SGER: Light and Enlightenment, A Digital Variorum Edition of Newton's Opticks -- Workshop, June 15-16, 2001

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT SGER Kargon and Anderson, Light and Enlightenment, A Digital Variorum Edition of Newton's Opticks SES 01-14452 This project supports a two-day workshop to bring together representatives of various disciplines. The goal is to lay a secure foundation for a multi-year effort to bring into existence a digital variorum edition of Newton's Opticks. Such an edition is intended to clearly represent the changes over time in Newton's work, for during Newton's lifetime, the Opticks appeared in three English, two Latin and two French editions. The evolution of this text is a key indicator of changes in Newton's thinking about important concepts such as the aether and force, and provides important clues to Newton's views on the rapidly changing experimental sciences of chemistry and electricity over the last quarter century of his life. Variorum editions are notoriously difficult to effect. Print versions that attempt to collate changes over several versions are complicated, sometimes confusing and always difficult to use. This workshop is intended to discuss avenues for solving some of these problems, so that a scholarly instrument can be developed. This instrument will make of use of digital techniques to enable researchers in the history of science and technology to perform analyses of Newton's Opticks hitherto not possible. Most digitization work in our area of concern either (1) transfers existing patterns of research to the screen and allows text searching, or (2) makes useful materials available at a distance. This work has been useful and worthy but does not tap the power and range of digital environments. The PIs wish to develop a software tool that will enable us, though digitization, to allow our research to go beyond the paper world and to ask and answer questions not now possible. This project will require the efforts of historians of science, language specialists, historians of publishing, and software designers. Putting together such a diverse team, asking the right questions, designing an instrument useful to its intended audience, and managing the dissemination of the product is a very complex task and entails large risks: risks of our time and effort, and substantial funds for the development of technical tools that do not now exist.