Richard Swinburne (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263419
- eISBN:
- 9780191734175
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263419.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
Bayes' theorem is a tool for assessing how probable evidence makes some hypothesis. The papers in this book consider the worth and applicability of the theorem. The book sets out the philosophical ...
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Bayes' theorem is a tool for assessing how probable evidence makes some hypothesis. The papers in this book consider the worth and applicability of the theorem. The book sets out the philosophical issues: Elliott Sober argues that there are other criteria for assessing hypotheses; Colin Howson, Philip Dawid, and John Earman consider how the theorem can be used in statistical science, in weighing evidence in criminal trials, and in assessing evidence for the occurrence of miracles; and David Miller argues for the worth of the probability calculus as a tool for measuring propensities in nature rather than the strength of evidence. The book ends with the original paper containing the theorem, presented to the Royal Society in 1763.Less
Bayes' theorem is a tool for assessing how probable evidence makes some hypothesis. The papers in this book consider the worth and applicability of the theorem. The book sets out the philosophical issues: Elliott Sober argues that there are other criteria for assessing hypotheses; Colin Howson, Philip Dawid, and John Earman consider how the theorem can be used in statistical science, in weighing evidence in criminal trials, and in assessing evidence for the occurrence of miracles; and David Miller argues for the worth of the probability calculus as a tool for measuring propensities in nature rather than the strength of evidence. The book ends with the original paper containing the theorem, presented to the Royal Society in 1763.
T. N. Thiele
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198509721
- eISBN:
- 9780191709197
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198509721.003.0006
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Probability / Statistics
This chapter presents a reprint of part of Hald (2000a), which was read before the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, where Thiele concludes the mathematical theory of his halfinvariants. ...
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This chapter presents a reprint of part of Hald (2000a), which was read before the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, where Thiele concludes the mathematical theory of his halfinvariants. The paper also concludes a selection of translations of Thiele's original work.Less
This chapter presents a reprint of part of Hald (2000a), which was read before the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, where Thiele concludes the mathematical theory of his halfinvariants. The paper also concludes a selection of translations of Thiele's original work.
Matthew S. Seligmann
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199574032
- eISBN:
- 9780191741432
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199574032.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Military History
This book examines the way in which the prospect of a wartime German assault on British seaborne commerce influenced the development of British naval policy in the run up to the First World War. It ...
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This book examines the way in which the prospect of a wartime German assault on British seaborne commerce influenced the development of British naval policy in the run up to the First World War. It argues that, owing to the Admiralty’s consistently expressed fears that, in the event of an Anglo-German conflict, German commerce-raiders could interdict vital supplies, the British government began to consider German maritime power as a serious danger to British national security at the very outset of the twentieth century and that this sense of anxiety continued, even sharpened, as the years unfolded. It further argues that as a result of this perception of a growing menace, the Royal Navy devoted considerable time and energy to devising ever more elaborate countermeasures. These included developing new types of auxiliary and then regular warships, attempting to change international maritime law, creating a new global intelligence network, seeking to involve the government in the maritime insurance system and, finally, arming British merchant vessels and taking steps to place trained gun crews on these vessels in peacetime. While some of these developments have been subject to alternative explanations, some have never been explained at all. Yet, as this book shows, all had their origins, substantially or even entirely, in the Admiralty’s fears of a German threat to British maritime commerce. As a result, it concludes that the prospect of a German assault on British trade played a major part in shaping Admiralty policy in the twelve years before 1914.Less
This book examines the way in which the prospect of a wartime German assault on British seaborne commerce influenced the development of British naval policy in the run up to the First World War. It argues that, owing to the Admiralty’s consistently expressed fears that, in the event of an Anglo-German conflict, German commerce-raiders could interdict vital supplies, the British government began to consider German maritime power as a serious danger to British national security at the very outset of the twentieth century and that this sense of anxiety continued, even sharpened, as the years unfolded. It further argues that as a result of this perception of a growing menace, the Royal Navy devoted considerable time and energy to devising ever more elaborate countermeasures. These included developing new types of auxiliary and then regular warships, attempting to change international maritime law, creating a new global intelligence network, seeking to involve the government in the maritime insurance system and, finally, arming British merchant vessels and taking steps to place trained gun crews on these vessels in peacetime. While some of these developments have been subject to alternative explanations, some have never been explained at all. Yet, as this book shows, all had their origins, substantially or even entirely, in the Admiralty’s fears of a German threat to British maritime commerce. As a result, it concludes that the prospect of a German assault on British trade played a major part in shaping Admiralty policy in the twelve years before 1914.
