Podcasts about Simon Schaffer

Today's episode is about a revolution that took centuries to happen if it ever really happened at all: The Scientific Revolution. David talks to historian of science Simon Schaffer about what changed in human understanding – and what didn't – in the age of Galileo and Newton. Was the new science a revolution of ideas or of practices? What did it mean for the hold of religious and political authority? Who or what were the driving forces behind it? And did the people who lived through it realise what was happening? Out now on PPF+: David's conversation with Alec Ryrie about Jean Calvin, who may have been the Reformation's true revolutionary. What was Calvinism and how did it change the world? To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening sign up now to PPF+ https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus Tickets are available now for PPF Live at the Bath Curious Minds Festival: join us on Saturday 29th March to hear David in conversation with Robert Saunders about the legacy of Winston Churchill: The Politician with Nine Lives https://bit.ly/42GPp3X Next Time on the History of Revolutionary Ideas: The English Revolutions (part one): The Civil War Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Bio: Steven Shapin joined Harvard in 2004 after previous appointments as Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego, and at the Science Studies Unit, Edinburgh University. His books include Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life (Princeton University Press, 1985 [new ed. 2011]; with Simon Schaffer), A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (University of Chicago Press, 1994), The Scientific Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 1996; now translated into 16 languages), Wetenschap is cultuur (Science is Culture) (Amsterdam: Balans, 2005; with Simon Schaffer), The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation (University of Chicago Press, 2008), Never Pure: Historical Studies of Science as if It Was Produced by People with Bodies, Situated in Time, Space, Culture and Society, and Struggling for Credibility and Authority (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), “Eating and Being: A History of Ideas about Our Food and Our Selves (University of Chicago Press, 2024, and several edited books. Image Credit for Author:  Newfrogm - Own work, ByCC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=155155598 If you follow my podcast and enjoy it, I'm on @buymeacoffee. If you like my work, you can buy me a coffee and share your thoughts

This episode forms Part 2 of our extended interview with the celebrated historian of science, and master communicator, Professor Simon Schaffer.Today, we continue to focus our discussion on the book Simon co-wrote with Steven Shapin in the early 1980s, Leviathan and the Air-Pump. Simon reveals fascinating insights into the production of the book, including his many deep dives into rare books collections, as well as the back and forth of typewritten pages between Simon in London and Steven in Edinburgh. Simon also talks about the rise to prominence of the publication, highlighting the crucial role of other well known HPS figures. At the end of the interview, Simon offers a series of reflections on the future of our wonderful field.Transcript coming soon.Relevant links:Leviathan and the Air-Pump | Princeton University PressIntroduction to the 2011 Edition of Leviathan and the Air-PumpSimon Schaffer (cambridge.uk)Steven Shapin (harvard.edu)Thanks for listening to The HPS Podcast with current producers, Samara Greenwood and Carmelina Contarino. You can find more about us on our blog, website, bluesky, twitter, instagram and facebook feeds. Music by ComaStudio. This podcast would not be possible without the support of School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne. HPS Podcast | hpsunimelb.org

This episode is the first of two in which the celebrated Professor of History of Science, Simon Schaffer, discusses the famous HPS publication, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, which Simon co-wrote with another esteemed HPS scholar, Steven Shapin, in the early 1980s. The book went on to become one of the most well-known across both HPS and STS, with next year marking 40 years since its first release.In todays episode, Simon discusses his own academic story, introduces us to the books main themes and aims, and muses on why it was this particular publication became so well known. Simon is also a delightful, scholarly communicator, so enjoy listening and remember to tune in again next week for the equally entertaining second half.Transcript available here: https://www.hpsunimelb.org/post/s4-ep-2-simon-schaffer-on-leviathan-and-the-air-pump-40-years-later-part-1 Relevant links:Leviathan and the Air-Pump | Princeton University PressIntroduction the the 2011 Edition of Leviathan and the Air-PumpSimon Schaffer (cam.ac.uk)Steven Shapin (harvard.edu)Thanks for listening to The HPS Podcast with your current hosts, Samara Greenwood and Carmelina Contarino. You can find more about us on our blog, website, bluesky, twitter, instagram and facebook feeds. Music by ComaStudio. This podcast would not be possible without the support of School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne. HPS Podcast | hpsunimelb.org

