An exploration of the influences of holistic thinking on the development of electromagnetic theory. The author highlights three alternative scientific systems that he believes shaped electromagnetic theory: medieval Chinese science, Western Renaissance occult, and the German Romantic tradition.

Preface and Acknowledgments1 Introduction: Historical Undergrounds, Holistic Theories, and Classical Physics

PART I The Contributions of Chinese Science and Technology
2 Discovery of the Compass and Magnetic Declination
3 Major Movements of Chinese Thought
4 Social Background of Organismic Thought: "China" in Three Classic Sociologies
5 Interlude: Peter the Wayfarer and the Western Reception of the Compass

PART II Renaissance Occultism
6 Occultism and the Rise of Early Modern Science
7 Occultism and the Social Background of Science: Peasants, Artisans, and Women
8 Gilbert and Early Modern Theories of the Magnet
9 Kepler and the Magnetic Force Model of the Solar System
10 Newton: Alchemy and Active Principles
11 Interlude: Leibniz and China

PART III Romantic Philosophy of Nature and Electromagnetism
12 Philosophical Background of Romantic Science
13 Social Background to Romanticism: Revolution and Women
14 Schelling's Romantic Philosophy of Nature
15 Coleridge: Poet of Nature
16 Orsted: Romanticism, Nature Philosophy, and the Discovery of Electromagnetism
17 Davy, Faraday, and Field Theory
18 Maxwell, Field Theory, and Mechanical Models
19 Conclusion: Metaphysics of Science--Creation and Justification

Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index