Eric John Holmyard's Books

Alchemy

By: Eric John Holmyard

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Alchemy is thought to have originated over 2000 years ago in Hellenic Egypt, the result of three converging streams: Greek philosophy, Egyptian technology and the mysticism of Middle Eastern religions. Its heyday was from about 800 A.D. to the middle of the seventeenth century, and its practitioners ranged from kings, popes, and emperors to minor clergy, parish clerks, smiths, dyers, and tinkers. Even such accomplished men as Roger Bacon, Thomas Aquinas, Sir Thomas Browne and Isaac Newton took an interest in alchemical matters. In its search for the "Philosopher's Stone" that would transmute base metals into silver and gold, alchemy took on many philosophical, religious and mystical overtones. These and many other facets of alchemy are explored with enormous insight and erudition in this classic work. E. J. Holmyard, a noted scholar in the field, begins with the alchemists of ancient Greece and China and goes on to discuss alchemical apparatus, Islamic and early Western alchemy; signs, symbols, and secret terms; Paracelsus; English, Scottish and French alchemists; Helvetius, Price, and Semler, and much more. Ranging over two millennia of alchemical history, Mr. Holmyard shows how, like astrology and witchcraft, alchemy was an integral part of the pre-scientific moral order, arousing the cupidity of princes, the blind fear of mobs and the intellectual curiosity of learned men. Eventually, however, with the advent and ascension of the scientific method, the hopes and ideas of the alchemists faded to the status of "pseudo-science." That transformation, as well as alchemy's undeniable role as a precursor of modern chemistry, are brilliantly illuminated in this book. Students of alchemy, chemistry, the history of science, and the occult, plus anyone interested in the origin and evolution of one of mankind's most enduring and influential myths, will want to have a copy of this masterly study.

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Page Count

340

Publisher

Courier Corporation

Published Date

ISBN 10

0486262987

ISBN 13

9780486262987

Alchemy

By: Eric John Holmyard

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Alchemy

By: Eric John Holmyard

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Page Count

340

Publisher

Courier Corporation

Published Date

ISBN 10

0486262987

ISBN 13

9780486262987

Technology

Critical History of a Concept

By: Eric Schatzberg

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Technology

Critical History of a Concept

By: Eric Schatzberg

In modern life, technology is everywhere. Yet as a concept, technology is a mess. In popular discourse, technology is little more than the latest digital innovations. Scholars do little better, offering up competing definitions that include everything from steelmaking to singing. In Technology: Critical History of a Concept, Eric Schatzberg explains why technology is so difficult to define by examining its three thousand year history, one shaped by persistent tensions between scholars and technical practitioners. Since the time of the ancient Greeks, scholars have tended to hold technicians in low esteem, defining technical practices as mere means toward ends defined by others. Technicians, in contrast, have repeatedly pushed back against this characterization, insisting on the dignity, creativity, and cultural worth of their work. The tension between scholars and technicians continued from Aristotle through Francis Bacon and into the nineteenth century. It was only in the twentieth century that modern meanings of technology arose: technology as the industrial arts, technology as applied science, and technology as technique. Schatzberg traces these three meanings to the present day, when discourse about technology has become pervasive, but confusion among the three principal meanings of technology remains common. He shows that only through a humanistic concept of technology can we understand the complex human choices embedded in our modern world.

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Page Count

353

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

022658402X

ISBN 13

9780226584027

The Book of Looms

A History of the Handloom from Ancient Times to the Present

By: Eric Broudy

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The Book of Looms

A History of the Handloom from Ancient Times to the Present

By: Eric Broudy

A heavily illustrated classic on the evolution of the handloom. The handloom—often no more than a bundle of sticks and a few lengths of cordage—has been known to almost all cultures for thousands of years. Eric Broudy places the wide variety of handlooms in their historical context. What influenced their development? How did they travel from one geographic area to another? Were they invented independently by different cultures? How have modern cultures improved on ancient weaving skills and methods? Broudy shows how virtually every culture has woven on handlooms. He highlights the incredible technical achievement of early cultures that created magnificent textiles with the crudest of tools and demonstrates that modern technology has done nothing to surpass their skill or inventiveness.

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Page Count

177

Publisher

Brandeis University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

168458082X

ISBN 13

9781684580828

Power, Knowledge, and Expertise in Elizabethan England

By: Eric H. Ash

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Power, Knowledge, and Expertise in Elizabethan England

By: Eric H. Ash

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Page Count

288

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JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801879922

ISBN 13

9780801879920

Book's by Eric John Holmyard

Alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy

Technology

Technology

The Book of Looms

The Book of Looms

Power, Knowledge, and Expertise in Elizabethan England

Power, Knowledge, and Expertise in Elizabethan England

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