Abstract

This work is largely the author’s Habilitationsschrift presented at Erlangen. There are three major parts: the first describes ancient and modern forms of scientific reason, the development of which he calls a first and a second Enlightenment; the second explores more deeply certain elements in modern science such as the laws of motion, experimentation, forms of calculation, gravity and force; the third studies rational methodology, including issues of epistemology and artificial languages. The author accepts Kant’s and Nietzsche’s criticism of earlier forms of metaphysics and sees signs of a coming third Enlightenment which will involve criticism of historical and linguistic reason. In parts one and two, considerable space is given to historical and social circumstances as well as to scientific development. Galileo, Newton, Descartes, Leibniz and Kant are among the major figures treated, but many detailed issues are also examined, such as scientific concerns in the late middle ages and renaissance. A forty page bibliography indicates the extent of the author’s range.—R. S.