It is a truth universally acknowledged that anyone possessed of an obsession will run into the forces of inertia. Jahnavi Phalkey joins Amit Varma in episode 319 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss her history of nuclear physics in India, the men who brought a cyclotron to Chandigarh to study the world -- and her own quest to make common people love science. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Jahnavi Phalkey on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. 2. Atomic State: Big Science in Twentieth-Century India -- Jahnavi Phalkey. 3. Cyclotron -- Jahnavi Phalkey (Password: cyclotron_2020). 4. Science Gallery Bengaluru. 5. Re:Collect India. 6. CV Raman, Meghnad Saha and Homi Jehangir Bhabha. 7. Because the Night -- Patti Smith. 8. CBGB. 9. Venus -- Television. 10. Just Kids -- Patti Smith. 11. Patti Smith's Instagram post on Tom Verlaine. 12. Ward Morehouse on Wikipedia and UMass Amherst. 13. Rahul Sankrityayan on Wikipedia and Amazon. 14. A House for Mr Biswas -- VS Naipaul. 15. Satyajit Ray's Oscar acceptance speech. 16. ‘Let Me Interrupt Your Expertise With My Confidence' — New Yorker cartoon by Jason Adam Katzenstein. 17. The Memoirs of Dr Haimabati Sen — Haimabati Sen (translated by Tapan Raychoudhuri). 18. Lady Doctors: The Untold Stories of India's First Women in Medicine — Kavitha Rao. 19. Kavitha Rao and Our Lady Doctors — Episode 235 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Kavitha Rao). 20. Scum Manifesto -- Valerie Solanas. 21. The History Boys — Alan Bennett. 22. Children are Topple. 23. Yuganta — Irawati Karve. 24. Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne (on Wikipedia and YouTube). 25. The Life and Times of Jerry Pinto — Episode 314 of The Seen and the Unseen. 26. Arshia Sattar and the Complex Search for Dharma -- Episode 315 of The Seen and the Unseen. 27. Rohini Nilekani Pays It Forward — Episode 317 of The Seen and the Unseen. 28. The Law of Truly Large Numbers. 29. Ursula Le Guin, Mary Oliver, Mark Strand and Tom Waits. 30. The Sopranos and The Wire. 31. Binaca Geetmala. 32. Tumhe Ho Na Ho -- Runa Laila. 33. Diva -- Annie Lennox. 34. Dire Straits, Bob Dylan, David Bowie and Patti Smith on Spotify. 35. Kishori Amonkar and Bhimsen Joshi on Spotify. 36. Tosca — Giacomo Puccini — performed at Arena di Verona. 37. Vissi d'arte -- From Tosca by Puccini, performed by Maria Callas. (And the lyrics.) 38. Gloria -- Patti Smith. (And the Van Morrison/Them original.) 39. Horses -- Patti Smith. 40. A Meditation on Form — Amit Varma. 41. Leviathan and the Air-Pump -- Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer. 42. The Moomin books by Tove Jansson. 43. Lawrence and His Laboratory -- JL Heilbron and Robert W Seidel. 44. A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes -- Rodrigo Garcia. 45. Ironic -- Alanis Morisette. 46. The Argumentative Indian -- Amartya Sen. 47. Behave — Robert Sapolsky. 48. Robert Sapolsky's biology lectures on YouTube. 49. $800,000 to Zero – The FASCINATING History of DaVinci Resolve — Alex Jordan of Learn Color Grading. 50. Justice with Michael Sandel. 51. The Case Against Sugar — Gary Taubes. 52. The Big Fat Surprise: why butter, meat, and cheese belong in a healthy diet — Nina Teicholz. 53. Population Is Not a Problem, but Our Greatest Strength — Amit Varma. 54. Falsifiability. 55. The Logic of Scientific Discovery -- Karl Popper. 56. Merchants of Doubt -- Naomi Oreskes and Erik M Conway. 57. Priyanka Pulla on Twitter and LinkedIn. 58. The Ultimate Pocket Camera: Insta360 X3! -- Marques Brownlee. 59. Listen, The Internet Has SPACE -- Amit Varma. 60. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: Volumes 1 to 98. 61. The Collected Writings and Speeches of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. 62. Abby Philips Fights for Science and Medicine -- Episode 310 of The Seen and the Unseen. 63. Hortus Malabaricus. 64. Beware of Quacks. Alternative Medicine is Injurious to Health — Amit Varma. 65. A Godless Congregation — Amit Varma. 66. In a Silent Way -- Episode 316 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Gaurav Chintamani). 67. Raymond Carver on Amazon. 68. Cathedral -- Raymond Carver. 69. Joseph Epstein on Amazon and Wikipedia. 70. Wisława Szymborska on Poetry Foundation, Amazon and Wikipedia. 71. The Foundation Series -- Isaac Asimov. 72. Abbey Road -- The Beatles. 73. The Man Who Sold the World -- David Bowie. 74. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro — Kundan Shah. 75. The 400 Blows — Francois Truffaut. 76. Delicatessen --  Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. 77. La Haine -- Mathieu Kassovitz. 78. Episodes of The Seen and the Unseen with Srinath Raghavan:1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. 79. Episodes of The Seen and the Unseen with Ramachandra Guha: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. This episode is sponsored by CTQ Compounds. Check out The Daily Reader and FutureStack. Use the code UNSEEN for Rs 2500 off. Check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. And subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter. It's free! Episode art: ‘The Void Stares Back' by Simahina.