Matthew S. Seligmann
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199261505
- eISBN:
- 9780191718618
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261505.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Why did the British government declare war on Germany in August 1914? Was it because Germany posed a threat to British national security? Today many prominent historians would argue that this was not ...
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Why did the British government declare war on Germany in August 1914? Was it because Germany posed a threat to British national security? Today many prominent historians would argue that this was not the case and that a million British citizens died needlessly in the trenches for a misguided cause. However, this book counters such revisionist arguments. It disputes the suggestion that the British government either got its facts wrong about the German threat or even, as some have claimed, deliberately ‘invented’ it in order to justify an otherwise unnecessary alignment with France and Russia. By examining the military and naval intelligence assessments forwarded from Germany to London by Britain's service attachés in Berlin, its ‘men on the spot’, this book clearly demonstrates that the British authorities had every reason to be alarmed. From these crucial intelligence documents, previously thought to have been lost, this book proves that in the decade before the First World War, the British government was kept well-informed about military and naval developments in the Reich. In particular, the attachés consistently warned that German ambitions to challenge Britain posed a real and imminent danger to national security. As a result, the book concludes that far from being mistaken or invented, the British government's perception of a German threat before 1914 was rooted in hard and credible intelligence.Less
Why did the British government declare war on Germany in August 1914? Was it because Germany posed a threat to British national security? Today many prominent historians would argue that this was not the case and that a million British citizens died needlessly in the trenches for a misguided cause. However, this book counters such revisionist arguments. It disputes the suggestion that the British government either got its facts wrong about the German threat or even, as some have claimed, deliberately ‘invented’ it in order to justify an otherwise unnecessary alignment with France and Russia. By examining the military and naval intelligence assessments forwarded from Germany to London by Britain's service attachés in Berlin, its ‘men on the spot’, this book clearly demonstrates that the British authorities had every reason to be alarmed. From these crucial intelligence documents, previously thought to have been lost, this book proves that in the decade before the First World War, the British government was kept well-informed about military and naval developments in the Reich. In particular, the attachés consistently warned that German ambitions to challenge Britain posed a real and imminent danger to national security. As a result, the book concludes that far from being mistaken or invented, the British government's perception of a German threat before 1914 was rooted in hard and credible intelligence.
Alastair Wood
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231256
- eISBN:
- 9780191710803
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231256.003.0005
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter focuses on the friendship between Sir G. G. Stokes and Kelvin. Kelvin was Stokes's principal correspondent over a period of fifty-six years. The correspondence between the two provide ...
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This chapter focuses on the friendship between Sir G. G. Stokes and Kelvin. Kelvin was Stokes's principal correspondent over a period of fifty-six years. The correspondence between the two provide valuable insight not only into the research and research methods of two giants of 19th-century British science, but also into the day-to-day running of Cambridge and Glasgow Universities and of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh at a critical time in their histories. The family backgrounds and formative influences of Kelvin and Stokes, their life in Cambridge, their early research correspondence, professorships, marriages, and political activities are discussed.Less
This chapter focuses on the friendship between Sir G. G. Stokes and Kelvin. Kelvin was Stokes's principal correspondent over a period of fifty-six years. The correspondence between the two provide valuable insight not only into the research and research methods of two giants of 19th-century British science, but also into the day-to-day running of Cambridge and Glasgow Universities and of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh at a critical time in their histories. The family backgrounds and formative influences of Kelvin and Stokes, their life in Cambridge, their early research correspondence, professorships, marriages, and political activities are discussed.
