A Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy (Worlds of Desire: The Chicago Series on Sexuality, Gender, & Culture)

Originally published in 1830, this book can be called the first modern work in the philosophy of science, covering an extraordinary range of philosophical, methodological, and scientific subjects. 

"Herschel's book . . . brilliantly analyzes both the history and nature of science."—Keith Stewart Thomson, American Scientist