William R. Shea's Books

Designing Experiments & Games of Chance

The Unconventional Science of Blaise Pascal

By: William R. Shea

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Designing Experiments & Games of Chance

The Unconventional Science of Blaise Pascal

By: William R. Shea

During his comparatively brief life (he died at thirty-nine, the age Mozart was to die) Blaise Pascal devoted his unusual talents to mathematics, physics and religion. His religious views are still widely discussed, and the general interest in this aspect of his life may be responsible for the fact that his mathematical and scientific achievements are less known. Those who are familiar with his Pensées, which are fragments of an intended Apology for Christianity, have had little opportunity of acquiring a just appreciation of the originality of his thought in physics and probability theory. This book fills this gap by describing Pascal’s work in a way that is accessible to anyone interested in his contribution to modern science and his attempt to tame Lady Luck. The words “Unconventional Science” in the subtitle of the book are meant as a reminder of the radically different way of looking at nature that was developed by Pascal and his contemporaries. The first seven chapters examine Pascal’s ingenious experiments to show that a vacuum can be produced, an idea that led him to ascend a mountain with a barometer to prove that we lived submerged under a sea of air. Chapter eight considers his bold views on the advancement of science and religion, and chapter nine his new philosophy of experimental science. The concluding chapters offer an insight into his pioneering work in the theory of probability and his willingness to help a friend who was a keen gambler but no mathematician. Pascal even applied his calculation of the odds at games of chance to the problem of personal destiny and the existence of God. Walking in his footsteps, the reader not only discovers the new world of experimental science but learns to play for high stakes."--Publisher's description.

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Page Count

374

Publisher

Science History Publications/USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0881353760

ISBN 13

9780881353761

Galileo in Rome

The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius

By: William R. Shea,Mariano Artigas

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Galileo in Rome

The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius

By: William R. Shea,Mariano Artigas

Galileo's trial by the Inquisition is one of the most dramatic incidents in the history of science and religion. Today, we tend to see this event in black and white--Galileo all white, the Church all black. Galileo in Rome presents a much more nuanced account of Galileo's relationship with Rome. The book offers a fascinating account of the six trips Galileo made to Rome, from his first visit at age 23, as an unemployed mathematician, to his final fateful journey to face the Inquisition. The authors reveal why the theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun, set forth in Galileo's Dialogue, stirred a hornet's nest of theological issues, and they argue that, despite these issues, the Church might have accepted Copernicus if there had been solid proof. More interesting, they show how Galileo dug his own grave. To get the imprimatur, he brought political pressure to bear on the Roman Censor. He disobeyed a Church order not to teach the heliocentric theory. And he had a character named Simplicio (which in Italian sounds like simpleton) raise the same objections to heliocentrism that the Pope had raised with Galileo. The authors show that throughout the trial, until the final sentence and abjuration, the Church treated Galileo with great deference, and once he was declared guilty commuted his sentence to house arrest. Here then is a unique look at the life of Galileo as well as a strikingly different view of an event that has come to epitomize the Church's supposed antagonism toward science.

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Page Count

269

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190292210

ISBN 13

9780190292218

Conversations with Galileo

A Fictional Dialogue Based on Biographical Facts

By: William Shea

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Conversations with Galileo

A Fictional Dialogue Based on Biographical Facts

By: William Shea

When Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope to the skies, he ushered in a scientific revolution: the Moon turned out to be covered with mountains and craters, stars popped out of nowhere, and four satellites were found to be orbiting Jupiter. His discovery of the phases of Venus in 1610 forever shattered the notion that the Sun orbited the Earth and transformed humanity’s sense of itself and its place in the cosmos. It also contributed to the demise of the idea that knowledge about the world was to be found in ancient texts or supernatural authority. Eavesdrop on an enlightening conversation, and make your own discoveries – about Galileo’s life in the Medici court, his love of wine and women, and how he came to spend his last eight years under house arrest.

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Watkins Media Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1786783916

ISBN 13

9781786783912

Gehennical Fire

The Lives of George Starkey, an American Alchemist in the Scientific Revolution

By: William R. Newman

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Gehennical Fire

The Lives of George Starkey, an American Alchemist in the Scientific Revolution

By: William R. Newman

Both the quest for natural knowledge and the aspiration to alchemical wisdom played crucial roles in the Scientific Revolution, as William R. Newman demonstrates in this fascinating book about George Starkey (1628-1665), America's first famous scientist. Beginning with Starkey's unusual education in colonial New England, Newman traces out his many interconnected careers—natural philosopher, alchemist, chemist, medical practitioner, economic projector, and creator of the fabulous adept, "Eirenaeus Philalethes." Newman reveals the profound impact Starkey had on the work of Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Samuel Hartlib, and other key thinkers in the realm of early modern science.

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Page Count

396

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226577147

ISBN 13

9780226577142

The First Moderns

Profiles in the Origins of Twentieth-Century Thought

By: William R. Everdell

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The First Moderns

Profiles in the Origins of Twentieth-Century Thought

By: William R. Everdell

This history of modernism is filled with portraits of genius and intellectual breakthroughs that evoke the "fin-de-siecle" atmosphere of Paris, Vienna, St Louis and St Petersburg. This book offers readers a look at the unfolding of an age.

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514

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226224813

ISBN 13

9780226224817

Galileo Observed

Science and the Politics of Belief

By: William R. Shea,Mariano Artigas

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Galileo Observed

Science and the Politics of Belief

By: William R. Shea,Mariano Artigas

On the basis of newly available archival evidence, Shea and Artigas reexamine the famed clash of Galileo (1564-1642) with the Catholic Church for espousing the view that the Earth orbits the Sun. Challenging several scholarly and literary interpretations of this conflict between science and religion, they argue that a much more complex relationship existed then and now

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Page Count

232

Publisher

Watson Publishing International

Published Date

ISBN 10

0881353566

ISBN 13

9780881353563

Altruism and Altruistic Love

Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Dialogue

By: Stephen G. Post,Lynn G. Underwood,Jeffrey P. Schloss,William B. Hurlbut

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Altruism and Altruistic Love

Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Dialogue

By: Stephen G. Post,Lynn G. Underwood,Jeffrey P. Schloss,William B. Hurlbut

The concept of altruism, or disinterested concern for another's welfare, has been discussed by everyone from theologians to psychologists to biologists. In this cutting edge book, evolutionary, neurological, developmental, psychological, social, cultural, and religious aspects of altruistic behavior are examined by renowned researchers. The result is a collaborative and provocative look at one of humanity's essential and defining characteristics.

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Page Count

532

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

019534944X

ISBN 13

9780195349443

Book's by William R. Shea

Designing Experiments & Games of Chance

Designing Experiments & Games of Chance

Galileo in Rome

Galileo in Rome

Conversations with Galileo

Conversations with Galileo

Gehennical Fire

Gehennical Fire

The First Moderns

The First Moderns

Galileo Observed

Galileo Observed

Altruism and Altruistic Love

Altruism and Altruistic Love

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