出版社周刊评论
Cohen's eye-opening, elegant study shows that America's Founding Fathers were true citizens of the Age of Reason who sought links between scientific principles and constitutional government. Thomas Jefferson, naturalist and inventor, had a consuming passion for scientific pursuits ranging from paleontology to zoology. The Declaration of Independence, which he wrote, reverberates with echoes of Newtonian science, as when he invokes ``self-evident'' truths or ``laws of nature.'' Benjamin Franklin, far from being a mere tinkerer or inventor, pioneered the science of electricity. Franklin also developed a demographic theory that North America would become a population center of the British world; this led to the policy according to which the British annexed Canada rather than Guadeloupe as the spoils in the war against the French (1754-63). John Adams, who studied astronomy and physics at Harvard, was a founder of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston. And James Madison, a devoted amateur scientist, drew on scientific metaphors and analogies in his Federalist articles. Illustrated. Cohen is Victor S. Thomas professor emeritus of the history of science at Harvard University. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus评论
A fascinating study of how Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and James Madison applied science to their political thinking. In terms of scientific competence, Cohen (History of Science/Harvard Univ.) finds much to praise in Jefferson and Franklin. Jefferson the polymath persuaded George Washington to adopt his method of apportioning members to the House of Representatives rather than one proposed by Alexander Hamilton. The Declaration of Independence pays homage to Isaac Newton with its ``self-evident truths'' (i.e., axioms) and its opening lines concerning the ``Laws of Nature and Nature's God.'' Franklin's contributions to the field of electricity go well beyond flying a kite in a thunderstorm, Cohen shows. The French idolized him as a scientist and a self-made man, making him extraordinarily effective in ensuring French aid in 1776. Franklin also anticipated Malthus with statements about population growth in relation to sustenance, and he provided powerful demographic arguments as to why England should annex Canada after the French and Indian War. Adams, while well taught and an aficionado of science, got his physics wrong; he thought he was referencing Newton's laws of motion in speaking of the ``balance of powers'' or ``checks and balances'' in the Constitution, but the correct analogy is to laws of statics and equilibrium. Still, he foresaw a future for America in which his sons should master mathematics and practical sciences so that their children in turn could study painting, poetry, and music. In brief comments on The Federalist, Cohen notes that Madison's science metaphors were largely medical--a ``nerveless empire,'' an ``ailing government,'' etc. At times the text is repetitious; at times, Cohen wields a heavy hand in attacking earlier commentators (including Woodrow Wilson). Nevertheless, the founding fathers appear in an interesting new light, thanks to Cohen's fresh, not to say iconoclastic, vision.
Choice 评论
Who would have thought that Isaac Newton's Principia influenced the wording of the Declaration of Independence and that scientific reasoning permeates the US Constitution! One knows that renowned colonial scientist Benjamin Franklin used scientific methods and analyses in his political and diplomatic careers. But what a great surprise it is to discover that scientific principles affected the political documents of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison. Cohen relates how science was an important part of the political lives of these famous founding fathers and why he, Cohen, a historian of science, was the first to identify many of the connections. A fascinating and honest representation of 18th-century science and some of its special influences. The supplementary explanations and the abundant notes and references complement the text extremely well. All levels. F. Potter; University of California, Irvine