Science and Culture: Popular and Philosophical Essays

Hermann von Helmholtz was a leading figure of nineteenth-century European intellectual life, remarkable even among the many scientists of the period for the range and depth of his interests. A pioneer of physiology and physics, he was also deeply concerned with the implications of science for philosophy and culture. From the 1850s to the 1890s, Helmholtz delivered more than two dozen popular lectures, seeking to educate the public and to enlighten the leaders of European society and governments about the potential benefits of science and technology to a developing modern society. David Cahan has selected fifteen of these lectures, which reflect the wide range of topics of crucial importance to Helmholtz and his audiences. Among the subjects discussed are the origins of the planetary system, the relation of natural science to science in general, the aims and progress of the physical sciences, the problems of perception, and academic freedom in German universities. This collection also includes Helmholtz's fascinating lectures on the relation of optics to painting and the physiological causes of harmony in music, which provide insight into the relations between science and aesthetics. Science and Culture makes available again Helmholtz's eloquent arguments on the usefulness, benefits, and, intellectual pleasures of understanding the natural world. With Cahan's Introduction to set these essays in their broader context, this collection makes an important contribution to the philosophical and intellectual history of Europe at a time when science played an increasingly significant role in social, economic, and cultural life.

Helmholtz, Hermann Von

History

University of Chicago Press

Hermann von Helmholtz was a leading figure of nineteenth-century European intellectual life, remarkable even among the many scientists of the period for the range and depth of his interests. A pioneer of physiology and physics, he was also deeply concerned with the implications of science for philosophy and culture. From the 1850s to the 1890s, Helmholtz delivered more than two dozen popular lectures, seeking to educate the public and to enlighten the leaders of European society and governments about the potential benefits of science and technology to a developing modern society. David Cahan has selected fifteen of these lectures, which reflect the wide range of topics of crucial importance to Helmholtz and his audiences. Among the subjects discussed are the origins of the planetary system, the relation of natural science to science in general, the aims and progress of the physical sciences, the problems of perception, and academic freedom in German universities. This collection also includes Helmholtz's fascinating lectures on the relation of optics to painting and the physiological causes of harmony in music, which provide insight into the relations between science and aesthetics. Science and Culture makes available again Helmholtz's eloquent arguments on the usefulness, benefits, and, intellectual pleasures of understanding the natural world. With Cahan's Introduction to set these essays in their broader context, this collection makes an important contribution to the philosophical and intellectual history of Europe at a time when science played an increasingly significant role in social, economic, and cultural life.

Handbuch der Physiologischen Optik; Volume 1

Nagel, Wilibald A.

Franklin Classics

Volume III examines the perceptions of vision. Its topics include eye movements; the monocular field of vision; direction of vision; perception of depth; binocular vision; and many other highly important topics. Appendixes cover later findings on spatial configuration in vision and the theory of binocular instruments.

Treatise On Physiological Optics: 3 (Dover Books on Physics)

Science & Math

Physics

Dover Publications

The most important work ever produced in the field of physiological optics, this classic is a model of scientific method and logical procedure, and it remains unmatched in its thorough and accessible approach. This is the first in a three-volume republication of the definitive English translation of Handbuch der Physiologischen Optik, originally published by The Optical Society of America in 1924 and containing everything that was known about physiological optics up until that time. The substratum consists of the data that Helmholtz furnished in the two nineteenth-century German editions that appeared during his lifetime. These volumes also contain extensive supplementary matter that Nagel, Gullstrand, and Kries incorporated in the third German edition of 1911, as well as significant new material prepared for the 1924 English translation by C. Ladd-Franklin, Gullstrand, and Kries, with copious annotations by James P. C. Southall that brought the work up to date with current research. Volume I begins with an anatomical description of the eye and a discussion of physiological optics. It proceeds to an exposition of the dioptrics of the eye, with particular emphasis on optical imagery in a system of spherical refracting surfaces; blur circles on the retina; mechanism of accommodation; chromatic aberration in the eye; and illumination of the eye and the ophthalmoscope. Appendixes cover later findings on optical imagery, refraction, ophthalmoscopy, and other highly important topics; succeeding volumes examine the sensations and perceptions of vision.

Treatise on Physiological Optics, Volume I (Dover Phoenix Editions)

The most important work ever produced in the field of physiological optics, this classic is a model of scientific method and logical procedure, and it remains unmatched in its thorough and accessible approach. This is the second in a three-volume republication of the definitive English translation of Handbuch der Physiologischen Optik, originally published by The Optical Society of America in 1924 and containing everything that was known about physiological optics up until that time. The substratum consists of the data that Helmholtz furnished in the two nineteenth-century German editions that appeared during his lifetime. These volumes also contain extensive supplementary matter that Nagel, Gullstrand, and Kries incorporated in the third German edition of 1911, as well as significant new material prepared for the 1924 English translation by C. Ladd-Franklin, Gullstrand, and Kries, with copious annotations by James P. C. Southall that brought the work up to date with current research. The first volume in this series explores the dioptrics of the eye; Volume II examines the sensations of vision, including stimulation by light; simple and compound colors; intensity and duration of sensation of light; and variations of sensitivity and contrast. Appendixes cover later findings on adaptation, twilight vision, and the duplicity theory; normal and anomalous color systems and theories of vision; and the nature of color sensations. The succeeding volume considers perceptions of vision.

Treatise on Physiological Optics, Volume II (Dover Pheonix Editions)

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Popular Lectures On Scientific Subject (1908)

Kessinger Publishing

Populäre wissenschaftliche Vorträge. (German Edition)

Europe

Wentworth Press

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Physical Memoirs V1, Part 1-3: Selected And Translated From Foreign Sources, Under The The Direction Of The Physical Society Of London (1888)

Religion & Spirituality

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Helmholtz, Hermann Von. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Helmholtz, Hermann Von

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Helmholtz, Hermann Von. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Science and Culture: Popular and Philosophical Essays

Science and Culture: Popular and Philosophical Essays

Handbuch der Physiologischen Optik; Volume 1

Treatise On Physiological Optics: 3 (Dover Books on Physics)

Treatise on Physiological Optics, Volume I (Dover Phoenix Editions)

Treatise on Physiological Optics, Volume II (Dover Pheonix Editions)

Popular Lectures On Scientific Subject (1908)

Populäre wissenschaftliche Vorträge. (German Edition)

Physical Memoirs V1, Part 1-3: Selected And Translated From Foreign Sources, Under The The Direction Of The Physical Society Of London (1888)

Physical Memoirs V1, Part 1-3: Selected And Translated From Foreign Sources, Under The The Direction Of The Physical Society Of London (1888)