The Microscope in the Dutch Republic The Shaping of Discovery [Paperback]

Ruestow examines the social unease that spurred the discoveries of the pioneers of microscopic research.Ruestow demonstrates how the social unease of the two 17th-century pioneers of microscopic dicovery, the Dutchmen Jan Swammerdam and Antoni van Leewenhoek, helped spur their discoveries. Though arguing that aspects of Dutch culture impeded serious microscopic research, he also shows that the culture of the period shaped how Swammerdam and Leewenhoek responded to what they saw through the lens. He concludes by contrasting their early microscopic efforts with the institutionalized microscopic research that began in the 19th century.Ruestow demonstrates how the social unease of the two 17th-century pioneers of microscopic dicovery, the Dutchmen Jan Swammerdam and Antoni van Leewenhoek, helped spur their discoveries. Though arguing that aspects of Dutch culture impeded serious microscopic research, he also shows that the culture of the period shaped how Swammerdam and Leewenhoek responded to what they saw through the lens. He concludes by contrasting their early microscopic efforts with the institutionalized microscopic research that began in the 19th century.Focusing on the two seventeenth-century pioneers of microscopic discovery, the Dutchmen Jan Swammerdam and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, the author demonstrates that their uneasiness with their social circumstances spurred their discoveries. Ruestow argues that while aspects of Dutch culture impeded serious research with the microscope, the contemporary culture shaped how Swammerdam and Leeuwenhoek responded to what they saw through the lens. For those interested in the history of science, this book considers the impact of institutionalization on microscopic research, and dissects the cultural, social and emotional circumstances that shaped early microscopic discovery.Introduction; 1. Of light, lenses and glass beads; 2. Seeming invitations; 3. Obstacles; 4. Discovery preempted; 5. Swammerdam; 6. Leeuwenhoek I: A clels(