| The Ninth Bridgewater Treatise Contributor(s): Babbage, Charles (Author) |
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ISBN: 0511700717 ISBN-13: 9780511700712 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $72.25 Product Type: Open Ebook - Other Formats Published: October 2010 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Philosophy |
| Dewey: 210 |
| Series: Cambridge Library Collection: Religion (Paperback) |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Charles Babbage (1791-1871) was an English mathematician, philosopher and mechanical engineer who invented the concept of a programmable computer. From 1828 to 1839 he was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, a position whose holders have included Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking. A proponent of natural religion, he published The Ninth Bridgewater Treatise in 1837 as his personal response to The Bridgewater Treatises, a series of books on theology and science that had recently appeared. Disputing the claim that science disfavours religion, Babbage wrote 'that there exists no such fatal collision between the words of Scripture and the facts of nature'. He argues on the basis of reason and experience alone, drawing a parallel between his work on the calculating engine and God as the divine programmer of the universe. Eloquently written, and underpinned by mathematical arguments, The Ninth Bridgewater Treatise is a landmark work of natural theology. |