Seit Sommer sprechen wir über Mental Health im Journalismus. Wir sprechen mit euch, ihr sprecht untereinander und wir bemerkten: Die Branche redet jetzt etwas mehr darüber.Das hat auch bei uns selber etwas ausgelöst, und das wollen wir mit euch Zuhause in der warmen Küche oder mit dem Wollschall und Kopfhörern unterwegs teilen. Livia, Gina und Simon haben zu Mental Health mit Branchenvertreterinnen, Expert_innen und mit verdammt mutigen und aufrichtigen Journis gesprochen, und daraus viel mitnehmen dürfen. Das wollten Sie gemeinsam besprechen - und mit euch teilen - als Vitaminbooster, sozusagen.Mehr dazu: www.jjs.ch/mental-healthMitarbeit: Livia Schmid, Gina Bachmann und Simon Schaffer

To kickstart the series, H4F are joined by Simon Schaffer for our topic - how and what can we learn from history about climate change?

Anna Miller ist Journalistin, positive Psychologin sowie Gründerin und Coach beim «Digital Balance Lab». Sie kennt den Journalismus aus eigener Erfahrung und spricht in der neusten Folge über Fallstricke in unseren Newsrooms, in unserem Online-Verhalten und in unserem Selbstverständnis. Denn ja: Du kannst einiges tun, um dich besser zu fühlen. Allerdings musst du dafür erst analysieren, wo du stehst, wofür du stehst und was um dich herum nicht stimmt – oder eben schon. Mitarbeit: Livia Schmid, Gina Bachmann und Simon Schaffer. 01:00 über die Frage, ob Journis prädestiniert für Burnouts sind.06:38 über die Grenze, hinter der es ungesund wird.07:26 First: Körper. Wie wir mit uns arbeiten.08:03 Second: Seele. Wie wir mit uns und anderen umgehen.10:19 Third: Intellekt. Wenn alles weg ist.12:10 über die wichtige Frage: was ist mein ideales (Arbeits-)Umfeld?14:22 Was mache ich wirklich gerne und gut?15:02 Übung: gute Momente herauspicken.18:32 über die Grenze zur Selbstausbeutung: Überidentifikation. Wer bin ich ohne Journalismus?Break23:20 über die Digitale Balance: Always on, sich abgrenzen, kuratieren und Push-Nachrichten abschalten.32:24 Tipp: Im Team kommunizieren, wann man erreichbar ist35:36 über Bedürfnisse: nach Feedback und Förderung. Was tun? Fordern!39:40 über die Schritte, die dann zu tun sind. Wer sich nicht gut fühlt, bildet sich das nicht ein.42:11 über das fehlgeleitete Wort: Betroffene. Denn das sind wir alle.46:14 über ein neues Verständnis von Leistung.47:46 Schlusstipps: ab in den Wald und zum Grosi.Mehr Informationen: www.jjs.ch/mental-health