Marc Baer
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198112501
- eISBN:
- 9780191670787
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198112501.003.0013
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This chapter discusses briefly what happened to the OPs who participated in the 1809 theatre riot. Other notable individuals linked to this incident are also discussed in this chapter in passing. The ...
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This chapter discusses briefly what happened to the OPs who participated in the 1809 theatre riot. Other notable individuals linked to this incident are also discussed in this chapter in passing. The chapter ends with the ultimate fate of the theatre in Covent Garden, which is now known as the Royal Opera House.Less
This chapter discusses briefly what happened to the OPs who participated in the 1809 theatre riot. Other notable individuals linked to this incident are also discussed in this chapter in passing. The chapter ends with the ultimate fate of the theatre in Covent Garden, which is now known as the Royal Opera House.
Iain McLean
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199546954
- eISBN:
- 9780191720031
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546954.003.0012
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, UK Politics
‘The House of Peers throughout the war/Did nothing in particular/And did it very well.’ The Levellers and the case for an elected parliament. The Lords since 1909. Remaining conditional vetoes. The ...
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‘The House of Peers throughout the war/Did nothing in particular/And did it very well.’ The Levellers and the case for an elected parliament. The Lords since 1909. Remaining conditional vetoes. The Lords and the landed interest. Evolution of the Salisbury–Addison convention. Its fall since 1999. Mackay Commission. Wakeham Commission. Weakness of arguments for an unelected house. Contradictory votes in the Commons. The effectiveness (but doubtful legitimacy) of the post‐1999 Lords. Powers and composition of a (predominantly) elected chamber.Less
‘The House of Peers throughout the war/Did nothing in particular/And did it very well.’ The Levellers and the case for an elected parliament. The Lords since 1909. Remaining conditional vetoes. The Lords and the landed interest. Evolution of the Salisbury–Addison convention. Its fall since 1999. Mackay Commission. Wakeham Commission. Weakness of arguments for an unelected house. Contradictory votes in the Commons. The effectiveness (but doubtful legitimacy) of the post‐1999 Lords. Powers and composition of a (predominantly) elected chamber.
Iain Mclean
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199546954
- eISBN:
- 9780191720031
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546954.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, UK Politics
Purpose of a head of state. Executive and non‐executive heads of state in some democratic constitutions. Australian constitutional crisis 1975. Sir David Smith fails to wake the Queen's Private ...
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Purpose of a head of state. Executive and non‐executive heads of state in some democratic constitutions. Australian constitutional crisis 1975. Sir David Smith fails to wake the Queen's Private Secretary. Argument for monarchy: certainty. Arguments against: democracy; quality of head of state. The Hanoverian dynasty as UK heads of state. How to elect a head of state?. What would happen to the Royal Prerogative in a democracy. The George V—Asquith exchange of letters in autumn 1913.Less
Purpose of a head of state. Executive and non‐executive heads of state in some democratic constitutions. Australian constitutional crisis 1975. Sir David Smith fails to wake the Queen's Private Secretary. Argument for monarchy: certainty. Arguments against: democracy; quality of head of state. The Hanoverian dynasty as UK heads of state. How to elect a head of state?. What would happen to the Royal Prerogative in a democracy. The George V—Asquith exchange of letters in autumn 1913.
Stephen Gaukroger
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296446
- eISBN:
- 9780191711985
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296446.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
The development of the persona of the natural philosopher is the key to understanding how natural philosophy becomes inserted into European culture in the 16th and 17th centuries. This chapter shows ...
