The Ambitions of Curiosity

In The Ambitions of Curiosity one of the world’s foremost philosophers of science explores the origins and growth of systematic inquiry in Greece, China, and Mesopotamia. Professor Lloyd examines which factors stimulated or inhibited this development, and whose interests were served. He asks who set the agenda? What was the role of the state in sponsoring, supporting or blocking research, in such areas as historiography, natural philosophy, medical research, astronomy, technology, pure and applied mathematics? How were each of those fields defined and developed in different ancient societies? How did truly innovative thinkers persuade their own contemporaries to accept their work? Professor Lloyd explores the different routes those developments took in China, Greece and Mesopotamia, and demonstrates the unexpected results of many research efforts, as well as the tensions between state control and individual innovation and the different ways they were resolved - problems that remain central to scientific research today.

• Comparative analysis of inquiry in the ancient societies of China, Greece and Mesopotamia by one of the world’s leading historians and philosophers of science • Wider in scope than conventional histories of science with chapters on historiography and the study of language • Features debates over state involvement in scientific research which are still relevant today

1. Histories, annals, myths; 2. The modalities of prediction; 3. The number of things; 4. Applications and applicabilities; 5. The language of learning; 6. Individuals and institutions; Glossary of Chinese and Greek terms; Bibliography; Index.

‘… an important work … recommended for undergraduate use.’ Scott Rubarth, Bryn Mawr Classical Review