Servants of Nature: A History of Scientific Institutions, Enterprises and Sensibilities

‘Highly readable, subtle and thought-provoking scientific history’ ScotsmanIn this penetrating work, Pyenson and Pyenson identify that major advances in science stem from changes in three distinct areas of society: the social institutions that promote science, the sensibilities of scientists themselves and the goal of the scientific enterprise. Servants of Nature begins by examining the institutions that have shaped science: the academies of Ancient Greece, universities, the growth of museums of science, technology and natural history, botanical and zoological gardens, and the advent of modern specialized research laboratories. It is equally comprehensive when it analyses…