Victory And Vexation In Science

by Holton, Gerald

• ISBN13: 9780674015197
• ISBN10: 0674015193
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-30
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

Never has the power of scientific research to solve existing problems and uncover new ones been more evident than it is today. Yet there exists widespread ignorance about the larger contexts within which scientific research is carried out. For example, the point of view some scientists adopt in their work or in their social commitments may become clearer if considered in light of the opposing views held by other scientists. This is a theme Gerald Holton addresses in his new collection. Whether considering conflicts between Heisenberg and Einstein, Bohr and Einstein, or P. W. Bridgman and B. F. Skinner; tracing I. I. Rabi's shift of attention from superb science to education and scientific statesmanship; or examining the emergence, in the last few decades, of the need to connect scientific research to societal needs--in each case, Holton demonstrates a masterly understanding of modern science and how it influences our world. The author shows why, at any given time--even in the mature phase of science--there exists no single "paradigm," but rather a spectrum of competing perspectives; and why so much good science has been based, from antiquity to today, on a relatively small number of presuppositions.

Author Biography

Gerald Holton is Mallinckrodt Research Professor of Physics and Research Professor of History of Science at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Scientists
Einstein's third paradise	p. 3
The woman in Einstein's shadow, and a first glimpse of Einstein's mind at work	p. 16
Werner Heisenberg and Albert Einstein	p. 26
Bohr, Heisenberg, and what Michael Frayn's Copenhagen tries to tell us	p. 36
Enrico Fermi and the miracle of the two tables	p. 48
B. F. Skinner, P. W. Bridgman, and the "lost years"	p. 65
I. I. Rabi as educator and science warrior	p. 81
Science in context
Paul Tillich, Albert Einstein, and the quest for the ultimate	p. 95
Henri Poincare, Marcel Duchamp, and innovation in science and art	p. 115
Perspectives on the thematic analysis of scientific thought	p. 135
The imperative for basic science that serves national needs	p. 152
The rise of postmodernisms and the "end of science"	p. 162
Different perceptions of "good science," and their effects on careers of women scientists	p. 181
"Only connect" : bridging the institutionalized gaps between the humanities and sciences in teaching	p. 194
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