Abstract
IN this work, which represents a large amount of research, the originality of Voltaire in the field of the various sciences is rightly shown to be overestimated, though for his skill and importance as a popular exponent of the new scientific ideas, he retains full credit. The views of Voltaire are shown here against a background of the scientific developments of his time. Historians of science and philosophy will thus find in this work ample material for consideration and study. It would remain to be shown, for example, what are the detailed relations between the religious philosophy and the history of science in the eighteenth century.
The Attitude of Voltaire to Magic and the Sciences
By Dr. Margaret S. Libby. (Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, Edited by the Faculty of Political Science of Columbia University, No. 408.) Pp. 299. (New York: Columbia University Press; London: P. S. King and Son, Ltd., 1935.) 16s. 10d.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
[Short Notices]. Nature 137, 451 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137451c0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137451c0