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The development of the persona of the natural philosopher is the key to understanding how natural philosophy becomes inserted into European culture in the 16th and 17th centuries. This chapter shows in detail that notions of truth and justification turn just as much on conceptions of intellectual honesty as they do on notions of method. It looks primarily at the standing of the natural philosopher in Bacon, Galileo, Descartes, Boyle, and Royal Society apologists, focusing on claims that the natural philosopher requires a kind of intellectual honesty lacking in scholastic natural philosophy. This is closely tied in with one of the distinctive features of early-modern natural philosophy: that questions that had earlier been seen in terms of truth are now discussed instead in terms of impartiality and objectivity.Less
The development of the persona of the natural philosopher is the key to understanding how natural philosophy becomes inserted into European culture in the 16th and 17th centuries. This chapter shows in detail that notions of truth and justification turn just as much on conceptions of intellectual honesty as they do on notions of method. It looks primarily at the standing of the natural philosopher in Bacon, Galileo, Descartes, Boyle, and Royal Society apologists, focusing on claims that the natural philosopher requires a kind of intellectual honesty lacking in scholastic natural philosophy. This is closely tied in with one of the distinctive features of early-modern natural philosophy: that questions that had earlier been seen in terms of truth are now discussed instead in terms of impartiality and objectivity.
Vernon Bogdanor
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198293347
- eISBN:
- 9780191598821
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293348.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchy governed by rules. In Britain, these rules are of two kinds—non‐statutory rules governing hereditary succession and statutory rules laying down certain ...
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Constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchy governed by rules. In Britain, these rules are of two kinds—non‐statutory rules governing hereditary succession and statutory rules laying down certain conditions that the holder of the throne must meet. Although descent is the main criterion of succession, the great constitutional struggles of the seventeenth century, culminating in the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701, confirmed that the succession could be regulated by parliament. The British monarchy is a parliamentary monarchy. Indeed, the succession can only be altered by Act of Parliament. Provision is also made by Act of Parliament for cases when the sovereign is incapable or a minor, where a Regent acts in place of the sovereign. The rules regulating the royal consort and the heir to the throne and the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 are analysed. The rules of succession, being a product of the religious struggles of the seventeenth century, are now ripe for reform. So also is the Royal Marriages Act.Less
Constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchy governed by rules. In Britain, these rules are of two kinds—non‐statutory rules governing hereditary succession and statutory rules laying down certain conditions that the holder of the throne must meet. Although descent is the main criterion of succession, the great constitutional struggles of the seventeenth century, culminating in the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701, confirmed that the succession could be regulated by parliament. The British monarchy is a parliamentary monarchy. Indeed, the succession can only be altered by Act of Parliament. Provision is also made by Act of Parliament for cases when the sovereign is incapable or a minor, where a Regent acts in place of the sovereign. The rules regulating the royal consort and the heir to the throne and the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 are analysed. The rules of succession, being a product of the religious struggles of the seventeenth century, are now ripe for reform. So also is the Royal Marriages Act.
Vernon Bogdanor
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198293347
- eISBN:
- 9780191598821
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293348.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
The financing of the monarchy has always had constitutional implications. Indeed, control of finance was the crucial issue in the battles between the king and the parliament in the seventeenth ...
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The financing of the monarchy has always had constitutional implications. Indeed, control of finance was the crucial issue in the battles between the king and the parliament in the seventeenth century. Today, the financing of the sovereign and the Royal Household is complex. It is designed to ensure that the sovereign is largely, though not wholly, dependent upon Parliament for money. A careful balancing is needed. But the presentation of the royal accounts is far too opaque and more transparency is needed.Less
The financing of the monarchy has always had constitutional implications. Indeed, control of finance was the crucial issue in the battles between the king and the parliament in the seventeenth century. Today, the financing of the sovereign and the Royal Household is complex. It is designed to ensure that the sovereign is largely, though not wholly, dependent upon Parliament for money. A careful balancing is needed. But the presentation of the royal accounts is far too opaque and more transparency is needed.
