Culture of Accidents: Unexpected Knowledges in Early Modern EnglandStanford University Press, 2002 M09 1 - 240 pages Collapsing buildings, unexpected meetings in the marketplace, monstrous births, encounters with pirates at sea—these and other unforeseen “accidents” at the turn of the seventeenth century in England acquired unprecedented significance in the early modern philosophical and cultural imagination. Drawing on intellectual history, cultural criticism, and rhetorical theory, this book chronicles the narrative transformation of “accident” from a philosophical dead end to an astonishing occasion for revelation and wonder in early modern religious life, dramatic practice, and experimental philosophy. Embracing the notion that accident was a concept with both learned and popular appeal, the book traces its evolution through Aristotelian, Scholastic, and Calvinist thought into a range of early modern texts. It suggests that for many English writers, accidental events raised fundamental questions about the nature of order in the world and the way that order should be apprehended. Alongside texts by such canonical figures as Shakespeare and Bacon, this study draws on several lesser-known authors of sensational news accounts about accidents that occurred around the turn of the seventeenth century. The result is a cultural anatomy of accidents as philosophical problem, theatrical conceit, spiritual landmark, and even a prototype for Baconian “experiment,” one that provides a fresh interpretation of the early modern engagement with contingency in intellectual and cultural terms. |
From inside the book
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... English writers , accidental events raised funda- mental questions about the nature of order in the world and the way that order should be apprehended . Alongside texts by such canonical figures as Shakespeare and Bacon , this study ...
... English . I. Title . BD701.W44 111'1 - dc21 2001 This book is printed on acid - free , archival quality paper . Original printing 2001 Last figure below indicates year of this printing : 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 Typeset at Stanford ...
... English natural philosophy and , with typical foresight , recog- nized that my initial interest in accidents was about to develop into a dissertation . During his final years at Berkeley , Amos Funkenstein con- vinced me that any study ...
... English , I have supplied the modern typographical equivalents of certain letters ( v , vv , u and f ) . Titles of early modern editions have been shortened in the bibliography but are reproduced liberally in the notes . For the sake of ...
... English intellectual and cultural life , linking the rise of an experimental science with the theological interest in por- tentous events , connecting the marvels of the stage with a self - con- scious theatricalization of experience in ...
Contents
Early Modern Accidents and an Aristotelian Tradition | 17 |
Exemplary Accidents from Cicero to Jean Calvin | 42 |
The Avoidance of Ends in The Comedy of Errors | 62 |
Hamlet Interrupted | 82 |
Accident and the Invention of Knowledge in Francis | 111 |
The Blackfriars Accident | 130 |
Notes | 159 |
Bibliography | 205 |
Index | 219 |
Other editions - View all
Culture of Accidents: Unexpected Knowledges in Early Modern England Michael Witmore Limited preview - 2002 |
Culture of Accidents: Unexpected Knowledges in Early Modern England Michael Witmore No preview available - 2002 |