Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Philosophy of science
|
Not currently available
A Tale of Seven Scientists and a New Philosophy of Science (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R822
Discovery Miles 8 220
|
|
A Tale of Seven Scientists and a New Philosophy of Science (Hardcover)
Supplier out of stock. If you add this item to your wish list we will let you know when it becomes available.
|
In his latest book, Eric Scerri presents a completely original
account of the nature of scientific progress. It consists of a
holistic and unified approach in which science is seen as a living
and evolving single organism. Instead of scientific revolutions
featuring exceptionally gifted individuals, Scerri argues that the
'little people' contribute as much as the 'heroes' of science. To
do this he examines seven case studies of virtually unknown
chemists and physicists in the early 20th century quest to discover
the structure of the atom. They include the amateur scientist Anton
van den Broek who pioneered the notion of atomic number as well as
Edmund Stoner a then physics graduate student who provided the seed
for Pauli's Exclusion Principle. Another case is the physicist John
Nicholson who is virtually unknown and yet was the first to propose
the notion of quantization of angular momentum that was soon put to
good use by Niels Bohr. Instead of focusing on the logic and
rationality of science, Scerri elevates the role of trial and error
and multiple discovery and moves beyond the notion of scientific
developments being right or wrong. While criticizing Thomas Kuhn's
notion of scientific revolutions he agrees with Kuhn that science
is not drawn towards an external truth but is rather driven from
within. The book will enliven the long-standing debate on the
nature of science, which has increasingly shied away from the big
question of "what is science?"
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.