Place of Science in a World of Values and Facts

by Christophorou, Loucas G.

• ISBN13: 9780306465802
• ISBN10: 0306465809
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-01
• Publisher: Plenum Pub Corp

Summary

This volume is unique and comprehensive in its description of science and the scientist, the role of science in our lives, and the nature of the most important achievements in science. It is the only book of its kind to thoroughly deconstruct so many aspects of scientific culture and its interaction with the larger society in which it is embedded. Written by a working scientist, the volume bridges the gap between the scientific and the nonscientific communities by relating broad social and philosophical issues to science, and by connecting science and its methods to modern human society.

Table of Contents

The World of Values and Facts	1	(17)
Us and the Cosmos	1	(5)
A Few Thoughts on Human History	6	(3)
The Micro (Multi) Cultures of the World	9	(2)
The Timeless	11	(6)
Modern People and the State of their Societies	17	(38)
Change and the Rate of Change that Changed the World	17	(6)
A Violent World Without Peace	23	(6)
Man's Natural Environment	29	(6)
Earth's Resources	35	(12)
The Power of the Greek Myth	47	(8)
The Way Science Works and Evolves	55	(72)
The Science of Greek Antiquity	57	(7)
From Greek Astronomy to the Classical Physics of the Macrocosmos	64	(3)
The Scientific and the Industrial Revolutions	67	(2)
The Foundations of Modern Science	69	(12)
A New Frame	81	(11)
The Modern Era	92	(18)
The Changing Character of Science	110	(6)
The Invaluable Value of Science's Hereditary Past	116	(11)
Science: The Penetrator of the Physical Universe	127	(28)
The Minuscule and the Gigantic Microscopes of Modern Science	127	(6)
The Dimensions of Modern Science's Diversity	133	(11)
The Richness of Nature: Light	144	(6)
The Laws of Nature	150	(2)
Fundamental Generalizations and Questions	152	(3)
Distinct Characteristics and Principles of Science	155	(20)
Distinct Characteristics of Science	156	(8)
General Principles of Science	164	(8)
The Scientific Method	172	(3)
The Scientist and the Science Worker	175	(26)
The Scientist	176	(9)
The Science Worker	185	(1)
Their New Environs and Changing Functions	186	(15)
From Basic Research to Application (Science and Technology)	201	(20)
Scientific Research and Technology	202	(11)
The Technological Value of Basic Research	213	(6)
A Final Thought	219	(2)
The Cultural and Educational Value of Science	221	(20)
The Cultural Value of Science	221	(9)
The Educational Value of Science	230	(3)
The University	233	(8)
Where Science Meets Religion	241	(12)
The Complementarity of Science and Religion	241	(5)
The Contact of Science and Religion	246	(3)
Together for a Humanized Earth	249	(4)
Limits of and to Science	253	(22)
Limits of Science	253	(7)
Limits to Science	260	(10)
Trans-Science	270	(5)
The Future of and in Science	275	(6)
Science Ahead	276	(2)
Science, Society, and the Scientist: The New Fair	278	(3)
Appendices	281	(14)
Index	295