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
2CHAPTER I. MY ANCESTORS.
3Earliest Recollections.
4CHAPTER III. BOYHOOD.
5CHAPTER IV. CAMBRIDGE.
Show all chaptersShow less
6Explanation of the Difference Engine.
7Of the Mechanical Arrangements necessary for computing Tables by the Method of Differences.
8Description of the existing portion of Difference Engine No. 1.
9CHAPTER VI.
10CHAPTER VII. DIFFERENCE ENGINE NO. II.
11CHAPTER VIII. OF THE ANALYTICAL ENGINE.
12CHAPTER IX. OF THE MECHANICAL NOTATION.
13Circumstances connected with the Exhibition of the Difference Engine No. 1 in the International Exhibition of 1862.
14List of Mechanical Notations proposed to be Lent for the Exhibition.
15CHAPTER XI. THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT.
16CHAPTER XII. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
17The Thaumatrope.
18Alexander Humboldt.
19Of the Buonaparte Family.
20CHAPTER XV. EXPERIENCE BY WATER.
21Baked in an Oven.
22A Living Volcano.
23Hot Springs.
24Earthquakes.
25Fire Damp.
26CHAPTER XVII. EXPERIENCE AMONGST WORKMEN.
27Deciphering.
28CHAPTER XIX. EXPERIENCE IN ST. GILES’S.
29CHAPTER XX. THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE.
30CHAPTER XXI. ELECTIONEERING EXPERIENCE.
31ACT I.
32ACT II.
33CHAPTER XXIII. EXPERIENCE AT COURTS.
34CHAPTER XXIV. EXPERIENCE AT COURTS.
35CHAPTER XXV. RAILWAYS.
36CHAPTER XXVI. STREET NUISANCES.
37CHAPTER XXVII. WIT.
38CHAPTER XXVIII. HINTS FOR TRAVELLERS.
39CHAPTER XXIX. MIRACLES.
40CHAPTER XXX. RELIGION.
41CHAPTER XXXI. A VISION.
42On Preventing the Forgery of Bank-Notes.
43An Émeute.
44Letters of Credit.
45The Speaker.
46Ancient Music.
47Of the part taken by the Author in the formation of various Scientific Societies.
48Calculus of Functions.
49POLITICAL ECONOMY.
50Division of Labour.
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