The Discoverers
Encyclopedia
The Discoverers is a non-fiction historical work by Daniel Boorstin published in 1983 and is the first in the Knowledge Trilogy that also includes The Creators
and The Seekers
.
The book, subtitled A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself, is the history of human discovery. Discovery in all its many forms are present - exploration, scientific, medical, mathematical and the more theoretical ones such as time, evolution, plate tectonics and relativity. He praises the inventive, human mind and its eternal quest to discover the universe and our place in it.
In "A Personal Note to the Reader" Boorstin writes, "My hero is Man, the Discoverer. The world we now view from the literate West...had to be opened by countless Columbuses. In the deep recesses of the past, they remain anonymous." The structure is topical and chronological, beginning in the prehistoric era in Babylon
and Egypt
.
, Paul Johnson, Louis Hartz
and Richard Hofstadter
, to name a few) who give prominence to the individual and the incremental approach to history. Thus, in the chapter "In Search of the Missing Link", he features Edward Tyson
and his contributions in comparative anatomy. Tycho Brahe
, the Danish astronomer, is the guiding light in "The Witness of the Naked Eye" and Isaac Newton
merits an entire chapter ("God said, Let Newton Be!") devoted to his life and accomplishments.
The role of religion and culture is another recurring theme. Boorstin, a reform Jew, has been described as a "secular, skeptical moderate Northeastern liberal of the New Deal rather than the New Left school." http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1D9113CF935A3575AC0A96E958260 The purpose of religion (and God) was not personal salvation but establishing a societal anchor that inspired public morality.
He suggests that Jews and Christians, primarily from Western Europe
, came to believe that the Creator wished them to unravel the secrets of His universe. Scientific research, discovery and education became intertwined with the moral good and were elevated to lofty goals within Western societies. Conversely, Hindus did not explore the seas due to the caste system (some were forbidden to travel over salt water), Muslims became satisfied with the Arabian status quo and China, with an increasingly weak central government, lost its drive for exploration and withdrew to its own borders. Most importantly, the active public dissemination of scientific knowledge - geographical, cosmological, medical, mechanical, anthropological - never became common practice outside the Judeo-Christian world. China, for example, only allowed the ruling class indulgence in scientific ventures.
A third theme is the role of tradition and experience in shaping mankind's history. Throughout the work he demonstrates how the discoveries of one individual are built upon the efforts of those who came before. This long chain of incremental improvements - one generation improving or amplifying the results of previous generations - contrasts sharply with the idea of overthrowing the current order and replacing it with revolutionary ideas originating not in experience but in ideology
. Once a member of the Communist Party
in the 1930s he grew to distrust all forms of fantaticism and political ideology and sought to show how such fanaticism was always detrimental to human progress.
"I have observed that the world has suffered far less from ignorance than from pretensions to knowledge. It is not skeptics or explorers but fanatics and ideologues who menace decency and progress. No agnostic ever burned anyone at the stake or tortured a pagan, a heretic, or an unbeliever." People, not movements, were the driving force of human progress. He became an exponent of tradition, wary of the implications of multiculturalism
and along with Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr and Brian Barry
wrote of potential dangers it posed to a continuing liberal society.
Despite the fact that he served as director of the Smithsonian National Museum of History and Technology, he was a sharp critic of what he perceived as the institution's growing political correctness. After viewing the controversial exhibit, The West as America: Reinterpreting Images of the Frontier, 1820-1920 (1991) he left the following in the comment book: "A perverse, historically inaccurate, destructive exhibit. No credit to the Smithsonian." In 1975, he resigned as President of the American Studies Association after an attempt was made to inject radical politics into the scholarly body.
