Michael Faraday: Sandemanian and Scientist

Michael Faraday has become renowned as the discoverer of such phenomena as electromagnetic rotation, electromagnetic induction and the laws of electrochemistry. Moreover, his theoretical insights provided the basis for field theory. This book locates Faraday and his science in the context of the Sandemanians, an obscure Christian fundamentalist sect to which he belonged. After outlining the history of the sect, Faraday's social and political views, including his attitude to the scientific community, are shown to derive from the Sandemanian social philosophy. Likewise, his profoundly religious understanding of nature is seen as permeating many aspects of his science. Geoffrey Cantor is also the author of "Optics after Newton" and co-editor of "Companion to the History of Modern Science".