Chun Wei Choo
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195176780
- eISBN:
- 9780199789634
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195176780.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Knowledge Management
This chapter introduces an information-based view of organizations — a model of how people and groups in organizations work with information to accomplish three outcomes: (1) create an identity and a ...
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This chapter introduces an information-based view of organizations — a model of how people and groups in organizations work with information to accomplish three outcomes: (1) create an identity and a shared context for action and reflection (sense-making), (2) develop new knowledge and new capabilities (knowledge creation), and (3) make decisions that commit resources and capabilities to purposeful action (decision making). The chapter illustrates the dynamic of the organizational knowledge cycle with a discussion of scenario planning at Royal Dutch Shell.Less
This chapter introduces an information-based view of organizations — a model of how people and groups in organizations work with information to accomplish three outcomes: (1) create an identity and a shared context for action and reflection (sense-making), (2) develop new knowledge and new capabilities (knowledge creation), and (3) make decisions that commit resources and capabilities to purposeful action (decision making). The chapter illustrates the dynamic of the organizational knowledge cycle with a discussion of scenario planning at Royal Dutch Shell.
Charles Barman and Ray Barman
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622099760
- eISBN:
- 9789882207363
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622099760.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This is one of the fullest descriptions of the fighting in Hong Kong in 1941 and subsequent imprisonment of Hong Kongers, but in addition it is the view of a mature professional soldier, one who had ...
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This is one of the fullest descriptions of the fighting in Hong Kong in 1941 and subsequent imprisonment of Hong Kongers, but in addition it is the view of a mature professional soldier, one who had signed on in 1919 and in his long service had seen much, spending time on the North West Frontier in India. The author of this book was a Quartermaster Sergeant in the Royal Artillery during the battle for Hong Kong in December 1941. His job was to keep the artillery supplied and so he criss-crossed the mainland and Hong Kong Island during the fighting, getting a broader view of what was going on than most participants. Fortunately he kept a diary during those terrible days. At the end of the battle, with his fellow soldiers, he became a prisoner of war, but he continued somehow to maintain his diary. He spent most of the war in the Argyle Street camp and provided the most complete coverage of life there.Less
This is one of the fullest descriptions of the fighting in Hong Kong in 1941 and subsequent imprisonment of Hong Kongers, but in addition it is the view of a mature professional soldier, one who had signed on in 1919 and in his long service had seen much, spending time on the North West Frontier in India. The author of this book was a Quartermaster Sergeant in the Royal Artillery during the battle for Hong Kong in December 1941. His job was to keep the artillery supplied and so he criss-crossed the mainland and Hong Kong Island during the fighting, getting a broader view of what was going on than most participants. Fortunately he kept a diary during those terrible days. At the end of the battle, with his fellow soldiers, he became a prisoner of war, but he continued somehow to maintain his diary. He spent most of the war in the Argyle Street camp and provided the most complete coverage of life there.
Shula Marks, Paul Weindling, and Laura Wintour (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264812
- eISBN:
- 9780191754029
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264812.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
Established in the 1930s to rescue scientists and scholars from Nazi Europe, the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning (SPSL, founded in 1933 as the Academic Assistance Council and now ...
