The Atom in the History of Human Thought

by Pullman, Bernard; Reisinger, Axel R.

• ISBN13: 9780195150407
• ISBN10: 0195150406
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-12-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The concept of the atom is very near scientific bedrock, touching first causes, fundamental principles, our conception of the nature of reality. This book is a translation from the French of a history of atomic thought and theory, from ancient Greece to the present day. Pullman grounds his coverage of scientific theory always in the religious and philosophical context of the times, covering the whole period of Western civilization, including in passing the major scientific philosophies of the Muslim world and India. The transition of atomism from a philosophical position to an experimental science, in the mid-19th century, is well handled, and the coverage is nicely rounded out by a treatment of the first visual proof of atoms' material existence by direct microscopic imaging of individual atoms, about ten years ago.

Author Biography

Bernard Pullman was Professor of Quantum Chemistry at the Sorbonne and Director of the Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique. He died in 1996. Axel Reisinger is a Senior Principal Physicist at Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company. He lives in Amherst, New Hampshire.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
PART ONE: THE BIRTH OF THE ATOMIC THEORY
The Backdrop: The Greek Miracle	3	(8)
The Foreground: Arche, the Primordial Substance	11	(20)
The Atomists' Entry onto the Stage	31	(18)
A Very Particular Atomist: Plato	49	(10)
The Antiatomists	59	(16)
Principles and Primordial Substances	75	(2)
Hindu Atomism	77	(10)
PART TWO: A FEW SCATTERED REVIVALS DURING A PROLONGED SUSPENSION (FIRST TO FIFTEENTH CENTURIES)
Early Medieval Christianity vis-a-vis the Atoms	87	(10)
The Medieval Christian Atomists	97	(4)
Medieval Jewish Thought vis-a-vis the Atoms	101	(6)
Arab Atomism	107	(10)
PART THREE: FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
The Resurgence of the Atomic Theory: Christian Atomism	117	(40)
The Christian Antiatomists	157	(18)
Boscovitch, or Punctual Atomism	175	(4)
Berkeley, or Atoms Dismissed	179	(4)
Kant: An Atomist Turned Antiatiomist	183	(6)
The Rank-and-File Atomists	189	(4)
PART FOUR: THE ADVENT OF SCIENTIFIC ATOMISM: NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES
A Brief Overview	193	(4)
The Nineteenth Century: In Search of the Invisible and Indivisible Atom	197	(58)
The Twentieth Century: From an Invisible and Indivisible Atom to One That Is Divisible and Visible	255	(88)
Provisional Epilogue	343	(12)
Notes	355	(38)
Index	393