Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-252) and index.

Online version licensed for access by U. of T. users.

"Speculative Truth: Henry Cavendish, Natural Philosophy, and the Rise of Modern Theoretical Science consists of two major parts. In the first, Russell McCormmach writes a detailed biography and commentary on Lord Henry Cavendish, the pioneering British physicist active in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries who, in the modern sense, is widely considered the first full-time scientist. The second is the inaugural full text publication of Cavendish's long-missing paper that reveals for the first time his theory of heat. Founded upon the principle of the conservation of energy, and upon the identification of heat with the vibrations of the interior parts of bodies, this theory would not be surpassed for over half a century. Cavendish wrote it for publication, but for unknown reasons withheld this work. In treating Cavendish's thinking McCormmach offers a window into natural philosophy, its character, goals, possibilities, and limitations. At once a contribution to a growing body of scholarship on natural philosophy and an analysis of theoretical research, Speculative Truth yields a fascinating view and discourse on the rise of scientific attitudes and ways of knowing - virtually the birth of modern science."--Jacket.

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