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Established in the 1930s to rescue scientists and scholars from Nazi Europe, the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning (SPSL, founded in 1933 as the Academic Assistance Council and now known as the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics) has had an illustrious career. No fewer than eighteen of its early grantees became Nobel Laureates and 120 were elected Fellows of the British Academy and Royal Society in the UK. While a good deal has been written on the SPSL in the 1930s and 1940s, and especially on the achievements of the outstanding scientists rescued, much less attention has been devoted to the scholars who contributed to the social sciences and humanities, and there has been virtually no research on the Society after the Second World War. The archive-based essays in this book, written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the organisation, attempt to fill this gap. The essays include revisionist accounts of the founder of the SPSL and some of its early grantees. They examine the SPSL's relationship with associates and allies, the experiences of women academics and those of the post-war academic refugees from Communist Europe, apartheid South Africa, and Pinochet's Chile. In addition to scholarly contributions, the book includes moving essays by the children of early grantees. At a time of increasing international concern with refugees and immigration, it is a reminder of the enormous contribution generations of academic refugees have made — and continue to make — to learning the world over.Less
Established in the 1930s to rescue scientists and scholars from Nazi Europe, the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning (SPSL, founded in 1933 as the Academic Assistance Council and now known as the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics) has had an illustrious career. No fewer than eighteen of its early grantees became Nobel Laureates and 120 were elected Fellows of the British Academy and Royal Society in the UK. While a good deal has been written on the SPSL in the 1930s and 1940s, and especially on the achievements of the outstanding scientists rescued, much less attention has been devoted to the scholars who contributed to the social sciences and humanities, and there has been virtually no research on the Society after the Second World War. The archive-based essays in this book, written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the organisation, attempt to fill this gap. The essays include revisionist accounts of the founder of the SPSL and some of its early grantees. They examine the SPSL's relationship with associates and allies, the experiences of women academics and those of the post-war academic refugees from Communist Europe, apartheid South Africa, and Pinochet's Chile. In addition to scholarly contributions, the book includes moving essays by the children of early grantees. At a time of increasing international concern with refugees and immigration, it is a reminder of the enormous contribution generations of academic refugees have made — and continue to make — to learning the world over.
Noel Malcolm and Jacqueline Stedall
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198564843
- eISBN:
- 9780191713750
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198564843.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
The mathematician John Pell was a member of the Royal Society and one of the generation of scientists that included Boyle, Wren, and Hooke. Although he left a huge body of manuscript materials, he ...
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The mathematician John Pell was a member of the Royal Society and one of the generation of scientists that included Boyle, Wren, and Hooke. Although he left a huge body of manuscript materials, he has remained a neglected figure, whose papers have never been properly explored. This book is a full-length study of Pell and presents an in-depth account of his life and mathematical thinking based on a detailed study of his manuscripts. It also brings to life a strange, appealing, but awkward character, whose failure to publish his discoveries was caused by powerful scruples. In addition, this book shows that the range of Pell's interests extended far beyond mathematics. He was a key member of the circle of the ‘intelligencer’ Samuel Hartlib; he prepared translations of works by Descartes and Comenius; in the 1650s he served as Cromwell's envoy to Switzerland; and in the last part of his life he was an active member of the Royal Society, interested in the whole range of its activities. The study of Pell's life and thought thus illuminates many different aspects of 17th-century intellectual life. The book is in three parts. The first is a detailed biography of Pell; the second is an extended essay on his mathematical work; the third is a richly annotated edition of his correspondence with Sir Charles Cavendish. This correspondence, which has often been cited by scholars but has never been published in full, is concerned not only with mathematics but also with optics, philosophy, and many other subjects. Conducted mainly while Pell was in the Netherlands and Cavendish was also on the Continent, it is a fascinating example of the correspondence that flourished in the 17th-century ‘Republic of Letters’.Less
The mathematician John Pell was a member of the Royal Society and one of the generation of scientists that included Boyle, Wren, and Hooke. Although he left a huge body of manuscript materials, he has remained a neglected figure, whose papers have never been properly explored. This book is a full-length study of Pell and presents an in-depth account of his life and mathematical thinking based on a detailed study of his manuscripts. It also brings to life a strange, appealing, but awkward character, whose failure to publish his discoveries was caused by powerful scruples. In addition, this book shows that the range of Pell's interests extended far beyond mathematics. He was a key member of the circle of the ‘intelligencer’ Samuel Hartlib; he prepared translations of works by Descartes and Comenius; in the 1650s he served as Cromwell's envoy to Switzerland; and in the last part of his life he was an active member of the Royal Society, interested in the whole range of its activities. The study of Pell's life and thought thus illuminates many different aspects of 17th-century intellectual life. The book is in three parts. The first is a detailed biography of Pell; the second is an extended essay on his mathematical work; the third is a richly annotated edition of his correspondence with Sir Charles Cavendish. This correspondence, which has often been cited by scholars but has never been published in full, is concerned not only with mathematics but also with optics, philosophy, and many other subjects. Conducted mainly while Pell was in the Netherlands and Cavendish was also on the Continent, it is a fascinating example of the correspondence that flourished in the 17th-century ‘Republic of Letters’.