Black Holes | The Edge of All We Know is available now on Netflix, or go to https://www.blackholefilm.com and click on the Watch button at the top for more options. What can black holes teach us about the boundaries of knowledge? These holes in spacetime are the darkest objects and the brightest—the simplest and the most complex. With unprecedented access, Black Holes | The Edge of All We Know follows two powerhouse collaborations. Stephen Hawking anchors one, striving to show that black holes do not annihilate the past. Another group, working in the world's highest altitude observatories, creates an earth-sized telescope to capture the first-ever image of a black hole. Interwoven with other dimensions of exploring black holes, these stories bring us to the pinnacle of humanity's quest to understand the universe. In the video above, historians of science Lorraine Daston and Simon Schaffer join Peter Galison for a roundtable discussion about the film, its scientific, philosophical and artistic content, and the choices Peter made as director. Afterwards, Peter answers questions about the film from friends of the Consortium. To cite this content, please use footnote: "Behind the Scenes: Black Holes | The Edge of All We Know," Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine, accessed Month Day, Year, https://www.chstm.org/video/120.

Critical Zones | Streamingfestival The exhibition »Critical Zones – Observatories for Earthly Politics« is about the critical situation of the Earth. Due to the Coronavirus it is also taking place at a critical time. A new Earth policy also requires a new exhibition policy: We are broadcasting! On May 22, 2020 the exhibition opened with a Streaming Festival lasting several days, which spanned the weekend of May 22–24, 2020. The program consisted of streamed guided tours through the virtual spaces as well as through the real, but not publicly accessible exhibition, and will include interviews and lectures. /// Die Ausstellung »Critical Zones – Horizonte einer neuen Erdpolitik« über die kritische Situation der Erde fällt durch die Corona-Krise in eine kritische Zeit. Eine neue Erdpolitik verlangt auch eine neue Ausstellungspolitik: Wir gehen auf Sendung! Am 22. Mai 2020 eröffnete die Ausstellung mit einem mehrtägigen Streaming-Festival, das das Wochenende vom 22.–24.05.2020 umspannte. Das Programm bestand aus gestreamten Führungen durch den virtuellen Raum und durch die reale, jedoch nicht öffentlich-zugängliche Ausstellung sowie Interviews, Filmscreenings und Vorträgen.

“There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it.” With this provocative and apparently paradoxical claim, Steven Shapin begins The Scientific Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2018), his bold, vibrant exploration of the origins of the modern scientific worldview, now updated with a new bibliographic essay featuring the latest scholarship. Steven Shapin is the Franklin L. Ford Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His books include Leviathan and the Air-Pump (with Simon Schaffer), A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, and The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Mark Molloy is the reviews editor at MAKE: A Literary Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it.” With this provocative and apparently paradoxical claim, Steven Shapin begins The Scientific Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2018), his bold, vibrant exploration of the origins of the modern scientific worldview, now updated with a new bibliographic essay featuring the latest scholarship. Steven Shapin is the Franklin L. Ford Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His books include Leviathan and the Air-Pump (with Simon Schaffer), A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, and The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Mark Molloy is the reviews editor at MAKE: A Literary Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it.” With this provocative and apparently paradoxical claim, Steven Shapin begins The Scientific Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2018), his bold, vibrant exploration of the origins of the modern scientific worldview, now updated with a new bibliographic essay featuring the latest scholarship. Steven Shapin is the Franklin L. Ford Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His books include Leviathan and the Air-Pump (with Simon Schaffer), A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, and The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Mark Molloy is the reviews editor at MAKE: A Literary Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it.” With this provocative and apparently paradoxical claim, Steven Shapin begins The Scientific Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2018), his bold, vibrant exploration of the origins of the modern scientific worldview, now updated with a new bibliographic essay featuring the latest scholarship. Steven Shapin is the Franklin L. Ford Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His books include Leviathan and the Air-Pump (with Simon Schaffer), A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, and The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Mark Molloy is the reviews editor at MAKE: A Literary Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it.” With this provocative and apparently paradoxical claim, Steven Shapin begins The Scientific Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2018), his bold, vibrant exploration of the origins of the modern scientific worldview, now updated with a new bibliographic essay featuring the latest scholarship. Steven Shapin is the Franklin L. Ford Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His books include Leviathan and the Air-Pump (with Simon Schaffer), A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, and The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Mark Molloy is the reviews editor at MAKE: A Literary Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it.” With this provocative and apparently paradoxical claim, Steven Shapin begins The Scientific Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2018), his bold, vibrant exploration of the origins of the modern scientific worldview, now updated with a new bibliographic essay featuring the latest scholarship. Steven Shapin is the Franklin L. Ford Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His books include Leviathan and the Air-Pump (with Simon Schaffer), A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, and The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Mark Molloy is the reviews editor at MAKE: A Literary Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it.” With this provocative and apparently paradoxical claim, Steven Shapin begins The Scientific Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2018), his bold, vibrant exploration of the origins of the modern scientific worldview, now updated with a new bibliographic essay featuring the latest scholarship. Steven Shapin is the Franklin L. Ford Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His books include Leviathan and the Air-Pump (with Simon Schaffer), A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, and The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Mark Molloy is the reviews editor at MAKE: A Literary Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it.” With this provocative and apparently paradoxical claim, Steven Shapin begins The Scientific Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2018), his bold, vibrant exploration of the origins of the modern scientific worldview, now updated with a new bibliographic essay featuring the latest scholarship. Steven Shapin is the Franklin L. Ford Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His books include Leviathan and the Air-Pump (with Simon Schaffer), A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, and The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Mark Molloy is the reviews editor at MAKE: A Literary Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

