Matters of Exchange: Commerce, Medicine, and Science in the Dutch Golden AgeA new and unexpected history of the Dutch pursuit of commerce in the 16th and 17th centuries and how it triggered the Scientific Revolution In this wide-ranging and stimulating book, a leading authority on the history of medicine and science presents convincing evidence that Dutch commerce—not religion—inspired the rise of science in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Harold J. Cook scrutinizes a wealth of historical documents relating to the study of medicine and natural history in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, Brazil, South Africa, and Asia during this era, and his conclusions are fresh and exciting. He uncovers direct links between the rise of trade and commerce in the Dutch Empire and the flourishing of scientific investigation. Cook argues that engaging in commerce changed the thinking of Dutch citizens, leading to a new emphasis on such values as objectivity, accumulation, and description. The preference for accurate information that accompanied the rise of commerce also laid the groundwork for the rise of science globally, wherever the Dutch engaged in trade. Medicine and natural history were fundamental aspects of this new science, as reflected in the development of gardens for both pleasure and botanical study, anatomical theaters, curiosity cabinets, and richly illustrated books about nature. Sweeping in scope and original in its insights, this book revises previous understandings of the history of science and ideas. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 36
... noted, for even in ordinary conversation something is exchanged. In exchange one gains something by giving something, altering one's state in the process. When an exchange of word, gesture, or object takes place, the two parties ...
... noted that ''value and exchange constitute the foundation of our practical life.'' Or, developing the point more universally, he exclaimed, ''Exchange is the purest and most concentrated form of all human interactions in which serious ...
... noted how words like ''interest'' were coming to be used in a positive way by the eighteenth century.21 The English word ''interest'' is enormously diverse in its connotations (as are the Dutch words related to interesse). It is a ...
... noted that new words and information are often introduced to strongly knit social groups via loose acquaintances rather than close friends or relatives. Core members of a group develop their own ways of doing things and tend to imitate ...
... 'plain dealing,'' went down well. If the commercial world of the netherlands placed a high value on plain speaking, so did the new science. Plain speech was noted at the time as being very important 56 An Information Economy.
Contents
1 | |
42 | |
82 | |
Four Commerce and Medicine in Amsterdam | 133 |
Five Truths and Untruths from the Indies | 175 |
Descartes in the Republic | 226 |
Seven Industry and Analysis | 267 |
Eight Gardens of the Indies Transported | 304 |
The Medicine of East Asia | 339 |
Sticking to Simple Things | 378 |
Eleven Conclusions and Comparisons | 410 |
Notes | 417 |
Bibliography | 473 |
Index | 537 |
Other editions - View all
Matters of Exchange: Commerce, Medicine, and Science in the Dutch Golden Age Harold John Cook No preview available - 2007 |