Engines of the Imagination

Renaissance Culture and the Rise of the Machine

Nonfiction, History, Renaissance, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Engines of the Imagination by Jonathan Sawday, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jonathan Sawday ISBN: 9781134267927
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: November 30, 2007
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Jonathan Sawday
ISBN: 9781134267927
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: November 30, 2007
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

At what point did machines and technology begin to have an impact on the cultural consciousness and imagination of Europe? How was this reflected through the art and literature of the time? Was technology a sign of the fall of humanity from its original state of innocence or a sign of human progress and mastery over the natural world? In his characteristically lucid and captivating style, Jonathan Sawday investigates these questions and more by engaging with the poetry, philosophy, art, and engineering of the period to find the lost world of the machine in the pre-industrial culture of the European Renaissance.

The aesthetic and intellectual dimension of these machines appealed to familiar figures such as Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, Montaigne, and Leonardo da Vinci as well as to a host of lesser known writers and artists in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This intellectual engagement with machines in the European Renaissance gave rise to new attitudes towards gender, work and labour, and even fostered the new sciences of artificial life and reason which would be pursued by figures such as Descartes, Hobbes, and Leibniz in the seventeenth century.

Writers, philosophers and artists had mixed and often conflicting reactions to technology, reflecting a paradoxical attitude between modern progress and traditional values. Underpinning the enthusiastic creation of a machine-driven world, then, were stories of loss and catastrophe. These contradictory attitudes are part of the legacy of the European Renaissance, just as much as the plays of Shakespeare or the poetry of John Milton. And this historical legacy helps to explain many of our own attitudes towards the technology that surrounds us, sustains us, and sometimes perplexes us in the modern world.

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

At what point did machines and technology begin to have an impact on the cultural consciousness and imagination of Europe? How was this reflected through the art and literature of the time? Was technology a sign of the fall of humanity from its original state of innocence or a sign of human progress and mastery over the natural world? In his characteristically lucid and captivating style, Jonathan Sawday investigates these questions and more by engaging with the poetry, philosophy, art, and engineering of the period to find the lost world of the machine in the pre-industrial culture of the European Renaissance.

The aesthetic and intellectual dimension of these machines appealed to familiar figures such as Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, Montaigne, and Leonardo da Vinci as well as to a host of lesser known writers and artists in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This intellectual engagement with machines in the European Renaissance gave rise to new attitudes towards gender, work and labour, and even fostered the new sciences of artificial life and reason which would be pursued by figures such as Descartes, Hobbes, and Leibniz in the seventeenth century.

Writers, philosophers and artists had mixed and often conflicting reactions to technology, reflecting a paradoxical attitude between modern progress and traditional values. Underpinning the enthusiastic creation of a machine-driven world, then, were stories of loss and catastrophe. These contradictory attitudes are part of the legacy of the European Renaissance, just as much as the plays of Shakespeare or the poetry of John Milton. And this historical legacy helps to explain many of our own attitudes towards the technology that surrounds us, sustains us, and sometimes perplexes us in the modern world.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The Trojans & Their Neighbours by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book Urban Life in Post-Soviet Asia by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book Three Studies in Locality and Case by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book Managing Discipline in Schools by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book Advancing Education by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book School Improvement Through Performance Feedback by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book History of English Corn Laws, A by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book Management Science, Operations Research and Project Management by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book The Quattro Cento and Stones of Rimini by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book The Sultanate of Delhi (1206-1526) by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book William Cowper by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book New Theatre in Italy by Jonathan Sawday
Cover of the book Intelligence in the Cold War: What Difference did it Make? by Jonathan Sawday
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy