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
Rating★★★★ 4.4 (110)
Includes Amazon
GenreBiography and Memoir
Length16 hrs 32 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 25, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The Autobiography of Charles Darwin (Annotated)
2CHAPTER I. MY ANCESTORS.
3CHAPTER II. CHILDHOOD.
4Earliest Recollections.
5CHAPTER III. BOYHOOD.
Show all chaptersShow less
6CHAPTER IV. CAMBRIDGE.
7CHAPTER V. DIFFERENCE ENGINE NO. 1.
8Explanation of the Difference Engine.
9Of the Mechanical Arrangements necessary for computing Tables by the Method of Differences.
10Description of the existing portion of Difference Engine No. 1.
11CHAPTER VI.
12CHAPTER VII. DIFFERENCE ENGINE NO. II.
13CHAPTER VIII. OF THE ANALYTICAL ENGINE.
14CHAPTER IX. OF THE MECHANICAL NOTATION.
15Circumstances connected with the Exhibition of the Difference Engine No. 1 in the International Exhibition of 1862.
16List of Mechanical Notations proposed to be Lent for the Exhibition.
17CHAPTER XI. THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT.
18CHAPTER XII. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
19CHAPTER XIII. RECOLLECTIONS OF WOLLASTON, DAVY, AND ROGERS.
20The Thaumatrope.
21CHAPTER XIV. RECOLLECTIONS OF LAPLACE, BIOT, AND HUMBOLDT.
22Alexander Humboldt.
23Of the Buonaparte Family.
24CHAPTER XV. EXPERIENCE BY WATER.
25Baked in an Oven.
26A Living Volcano.
27Hot Springs.
28Earthquakes.
29Fire Damp.
30CHAPTER XVII. EXPERIENCE AMONGST WORKMEN.
31CHAPTER XVIII. PICKING LOCKS AND DECIPHERING.
32Deciphering.
33CHAPTER XIX. EXPERIENCE IN ST. GILES’S.
34CHAPTER XX. THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE.
35CHAPTER XXI. ELECTIONEERING EXPERIENCE.
36CHAPTER XXII. SCENE FROM A NEW AFTER-PIECE, CALLED “Politics and Poetry;” or, “The Decline of Science.”
37ACT I.
38ACT II.
39CHAPTER XXIII. EXPERIENCE AT COURTS.
40CHAPTER XXIV. EXPERIENCE AT COURTS.
41CHAPTER XXV. RAILWAYS.
42CHAPTER XXVI. STREET NUISANCES.
43CHAPTER XXVII. WIT.
44CHAPTER XXVIII. HINTS FOR TRAVELLERS.
45CHAPTER XXIX. MIRACLES.
46CHAPTER XXX. RELIGION.
47CHAPTER XXXI. A VISION.
48On Preventing the Forgery of Bank-Notes.
49An Émeute.
50Letters of Credit.
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