Science in History, Volume 1: The Emergence of Science

J. D. Bernal's monumental work Science in History is the first full-scale attempt to analyze the relationship between science and society throughout history, from the perfection of the first flint hand ax to the construction of the hydrogen bomb. This remarkable study illustrates the impetus given to and the limitations placed upon discovery and invention by pastoral, agricultural, feudal, capitalist, and socialist systems, and conversely the ways in which science has altered economic, social, and political beliefs and practices. This first volume begins with the discussion of the particular nature and methodology of science. It then continues with a description of the emergence of science in the Stone Age, and traces its development through the full formulations of the Greeks to its development under Christendom and Islam in the Middle Ages.