Paul Weindling
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264812
- eISBN:
- 9780191754029
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264812.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
The founding of the Academic Assistance Council (AAC) in May 1933 was a rapid and constructive response to the Nazi threat to science and learning. Among the far-sighted academics involved was the ...
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The founding of the Academic Assistance Council (AAC) in May 1933 was a rapid and constructive response to the Nazi threat to science and learning. Among the far-sighted academics involved was the physiologist A. V. Hill (1886–1977). He was to be a consistent, effective, and loyal supporter of the AAC and, as it became in 1936, the Society for Protection of Science and Learning (SPSL). Hill was remarkable in terms of his scientific achievements and his support of scientific organizations, most notably the Royal Society. Accompanying these activities was a set of social values concerning the scientist as citizen in a parliamentary democracy, and an agenda for science to modernize health care provision. Hill's commitment to the cause of academic refugees can be understood within a broader set of commitments and activities. Apart from many acts of practical assistance, Hill contributed to a broadening of the agenda of the SPSL, making academic freedom a core value. This chapter examines Hill's broader political vision of the defence of learning.Less
The founding of the Academic Assistance Council (AAC) in May 1933 was a rapid and constructive response to the Nazi threat to science and learning. Among the far-sighted academics involved was the physiologist A. V. Hill (1886–1977). He was to be a consistent, effective, and loyal supporter of the AAC and, as it became in 1936, the Society for Protection of Science and Learning (SPSL). Hill was remarkable in terms of his scientific achievements and his support of scientific organizations, most notably the Royal Society. Accompanying these activities was a set of social values concerning the scientist as citizen in a parliamentary democracy, and an agenda for science to modernize health care provision. Hill's commitment to the cause of academic refugees can be understood within a broader set of commitments and activities. Apart from many acts of practical assistance, Hill contributed to a broadening of the agenda of the SPSL, making academic freedom a core value. This chapter examines Hill's broader political vision of the defence of learning.
D. E. Broadbent, J. Reason, and A. Baddeley (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198521914
- eISBN:
- 9780191688454
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521914.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
Human performance is a key factor in the operation of many systems: for example, in nuclear power installations and in transport. The topics discussed in this volume are of both theoretical and ...
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Human performance is a key factor in the operation of many systems: for example, in nuclear power installations and in transport. The topics discussed in this volume are of both theoretical and practical relevance. The contributions were presented and discussed at a Royal Society meeting in June 1989 and also appeared in the Society's Philosophical Transactions series B in 1990. Together they provide a valuable survey of areas in which research of special significance is being done. This volume is concerned with practical aspects of environmental risk, work design, and complex human-machine operations.Less
Human performance is a key factor in the operation of many systems: for example, in nuclear power installations and in transport. The topics discussed in this volume are of both theoretical and practical relevance. The contributions were presented and discussed at a Royal Society meeting in June 1989 and also appeared in the Society's Philosophical Transactions series B in 1990. Together they provide a valuable survey of areas in which research of special significance is being done. This volume is concerned with practical aspects of environmental risk, work design, and complex human-machine operations.
Mark Harrison
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199577736
- eISBN:
- 9780191595196
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199577736.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Chapter 2 shows how British practitioners, many from Dissenting backgrounds or trained at the University of Edinburgh, sought to apply the insights of Sydenham and Boerhaave to their work on disease ...