, biased toward Western culture
to the exclusion of other cultures, nationalistic and even postmodern.http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/3918.html This latter term is surprising since Boorstin often railed against many postmodern impulses - multiculturalism
, political correctness
, reverse discrimination
and ideological politics. As a postmodern writer, he grasped the new reality created by media, what he called "image reality" in which the vehicle (newspaper, book, movie, television show, billboard) assumes more importance than the reality it portrays or describes. This new reality can be described as a type of deconstructionism, a movement Boorstin opposed for that very reason. He continually praises "true" heroes like Christopher Columbus
, Isaac Newton
and Madame Curie while questioning image-crafted politicians, entertainers, academics and sports "heroes". He exalts genuine discoveries (calendar, printing press, medicine) and bemoans media-driven ones of the modern age. His works, therefore, emphasize such "pre-image" concepts as the importance of the individuals, family, tradition, religion, capitalism and democracy.
Some people have alleged that the book's cover which has a colorized version of an image by Flammarion (made in the style of a woodcut), is used to promote the view that medieval Christanity was anti-scientific. The jacket credits the Bettman Archive for the picture, which describes it as "based on a 16th Century Woodcut".
2. "From Sun Time to Clock Time"
3. "The Missionary Clock"
2. "Paths to the East"
3. "Doubling the World"
4. "The American Surprise"
5. "Sea Paths to Everywhere"
2. "Inside Ourselves"
3. "Science Goes Public"
4. "Cataloguing the Whole Creation"
2. "Opening the Past"
3. "Surveying the Present"
The Creators
The Creators is a non-fiction work of cultural history by Daniel Boorstin published in 1992 and is the second volume in what has become known as the Knowledge Trilogy. It was preceded by The Discoverers and succeeded by The Seekers.-Contents:...
and The Seekers
The Seekers (book)
The Seekers is a non-fiction work of cultural history by Daniel Boorstin published in 1998 and is the third and final volume in the "knowledge" trilogy.-Contents:...
.
The book, subtitled A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself, is the history of human discovery. Discovery in all its many forms are present - exploration, scientific, medical, mathematical and the more theoretical ones such as time, evolution, plate tectonics and relativity. He praises the inventive, human mind and its eternal quest to discover the universe and our place in it.
In "A Personal Note to the Reader" Boorstin writes, "My hero is Man, the Discoverer. The world we now view from the literate West...had to be opened by countless Columbuses. In the deep recesses of the past, they remain anonymous." The structure is topical and chronological, beginning in the prehistoric era in Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
Themes
The Discoverers (as well as The Creators and The Seekers) resonates with tales of individuals, their lives, beliefs and accomplishments. They form the building blocks of his tale and from them flow descriptions and commentary on historical events. In this respect he is like other historians (David McCulloughDavid McCullough
David Gaub McCullough is an American author, narrator, historian, and lecturer. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award....
, Paul Johnson, Louis Hartz
Louis Hartz
Louis Hartz was an American political scientist and influential liberal proponent of the idea of American exceptionalism....
and Richard Hofstadter
Richard Hofstadter
Richard Hofstadter was an American public intellectual of the 1950s, a historian and DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University...
, to name a few) who give prominence to the individual and the incremental approach to history. Thus, in the chapter "In Search of the Missing Link", he features Edward Tyson
Edward Tyson
Edward Tyson was a British scientist and physician, commonly regarded as the founder of modern comparative anatomy, which compares the anatomy between species....
and his contributions in comparative anatomy. Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe , born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, was a Danish nobleman known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations...
, the Danish astronomer, is the guiding light in "The Witness of the Naked Eye" and Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
merits an entire chapter ("God said, Let Newton Be!") devoted to his life and accomplishments.
The role of religion and culture is another recurring theme. Boorstin, a reform Jew, has been described as a "secular, skeptical moderate Northeastern liberal of the New Deal rather than the New Left school." http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1D9113CF935A3575AC0A96E958260 The purpose of religion (and God) was not personal salvation but establishing a societal anchor that inspired public morality.
He suggests that Jews and Christians, primarily from Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, came to believe that the Creator wished them to unravel the secrets of His universe. Scientific research, discovery and education became intertwined with the moral good and were elevated to lofty goals within Western societies. Conversely, Hindus did not explore the seas due to the caste system (some were forbidden to travel over salt water), Muslims became satisfied with the Arabian status quo and China, with an increasingly weak central government, lost its drive for exploration and withdrew to its own borders. Most importantly, the active public dissemination of scientific knowledge - geographical, cosmological, medical, mechanical, anthropological - never became common practice outside the Judeo-Christian world. China, for example, only allowed the ruling class indulgence in scientific ventures.
A third theme is the role of tradition and experience in shaping mankind's history. Throughout the work he demonstrates how the discoveries of one individual are built upon the efforts of those who came before. This long chain of incremental improvements - one generation improving or amplifying the results of previous generations - contrasts sharply with the idea of overthrowing the current order and replacing it with revolutionary ideas originating not in experience but in ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
. Once a member of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
in the 1930s he grew to distrust all forms of fantaticism and political ideology and sought to show how such fanaticism was always detrimental to human progress.
"I have observed that the world has suffered far less from ignorance than from pretensions to knowledge. It is not skeptics or explorers but fanatics and ideologues who menace decency and progress. No agnostic ever burned anyone at the stake or tortured a pagan, a heretic, or an unbeliever." People, not movements, were the driving force of human progress. He became an exponent of tradition, wary of the implications of multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and along with Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr and Brian Barry
Brian Barry
Brian Barry FBA was a moral and political philosopher. He was educated at the Queen's College, Oxford, obtaining the degrees of B.A. and D.Phil under the direction of H. L. A. Hart....
wrote of potential dangers it posed to a continuing liberal society.
Despite the fact that he served as director of the Smithsonian National Museum of History and Technology, he was a sharp critic of what he perceived as the institution's growing political correctness. After viewing the controversial exhibit, The West as America: Reinterpreting Images of the Frontier, 1820-1920 (1991) he left the following in the comment book: "A perverse, historically inaccurate, destructive exhibit. No credit to the Smithsonian." In 1975, he resigned as President of the American Studies Association after an attempt was made to inject radical politics into the scholarly body.
Criticism
Boorstin's writing has been praised, but he has also had his critics. He has been called conservativeConservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
, biased toward Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
to the exclusion of other cultures, nationalistic and even postmodern.http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/3918.html This latter term is surprising since Boorstin often railed against many postmodern impulses - multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
, reverse discrimination
Reverse discrimination
Reverse discrimination is a controversial term referring to discrimination against members of a dominant or majority group, including the city or state, or in favor of members of a minority or historically disadvantaged group such as African Americans being slaves. Groups may be defined in terms of...
and ideological politics. As a postmodern writer, he grasped the new reality created by media, what he called "image reality" in which the vehicle (newspaper, book, movie, television show, billboard) assumes more importance than the reality it portrays or describes. This new reality can be described as a type of deconstructionism, a movement Boorstin opposed for that very reason. He continually praises "true" heroes like Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
, Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
and Madame Curie while questioning image-crafted politicians, entertainers, academics and sports "heroes". He exalts genuine discoveries (calendar, printing press, medicine) and bemoans media-driven ones of the modern age. His works, therefore, emphasize such "pre-image" concepts as the importance of the individuals, family, tradition, religion, capitalism and democracy.
Book One - Time
1. "The Heavenly Empire"2. "From Sun Time to Clock Time"
3. "The Missionary Clock"
Book Two - The Earth and the Seas
1. "The Geography of the Imagination"2. "Paths to the East"
3. "Doubling the World"
4. "The American Surprise"
5. "Sea Paths to Everywhere"
Book Three - Nature
1. "Seeing the Invisible"2. "Inside Ourselves"
3. "Science Goes Public"
4. "Cataloguing the Whole Creation"
Book Four - Society
1. "Widening the Communities of Knowledge"2. "Opening the Past"
3. "Surveying the Present"