Galileo's Idol

Gianfrancesco Sagredo and the Politics of Knowledge

Nonfiction, History, Italy, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences
Cover of the book Galileo's Idol by Nick Wilding, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nick Wilding ISBN: 9780226167022
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: November 27, 2014
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Nick Wilding
ISBN: 9780226167022
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: November 27, 2014
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

Galileo’s Idol offers a vivid depiction of Galileo’s friend, student, and patron, Gianfrancesco Sagredo (1571–1620). Sagredo’s life, which has never before been studied in depth, brings to light the inextricable relationship between the production, distribution, and reception of political information and scientific knowledge.
           
Nick Wilding uses as wide a variety of sources as possible—paintings, ornamental woodcuts, epistolary hoaxes, intercepted letters, murder case files, and others—to challenge the picture of early modern science as pious, serious, and ecumenical. Through his analysis of the figure of Sagredo, Wilding offers a fresh perspective on Galileo as well as new questions and techniques for the study of science. The result is a book that turns our attention from actors as individuals to shifting collective subjects, often operating under false identities; from a world made of sturdy print to one of frail instruments and mistranscribed manuscripts; from a complacent Europe to an emerging system of complex geopolitics and globalizing information systems; and from an epistemology based on the stolid problem of eternal truths to one generated through and in the service of playful, politically engaged, and cunning schemes.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Galileo’s Idol offers a vivid depiction of Galileo’s friend, student, and patron, Gianfrancesco Sagredo (1571–1620). Sagredo’s life, which has never before been studied in depth, brings to light the inextricable relationship between the production, distribution, and reception of political information and scientific knowledge.
           
Nick Wilding uses as wide a variety of sources as possible—paintings, ornamental woodcuts, epistolary hoaxes, intercepted letters, murder case files, and others—to challenge the picture of early modern science as pious, serious, and ecumenical. Through his analysis of the figure of Sagredo, Wilding offers a fresh perspective on Galileo as well as new questions and techniques for the study of science. The result is a book that turns our attention from actors as individuals to shifting collective subjects, often operating under false identities; from a world made of sturdy print to one of frail instruments and mistranscribed manuscripts; from a complacent Europe to an emerging system of complex geopolitics and globalizing information systems; and from an epistemology based on the stolid problem of eternal truths to one generated through and in the service of playful, politically engaged, and cunning schemes.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book The Institutional Revolution by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book Object Lessons by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book The Book of Shells by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book Democracy in America by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book Women in the Club by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book The Bower by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book How to Succeed in College (While Really Trying) by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book Science in the Archives by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book Under Osman's Tree by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book Subject to Death by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book The Economics of Food Price Volatility by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book Face Value by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book The Power to Die by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book Professing Literature by Nick Wilding
Cover of the book Anxious Pleasures by Nick Wilding
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy