Black, Joseph relations with

The problem with much of the work on Watt s inquiries into heat is that it fails to take seriously the nature and the lasting consequences of Watt s early natural philosophical beliefs. We need to be alert to what Watt could think between 1760 and 1800 when he was active in relation to the steam engine, and to be so alert we must understand his relationship with the great chemist Joseph Black, and with the tradition to which Black belonged. 

---