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Beauty and Revolution in Science

Door James W. McAllister

Categorie	Algemeen wetenschap
Boeknummer	#264994
Titel	Beauty and Revolution in Science
Auteur	McAllister, James W.
Boektype	Gebonden hardcover met stofomslag
Uitgeverij	Cornell University Press
Jaar van uitgave	1996
ISBN10	0801432405
ISBN13	9780801432408
Taal	Engels
Samenvatting	How reasonable and rational can science be when its practitioners speak of revolutions in their thinking and extol certain theories for their beauty ? James W. McAllister addresses this question with the first systematic study of the aesthetic evaluations that scientists pass on their theories. P. A. M. Dirac explained why he embraced relativity by saying, It is the essential beauty of the theory which I feel is the real reason for believing in it. Dirac's claim seems to belie rationalist accounts of science. Using this and a wealth of other historical examples, McAllister explains how scientists' aesthetic preferences are influenced by the empirical track record of theories, describes the origin and development of aesthetic styles of theorizing, and reconsiders whether simplicity is an ... (Lees verder)empirical or an aesthetic virtue of theories. McAllister then advances an innovative model of scientific revolutions, in opposition to that of Thomas S. Kuhn. Three detailed studies demonstrate the interconnection of empirical performance, beauty, and revolution. One examines the impact of new construction materials on the history of architecture. Another reexamines the transition from the Ptolemaic system to Kepler's theory in planetary astronomy, and the third documents the rise of relativity and quantum theory in the twentieth century.
Pagina's	231
Conditie	Goed
Prijs	€ 20,00

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