Feverish Bodies, Enlightened Minds

Science and the Yellow Fever Controversy in the Early American Republic

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, History
Cover of the book Feverish Bodies, Enlightened Minds by Thomas Apel, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas Apel ISBN: 9780804799638
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: March 30, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Thomas Apel
ISBN: 9780804799638
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: March 30, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

From 1793 to 1805, yellow fever devastated U.S. port cities in a series of terrifying epidemics. The search for the cause and prevention of the disease involved many prominent American intellectuals, including Noah Webster and Benjamin Rush. This investigation produced one of the most substantial and innovative outpourings of scientific thought in early American history. But it also led to a heated and divisive debate—both political and theological—around the place of science in American society.

Feverish Bodies, Enlightened Minds opens an important window onto the conduct of scientific inquiry in the early American republic. The debate between "contagionists," who thought the disease was imported, and "localists," who thought it came from domestic sources, reflected contemporary beliefs about God and creation, the capacities of the human mind, and even the appropriate direction of the new nation. Through this thoughtful investigation of the yellow fever epidemic and engaging examination of natural science in early America, Thomas Apel demonstrates that the scientific imaginations of early republicans were far broader than historians have realized: in order to understand their science, we must understand their ideas about God.

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

From 1793 to 1805, yellow fever devastated U.S. port cities in a series of terrifying epidemics. The search for the cause and prevention of the disease involved many prominent American intellectuals, including Noah Webster and Benjamin Rush. This investigation produced one of the most substantial and innovative outpourings of scientific thought in early American history. But it also led to a heated and divisive debate—both political and theological—around the place of science in American society.

Feverish Bodies, Enlightened Minds opens an important window onto the conduct of scientific inquiry in the early American republic. The debate between "contagionists," who thought the disease was imported, and "localists," who thought it came from domestic sources, reflected contemporary beliefs about God and creation, the capacities of the human mind, and even the appropriate direction of the new nation. Through this thoughtful investigation of the yellow fever epidemic and engaging examination of natural science in early America, Thomas Apel demonstrates that the scientific imaginations of early republicans were far broader than historians have realized: in order to understand their science, we must understand their ideas about God.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book A Life with Mary Shelley by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Teach for Arabia by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Crook County by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Enhancing Campus Capacity for Leadership by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Kuwait Transformed by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Shades of Difference by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Imaginative Geographies of Algerian Violence by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Isolate or Engage by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Exploring Gogol by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book The Proper Order of Things by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book A Classical Republican in Eighteenth-Century France by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Better Left Unsaid by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Over the Horizon Proliferation Threats by Thomas Apel
Cover of the book Flesh of My Flesh by Thomas Apel
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