Simon Schaffer-Goldman, of Case Paper, is really just your run-of-the-mill CMO. Well, except maybe for starting out as a shepherd in New Zealand. Also, maybe his portfolio of stunning photography and his penchant for comedy writing are somewhat uncommon. Oh, and the willingness to lead a bold rebrand with a new approach that strays pretty far from the typical tone of B2B paper companies. Hm. Okay, maybe Simon isn’t so run-of-the-mill after all. Though, run-of-the-mill could make for some pretty decent paper industry puns... We’ll file that one away for now. On this week's RTU, Simon and Drew discuss Case Paper's recent update to their branding and marketing, including their new commitment to being "On the Case," how introducing a purpose-driven branding campaign can improve the company culture and operations, agency partnerships (including with yours truly!), and Case's history—and future—with absurdity, humor, and, generally, having a good time cutting through. Listen in for more!

Science writer Graham Farmelo in conversation with Simon Schaffer. Simon Schaffer is not only a leading historian of science but also a great teacher. He is without peer in his ability to illuminate how thinking about thinking about the natural world developed into our modern understanding of physics, often in ways unknown to most physicists today.Read more in Graham Farmelo's book The Universe Speaks in Numbers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today, we explore the origin of the modern concept of a fact. We take facts for granted, but they represent an invaluable intellectual technology less than 400 years old, which was forged in a fight between two of history’s brightest thinkers battling over the best way to rescue their society from the madness of medieval barbarism.   There is a book that gives us a front row seat to that fight: Leviathan and the Air Pump, published by the historians of science Steve Shapin and Simon Schaffer. It covers the conflict between the Scientific Revolutionaries Thomas Hobbes and Robert Boyle concerning how new knowledge could and should be created, and out of which the concept of an objective fact as we now know it was born.  Visit my Patreon page to access bonus episodes and all regular episodes ad-free.  Learn more at bradharris.com.

The Magical Mathematician: Sir Isaac Newton and the Principia Mathematica On a frozen January day in 1684 three friends – Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley - met at a London coffee house to confront one of the great questions in knowledge: planetary motion. Their conversation and speculations led, in a few months, to Isaac Newton’s chambers at Trinity College in Cambridge and initiated one of the most thrilling episodes in the entire history of science. In this fourth episode of Travels Through Time, Professor Simon Schaffer of the University of Cambridge takes us to three scenes in the year 1684, and to the genesis of that paradigm-shattering book, the Principia Mathematica. Presenter: Peter Moore Guest: Professor Simon Schaffer Producer: Maria Nolan

There's a story told about French philosopher René Descartes and his daughter. He boards a ship for a voyage over the North Sea with a large wooden box which he insists be handled with such great care that the sea captain’s curiosity is aroused. When Descartes is out of his cabin the sea captain opens the box and is horrified to find a life sized automaton inside. He's so shocked he throws the "daughter" overboard. Descartes championed a view of nature in which everything happened because of the physical forces acting between its constituent parts: nature as a machine. It was a coolly rational vision that caught the scientific spirit of the seventeenth century. He was fascinated by automata and what they tell us about what it is to be human. Philip Ball tells the story of Descartes and his "daughter" and his writings about humans and machines. He finds out more about the thirst for mechanical wonders and what it said about theories of the human body in Descartes’ time, from historian of science Simon Schaffer of Cambridge University. And Kanta Dihar of the Centre for the Future of Intelligence also at Cambridge University talks about current research into AIs, driven purely by some mechanism of formal logic, that can mimic the capabilities of the human mind, and how contemporary culture explores our fears about them. Picture: People And Robots Modern Human And Artificial Intelligence Futuristic Mechanism Technology, Credit: Getty Images

There's a story told about French philosopher René Descartes and his daughter. He boards a ship for a voyage over the North Sea with a large wooden box which he insists be handled with such great care that the sea captain's curiosity is aroused. When Descartes is out of his cabin the sea captain opens the box and is horrified to find a life sized automaton inside. He's so shocked he throws the "daughter" overboard. Descartes championed a view of nature in which everything happened because of the physical forces acting between its constituent parts: nature as a machine. It was a coolly rational vision that caught the scientific spirit of the seventeenth century. He was fascinated by automata and what they tell us about what it is to be human. Philip Ball tells the story of Descartes and his "daughter" and his writings about humans and machines. He finds out more about the thirst for mechanical wonders and what it said about theories of the human body in Descartes' time, from historian of science Simon Schaffer of Cambridge University. And Kanta Dihar of the Centre for the Future of Intelligence also at Cambridge University talks about current research into AIs, driven purely by some mechanism of formal logic, that can mimic the capabilities of the human mind, and how contemporary culture explores our fears about them.

Simon Schaffer (University of Cambridge) Soft matter and mobile objects

Historians of Science David Wootton and Michael Hunter review the controversial book 50 years on Robert Boyle's air-pump experiments in 1659 provoked a lively debate over the possibility of a vacuum. The air-pump, a complicated and expensive device, became an emblem of the new experimental science that was promoted by the Royal Society. However, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes challenged both the validity of Boyle’s experiment and the philosophical foundations of this new approach to science. In their controversial book Leviathan and the Air-Pump (1985) Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer took up Hobbes’s case, arguing that experimental findings depend for their validity on the scientific culture in which they are made. David Wootton (Anniversary Professor of History, University of York) reviews this controversy and present a new view of the dispute between Boyle and Hobbes, with responses by Robert Boyle's biographer Michael Hunter (Emeritus Professor of History, Birkbeck). The discussion is introduced by Ritchie Robertson (Taylor Professor of the German, University of Oxford).

The historian of science David Wootton reviews the controversial dispute between Robert Boyle and Thomas Hobbes, followed by a reply from Boyle's biographer Michael Hunter Robert Boyle's air-pump experiments in 1659 provoked a lively debate over the possibility of a vacuum. The air-pump, a complicated and expensive device, became an emblem of the new experimental science that was promoted by the Royal Society. However, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes challenged both the validity of Boyle’s experiment and the philosophical foundations of this new approach to science. In their controversial book Leviathan and the Air-Pump (1985) Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer took up Hobbes’s case, arguing that experimental findings depend for their validity on the scientific culture in which they are made. David Wootton (Anniversary Professor of History, University of York) reviews this controversy and present a new view of the dispute between Boyle and Hobbes. His lecture is followed by a reply from Robert Boyle's biographer Michael Hunter (Emeritus Professor of History, Birkbeck). The discussion is chaired by Ritchie Robertson (Taylor Professor of the German, University of Oxford).

Simon Schaffer is interested in the human species in general and one member of it in particular. Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist and zoologist who set out the basic structure of how we name and understand life on earth. In doing so he broached the thorny question of where humans should sit among the species of the earth. A hundred years before Darwin he correctly placed us among the apes. Simon examines that relationship to see the things that mark our similarities and our differences. Simon comes face to face with 'Jock', an adult Gorilla at Bristol Zoo and talks to Prof. Robert Foley about human evolution. He also sees how Linnaeus' ideas were used to support racial science. After all if humans were more like apes perhaps some humans were more like apes than others.

A new history of ideas presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices. Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking What makes us human? Helping him answer it are philosopher Barry Smith, classicist Catharine Edwards, historian Simon Schaffer and theologian Giles Fraser. For the rest of the week Barry, Catharine, Simon and Giles will take us further into the history of ideas about being human with programmes of their own. Between them they will examine the evolution of language, the Stoic philosopher Seneca, the classification of all living species, the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the film Bladerunner.

