The Quest for the Invisible: Microscopy in the EnlightenmentRoutledge, 2016 M02 24 - 332 pages The eighteenth century has often been viewed as a period of relative decline in the field of microscopy, as interest in microscopes seemed to wane after an intense period of discovery in the seventeenth century. As such, developments in the field during the Enlightenment have been largely overlooked. This book therefore fills a considerable gap in the study of this life science, providing a thorough analysis of what the main concerns of the field were and how microscopists learned to communicate with each other in relevant ways in order to compare results and build a new discipline. Employing a substantial body of contemporary literature from across Europe, Marc J. Ratcliff is able to present us with a definitive account of the state of research into microscopy of the period. He brings to light the little known work of Louis Joblot, re-evaluates the achievements of Abraham Trembley and gives new weight to Otto-Friedrich Müller's important contributions. The book also connects changes in instrument design to an innovative account of microscopical research during the eighteenth century and the rich social networks of communication that grew during this period. Investigating the history of microscopical research from 1680 up to 1800 also shows how scholars progressively established a modern rule on which to shape their new discipline: balancing microscopical magnification with shared vision. This rule developed in response to the diminishing size of the microscopical object during the course of the eighteenth century, from dry minute organisms such as insects, to aquatic minute bodies such as polyps, and finally to aquatic invisible organisms, thus completing the scholar's quest to study the invisible. This book will be essential reading for historians of microscopy, epistemologists, and for historians of the life sciences in the modern period. |
From inside the book
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Page xi
... Vorticella, Volvox, Hydra, Furia and Chaos 8.4 Number of genera and species of infusoria in 1773 8.5 Number of genera and species of infusoria in 1786 8.6 Characters for Vorticella 17 53 116 206 209 210 44 53 71 98 102 179 187 194 196 ...
... Vorticella, Volvox, Hydra, Furia and Chaos 8.4 Number of genera and species of infusoria in 1773 8.5 Number of genera and species of infusoria in 1786 8.6 Characters for Vorticella 17 53 116 206 209 210 44 53 71 98 102 179 187 194 196 ...
Page xii
... Vorticella 205 8.8 Logical tree of Müller's 1786 chart for Vorticella 206 9.1 Ratio of citations of microscope makers according to period 228 Acknowledgments The text of the first version of this work, The Quest for the Invisible xii.
... Vorticella 205 8.8 Logical tree of Müller's 1786 chart for Vorticella 206 9.1 Ratio of citations of microscope makers according to period 228 Acknowledgments The text of the first version of this work, The Quest for the Invisible xii.
Page 191
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Contents
1 | |
11 | |
Part II The Break with the Past 17401760s | 75 |
Part III Infusoria and Microscopical Experiments The True Invisible Objects1760s1800s | 147 |
Conclusion | 245 |
Bibliography | 265 |
Prosopographical Index | 293 |
Author Index | 313 |
Other editions - View all
The Quest for the Invisible: Microscopy in the Enlightenment Dr Marc J Ratcliff Limited preview - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
Abraham Trembley Académie des sciences Academy Adanson animalcules animals antispontaneist Antonio Vallisneri authors Baker Bonnet Buffon Buonanni Carl de Geer Cestoni Christiaan Huygens cited classification Clay and Court cochineal communication Constantijn Huygens Corti d’histoire Daumas discovery eighteenth century Ellis England English experimental experiments Folkes Fontana Fontenelle Fournier France French Geneva Geoffroy German lands Gleichen Goeze Hill’s historians Huygens Ibid iconography infusions infusoria insects instrument makers invisible Italian Italy Joblot Johann Journal Jussieu l’Académie Latin Ledermüller Leeuwenhoek lenses Linnaeus Lyonet magnification Malebranche Malpighi MASP Mémoires method micrometer microscope makers microscopical bodies microscopical object microscopical observations microscopical research Müller natural comparison natural history naturalists Needham optical organisms Osservazioni microscopiche Paris parthenogenesis physique polyp programme published Réaumur Redi Roffredi Royal Society Ruestow Saussure scholars sciences scientific object seeds shared simple microscope social Spallanzani species spontaneous synonymy Systema Naturae systematics tradition Trembley Trembley’s Trévoux Vallisneri vegetable Vorticella worms