Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Victorian Scientific Memoir of Computing, Machinery, and Intellectual AmbitionBy Charles Babbage
Length16h 32m
About this audiobook
Passages from the Life of a Philosopher is Charles Babbage's late autobiographical memoir, a work at once personal recollection, scientific apologia, and Victorian intellectual history. Written in a lucid, digressive, and often combative style, it ranges from mathematical invention and mechanical computation to theater, cryptography, industrial exhibitions, and public administration. Its central narrative concerns Babbage's Difference Engine and Analytical Engine, placing the book within the nineteenth-century literature of scientific progress, where autobiography becomes a defense of inquiry against institutional inertia. Babbage, mathematician, inventor, reformer, and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, wrote from the vantage point of a man both celebrated and frustrated. His experiences with government patronage, engineering workshops, scientific societies, and the practical obstacles to realizing calculating machines shaped the memoir's tone. The book reflects his lifelong conviction that precision, mechanism, and rational organization could transform knowledge, labor, and the state itself. This volume is recommended to readers interested in the origins of computing, Victorian science, and the mind of an uncompromising innovator. It offers not merely historical anecdote, but a rare self-portrait of intellectual ambition confronting the limits of its age.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreBiography and Memoir
Length16 hrs 32 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 25, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
39CHAPTER XXIX. MIRACLES.
2CHAPTER I. MY ANCESTORS.
40CHAPTER XXX. RELIGION.
3Earliest Recollections.
41CHAPTER XXXI. A VISION.
4CHAPTER III. BOYHOOD.
42On Preventing the Forgery of Bank-Notes.
5CHAPTER IV. CAMBRIDGE.
43An Émeute.
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6Explanation of the Difference Engine.
44Letters of Credit.
7Of the Mechanical Arrangements necessary for computing Tables by the Method of Differences.
45The Speaker.
8Description of the existing portion of Difference Engine No. 1.
46Ancient Music.
9CHAPTER VI.
47Of the part taken by the Author in the formation of various Scientific Societies.
10CHAPTER VII. DIFFERENCE ENGINE NO. II.
48Calculus of Functions.
11CHAPTER VIII. OF THE ANALYTICAL ENGINE.
49POLITICAL ECONOMY.
12CHAPTER IX. OF THE MECHANICAL NOTATION.
50Division of Labour.
13Circumstances connected with the Exhibition of the Difference Engine No. 1 in the International Exhibition of 1862.
51Cost of any Article.
14List of Mechanical Notations proposed to be Lent for the Exhibition.
52Principles of Taxation.
15CHAPTER XI. THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT.
53Monopoly.
16CHAPTER XII. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
54Miracles.
17The Thaumatrope.
55Of Glaciers.
18Alexander Humboldt.
56Of the Causes of the Transformation of Condensed Snow into Transparent Ice.
19Of the Buonaparte Family.
57Book and Parcel Post.
20CHAPTER XV. EXPERIENCE BY WATER.
58Submarine Navigation.
21Baked in an Oven.
59Difference Engine.
22A Living Volcano.
60Explanation of the Cause of Magnetic and Electric Rotations.
23Hot Springs.
61Mechanical Notation.
24Earthquakes.
62Occulting Lights.
25Fire Damp.
63Night Signals.
26CHAPTER XVII. EXPERIENCE AMONGST WORKMEN.
64Sun Signals.
27Deciphering.
65Zenith-light Signals.
28CHAPTER XIX. EXPERIENCE IN ST. GILES’S.
66Greenwich Time Signals.
29CHAPTER XX. THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE.
67Geological Theory of Isothermal Surfaces.
30CHAPTER XXI. ELECTIONEERING EXPERIENCE.
68Games of Skill.
31ACT I.
69Problem of the Three Magnetic Bodies.
32ACT II.
70Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, &c.
33CHAPTER XXIII. EXPERIENCE AT COURTS.
71Commissioners of Railways.
34CHAPTER XXIV. EXPERIENCE AT COURTS.
72Conclusion.
35CHAPTER XXV. RAILWAYS.
73MIRACLES. Note (A), page 394.
36CHAPTER XXVI. STREET NUISANCES.
74RELIGION. Note (B), page 403.
37CHAPTER XXVII. WIT.
75ADDITION TO THE CHAPTER ON RAILROADS.
38CHAPTER XXVIII. HINTS FOR TRAVELLERS.
76LIST OF MR. BABBAGE’S PRINTED PAPERS.
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