Historian of science Simon Schaffer is interested in the purpose of beauty within evolutionary explanations. Taking the ideas of Charles Darwin as his starting point, he wants to know how and why the capacity to see beauty evolved and whether this powerful, fleeting and apparently most useless of attributes can really have an evolutionary explanation. Simon talks to neuroscientist and biologist Stephen Rose and film-maker and anthropologist Chris Wright about whether Darwin really can explain why he finds Mahler's 5th Symphony beautiful. This programme is part of a week of programmes looking at the history of ideas around Freedom.

A new history of ideas presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices. Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking 'Why are things beautiful?' Helping him answer it are Mathematician Vicky Neale, historian of science Simon Schaffer and philosophers Barry Smith and Angie Hobbs. For the rest of the week Vicky, Simon, Barry and Angie will take us further into the history of ideas about beauty with programmes of their own. Between them they will examine the mathematics of beauty, whether beauty has moral force, whether beauty can be explained in evolutionary terms and how David Hume developed a theory of good taste.

Simon Schaffer (HPS) & Sujit Sivasundaram (History) introduce the conference 'Exploring Traditions: Sources for a Global History of Science'.

Professor Simon Schaffer (University of Cambridge) Automata and Dr Anna Maerker (Kings College London) Model Bodies and Model Experts Abstracts Prof Simon Schaffer: Eighteenth century automata served a very wide range of uses, as things to display or satirise, admire or unmask. Such seemingly self-moving things functioned in a culture fascinated by the workings of the theatre and of the market, especially in juxtaposition of automata with other mobile things of the period, such as spring clocks and water pumps. And what happens when these things now appear on film? Dr Anna Maerker: The Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History 'La Specola' in late-eighteenth-century Florence was famous for its life-sized wax models of the human body, part of a public display of nature that was designed to further public happiness through education and enlightenment. In this talk, I will focus on practices of model making and model use at La Specola to ask how things mediate human relationships and shape social groups. Based on material from my book Model Experts: Wax Anatomies and Enlightenment in Florence and Vienna, 1775–1815, the talk will investigate how model makers articulated their identity through model production, and how model display shaped the relationship between experts and the public.

Astronomical interests prompted a series of entries by European travellers into the Pacific. In studies of the complex motives and effects of these expeditions, it has been common to treat astronomical interests either as rationales for more profound political and economic enterprise, or as of a strictly utilitarian character. Simon Schaffer, professor in the history of science at the University of Cambridge, looks at the cosmologies on which certain forms of European astronomy depended, and how the Pacific encounters changed and reoriented their meanings. For further info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2010/professor_simon_schaffer.shtml

Melvyn Bragg discusses the epic feud between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who invented an astonishingly powerful new mathematical tool - calculus. Both claimed to have conceived it independently, but the argument soon descended into a bitter battle over priority, plagiarism and philosophy. Set against the backdrop of the Hanoverian succession to the English throne and the formation of the Royal Society, the fight pitted England against Europe, geometric notation against algebra. It was fundamental to the grounding of a mathematical system which is one of the keys to the modern world, allowing us to do everything from predicting the pressure building behind a dam to tracking the position of a space shuttle.Melvyn is joined by Simon Schaffer, Professor of History of Science at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Darwin College; Patricia Fara, Senior Tutor at Clare College, University of Cambridge; and Jackie Stedall, Departmental Lecturer in History of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.

Melvyn Bragg discusses the epic feud between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who invented an astonishingly powerful new mathematical tool - calculus. Both claimed to have conceived it independently, but the argument soon descended into a bitter battle over priority, plagiarism and philosophy. Set against the backdrop of the Hanoverian succession to the English throne and the formation of the Royal Society, the fight pitted England against Europe, geometric notation against algebra. It was fundamental to the grounding of a mathematical system which is one of the keys to the modern world, allowing us to do everything from predicting the pressure building behind a dam to tracking the position of a space shuttle.Melvyn is joined by Simon Schaffer, Professor of History of Science at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Darwin College; Patricia Fara, Senior Tutor at Clare College, University of Cambridge; and Jackie Stedall, Departmental Lecturer in History of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.

