32 1 2011 49 60 The Chinese Journal for the History of Science and Technology Vol. 32 No. 1 2011 17 100190 17 15 17 17 17 70 80 17 N09 O4-09 A 1673-1441 2011 01-0049-12 1 1543 Nicolaus Copernicus 1473 1543 Domenico Maria de Novara 1454 1504 60 2010-04-28 2011-01-21 1978 luoxb@ ihns. ac. cn
50 32 Johannes Kepler 1571 1630 Michael Mastlin 1550 1631 1596 Mysterium Cosmographicum 20 162 Plato 427 347 Pythagoras 572 497 21 49 3 5 Neo-Platonism Plotinus 205 270 Porphyrius 233 305 Iamblichus 326 Julianus 331 363 Proclus 412 485 529 15 16
1 17 51 George Gemistus Pletho 1355 1450 Cosimo de' Medici Marsilio Ficino 1433 1499 Giovanni Pico della Mirandola 1463 1494 2 17 17 Galileo Galilei 1564 1642 Christiaan Huygens 1629 1695 René Descartes 1596 1650 Francis Bacon 1561 1626 22 82 23 191 17
52 32 William Gilbert 1544 1603 John Ray 1627 1705 William Harvey 1578 1657 De Magnete 1600 Richard S. Westfall 1924 1996 24 25 1597 Carolus Linnaeus 1707 1778 Historia Plantarum 1684 1704 19000 125 1628 25 474 3 17 The Royal Society of London
1 17 53 1 17 Steven Shapin 17 26 117 17 17 C. C. Gillispie Dictionary of Scientific Biography 1 17 2 1660 1675 3 3 92 65 70. 7% Alexander Hellemans Bryan Bunch The Timetables of Science 1645 1700 88 1660 15 1 1660 1700 73 2 88 8 10% 90% 17 17 17 31 101 109 17 4 1645 1
54 32 Anthony Quinton 12 128 17 40 1 1660 Robert Hooke 1635 1703 1663 originall causes 2 2 44 15 1 2 http / /royalsociety. org /page. asp id = 2176 About the Society Brief history of the Society
1 17 55 17 70 80 natural history 1661 37 3 16 1 9 7 3 3 1 Thomas Hobbes 1588 1679 1 1687 1 5 3 11 6 7 1 30 1 1661 1687
56 32 5 17 Isaac Newton 1642 1727 17 1642 1672 1 11 20 13 1672 Henry Oldenburg 1619 1677 16 6 1 3 11 115 5 William Brouncker 1620 1684 Isaac Barrow 1630 1677 William Neile 1637 1670 John Pell 1611 1685 John Wallis 1616 1703
1 17 57 17 17 17 60 Christopher Wren 1632 1723 Edmond Halley 1656 1742 William Balle 1627 1690 Laurence Rooke 1622 1662 William Croone 1633 1684 1662 12 24 1 1 163 165 1666 3 21 1 2 69 72 1674 1 17 70 17 80 1687 1 http / /www. roberthooke. com /motion_of_the_earth_001. htm.
58 32 15 255 17 70 80 6 15 17 17 70 80 17 70 80
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60 32 The Development of the Research Methods of British Science in Late 17th Century LUO Xingbo Institute for the History of Natural Science CAS Beijing 100190 China Abstract The history of science in Britain in the 17th century has attracted the attention of many researchers for most of them believe that the first Scientific Revolution gave birth to modern science. Neo-Platonism which revived in the 15th century in Europe contributed to many achievements in natural philosophy by the 17th century but had almost no impact on British researchers who just followed the so-called experimental philosophy of Francis Bacon. Through analysis of the minutes of the Royal Society between 1660 and 1687 we have found that the research methods of British scientists changed from Bacon's method to the mathematical method which was praised highly by the Neo-Platonists. In the 1670s the Fellows of the Royal Society realized that Bacon's method was not the key to the universe with the result that the mathematical method was introduced into their research. At the end of 1680s many Fellows used this method very widely. The second half of the 17th century is the age of the transformation of the research methods of British science the background of this transformation is the revival of Neo-Platonism and the outcome is the establishment of the theory of gravity. Key words 17th century the Royal Society of London Neo-Platonism research methods