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Chapter 2 shows how British practitioners, many from Dissenting backgrounds or trained at the University of Edinburgh, sought to apply the insights of Sydenham and Boerhaave to their work on disease in the tropical colonies. Again, it stresses the centrality of place and climate to their understanding of disease and the vital part played by morbid anatomy. The chapter traces a number of important intellectual networks, spanning both the East and West Indies, and Britain and the American colonies. Some of these were Dissenting networks which linked surgeons in the Army, Navy, and East India Company to figures such as John Fothergill and Benjamin Rush in Britain and America; others were more formal, such as the Royal Society of London and ties to universities such as Edinburgh.Less
Chapter 2 shows how British practitioners, many from Dissenting backgrounds or trained at the University of Edinburgh, sought to apply the insights of Sydenham and Boerhaave to their work on disease in the tropical colonies. Again, it stresses the centrality of place and climate to their understanding of disease and the vital part played by morbid anatomy. The chapter traces a number of important intellectual networks, spanning both the East and West Indies, and Britain and the American colonies. Some of these were Dissenting networks which linked surgeons in the Army, Navy, and East India Company to figures such as John Fothergill and Benjamin Rush in Britain and America; others were more formal, such as the Royal Society of London and ties to universities such as Edinburgh.
Noel Malcolm
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198564843
- eISBN:
- 9780191713750
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198564843.003.0008
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter chronicles the life of John Pell in London from 1669 to 1685. John Pell returned to London in the late summer of 1669. The reasons for the move are not entirely clear; there is certainly ...
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This chapter chronicles the life of John Pell in London from 1669 to 1685. John Pell returned to London in the late summer of 1669. The reasons for the move are not entirely clear; there is certainly no sign that his relations with Lord Brereton had cooled. Pell also began re-introducing himself to the intellectual life of the capital. On August 31, 1680 Pell was arrested for debt, and on 6 or 7 September he was consigned to the King's Bench prison. Despite all his personal problems, Pell had picked up the threads of his normal life after being released from prison. He resumed his attendance at the Royal Society. Pell died on December 12, 1685.Less
This chapter chronicles the life of John Pell in London from 1669 to 1685. John Pell returned to London in the late summer of 1669. The reasons for the move are not entirely clear; there is certainly no sign that his relations with Lord Brereton had cooled. Pell also began re-introducing himself to the intellectual life of the capital. On August 31, 1680 Pell was arrested for debt, and on 6 or 7 September he was consigned to the King's Bench prison. Despite all his personal problems, Pell had picked up the threads of his normal life after being released from prison. He resumed his attendance at the Royal Society. Pell died on December 12, 1685.
Olivier Chaline
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265383
- eISBN:
- 9780191760433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265383.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
Did the immense investment in the French Navy in the context of the crisis of the monarchy outstrip the financial resources of the État royal, thus being a major cause or even the principal cause of ...
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Did the immense investment in the French Navy in the context of the crisis of the monarchy outstrip the financial resources of the État royal, thus being a major cause or even the principal cause of the Revolution? Financially the critical period was not the War of American Independence but the years following the return of peace. The decisions made by those in charge of the French navy to maintain its expansion, while the costs of construction were doubling and while the state-funded budget was shrinking, were heavy with troublesome consequences as the monarchy was plunged into political crisis after the summoning of the Assembly of Notables.Less
Did the immense investment in the French Navy in the context of the crisis of the monarchy outstrip the financial resources of the État royal, thus being a major cause or even the principal cause of the Revolution? Financially the critical period was not the War of American Independence but the years following the return of peace. The decisions made by those in charge of the French navy to maintain its expansion, while the costs of construction were doubling and while the state-funded budget was shrinking, were heavy with troublesome consequences as the monarchy was plunged into political crisis after the summoning of the Assembly of Notables.