Simon Schaffer is a Professor of History of Science at University of Cambridge. He was trained in natural sciences and history of science at Cambridge and Harvard and has taught at the Imperial College London. (January 16, 2008)

Simon Schaffer is a Professor of History of Science at University of Cambridge. He was trained in natural sciences and history of science at Cambridge and Harvard and has taught at the Imperial College London. (January 14, 2008)

Simon Schaffer is a Professor of History of Science at University of Cambridge. He was trained in natural sciences and history of science at Cambridge and Harvard and has taught at the Imperial College London. (January 14, 2008)

Simon Schaffer is a Professor of History of Science at University of Cambridge. He was trained in natural sciences and history of science at Cambridge and Harvard and has taught at the Imperial College London. (January 16, 2008)

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the science of Oceanography. In 1870 Jules Verne described the deep ocean in 2,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He wrote: “The sea is an immense desert where man is never alone for he feels life, quivering around him on every side.” This was actually closer to the truth than the science of the time, when ‘Azoic Theory' held sway and it was believed that nothing could exist below 600 metres. Now we estimate that there are more species in the deep ocean than in the rest of the planet put together, somewhere between 2 million and 100 million different species of organism are living on the ocean floor.Science has dispelled the idea that huge underground tunnels join our oceans together and the notion that giant Kraken lurk in the deep, but our seas still retain much of their mystery and there have been more men on the surface of the moon than at the bottom of the ocean. How should we understand the sea? With Margaret Deacon, visiting Research Fellow at Southampton Oceanography Centre and author of Scientists and the Sea, Tony Rice, Biological Oceanographer and author of Deep Ocean, Simon Schaffer, Reader in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of Darwin College.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the science of Oceanography. In 1870 Jules Verne described the deep ocean in 2,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He wrote: “The sea is an immense desert where man is never alone for he feels life, quivering around him on every side.” This was actually closer to the truth than the science of the time, when ‘Azoic Theory’ held sway and it was believed that nothing could exist below 600 metres. Now we estimate that there are more species in the deep ocean than in the rest of the planet put together, somewhere between 2 million and 100 million different species of organism are living on the ocean floor.Science has dispelled the idea that huge underground tunnels join our oceans together and the notion that giant Kraken lurk in the deep, but our seas still retain much of their mystery and there have been more men on the surface of the moon than at the bottom of the ocean. How should we understand the sea? With Margaret Deacon, visiting Research Fellow at Southampton Oceanography Centre and author of Scientists and the Sea, Tony Rice, Biological Oceanographer and author of Deep Ocean, Simon Schaffer, Reader in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of Darwin College.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the great poet and dramatist, famous for Faust, for The Sorrows of Young Werther, for Storm und Drang and for being a colossus in German literature. Born in the middle of the eighteenth century he lived through the first third of the nineteenth. He wrote lyric and epic verse, literary criticism, prose fiction, translations from 28 languages, he was a politician as well and was hailed by Napoleon as the boundless measure of man; but for much of his time, often to the exclusion of everything else, Goethe was a scientist. That was also part of this late flowering Renaissance man. Some say he paved the way for Darwin, some say he pre-dated the chaos theory, that he foreshadowed Gaia. In an age of romantic giants he was certainly a titan. He gave us the term morphology and sometimes he is even credited with inventing biology itself. How important were Goethe's discoveries, and where does he really stand in the history of science? With Nicholas Boyle, Reader in German Literary and Intellectual History, Magdalene College, Cambridge, and biographer of Goethe; Simon Schaffer, Reader in the History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge University and Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the great poet and dramatist, famous for Faust, for The Sorrows of Young Werther, for Storm und Drang and for being a colossus in German literature. Born in the middle of the eighteenth century he lived through the first third of the nineteenth. He wrote lyric and epic verse, literary criticism, prose fiction, translations from 28 languages, he was a politician as well and was hailed by Napoleon as the boundless measure of man; but for much of his time, often to the exclusion of everything else, Goethe was a scientist. That was also part of this late flowering Renaissance man. Some say he paved the way for Darwin, some say he pre-dated the chaos theory, that he foreshadowed Gaia. In an age of romantic giants he was certainly a titan. He gave us the term morphology and sometimes he is even credited with inventing biology itself. How important were Goethe’s discoveries, and where does he really stand in the history of science? With Nicholas Boyle, Reader in German Literary and Intellectual History, Magdalene College, Cambridge, and biographer of Goethe; Simon Schaffer, Reader in the History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge University and Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge.