this interview, you expressed discomfort with the whole idea of a ‘scientific revolution’. Are you unhappy because, although you think there was a revolution, you’re not sure it was scientific in some way?
Science and the Secrets of Nature
By explaining how to sire multicolored horses, produce nuts without shells, and create an egg the size of a human head, Giambattista Della Porta’s Natural Magic (1559) conveys a fascination with tricks and illusions that makes it a work difficult for historians of science to take seriously. Yet, according to William Eamon, it is in the “how-to” books written by medieval alchemists, magicians, and artisans that modern science has its roots.
Hidden Poisons of the Royal Court
Imagine a Renaissance king casting his gaze over a banquet of roasted meats, rich sauces, glazed honey cakes, and fine wine. Even though his stomach rumbles with hunger, he might lose his appetite when considering that anything on the table could, in fact, cause him to die horribly over the course of the next few hours. Suspicions of poisoning caused constant unease at royal courts.
Six centuries of secularity began with the first ‘how-to’ books
Every presidential election cycle brings candidates touting their religious convictions. Being too secular is rarely a winning political strategy. In fact, Bernie Sanders might have been the first openly secular major presidential candidate in the history of the United States. Even Thomas Jefferson, though not a Christian, was a deist who firmly believed in a creator God.
The Best Books on The Origins of Curiosity
Humans have presumably been curious since the first homo sapiens tried knocking two pieces of flint together. But when did science get real about figuring out how things really work? That’s a tricky question. It’s certainly true that the instinct to know more about our environment must go back as far as humanity does, and before. That makes perfect sense because there’s an evolutionary advantage to knowing more about what surrounds you.
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