Many literary critics seem to think that an hypothesis about obscure and remote questions of history can be refuted by a simple demand for the production of more evidence than in fact exists. The demand is as easy to make as it is impossible to satisfy. But the true test of an hypothesis, if it cannot be shown to con?ict with known truths, is the number of facts that it correlates and explains. Francis M. Cornford 1914] 1934, 220. It was in the autumn of 1997 that the research project leading to this publication began. One of us GH], while a visiting fellow at the Center for Philosophy of...
Many literary critics seem to think that an hypothesis about obscure and remote questions of history can be refuted by a simple demand for the product...
The book about John Michell (1724-93) has two parts. The first and longest part is biographical, an account of Michell's home setting (Nottinghamshire in England), the clerical world in which he grew up (Church of England), the university (Cambridge) where he studied and taught, and the scientific activities he made the center of his life. The second part is a complete edition of his known letters. Half of his letters have not been previously published; the other half are brought together in one place for the first time. The letters touch on all aspects of his career, and because they are in...
The book about John Michell (1724-93) has two parts. The first and longest part is biographical, an account of Michell's home setting (Nottinghamshire...
Numerous scientists have taken part in the war effort during World War I, but few gave it the passionate energy of the prominent Italian mathematician Volterra. As a convinced supporter of the cause of Britain and France, he struggled vigorously to carry Italy into the war in May 1915 and then developed a frenetic activity to support the war effort, going himself to the front, even though he was 55. This activity found an adequate echo with his French colleagues Borel, Hadamard and Picard. The huge correspondence they exchanged during the war, gives an extraordinary view of these...
Numerous scientists have taken part in the war effort during World War I, but few gave it the passionate energy of the prominent Italian mathematic...
twentieth-century literature about the distinction between explanation and und- standing)? Second, can we do justice to a particular writer's notion of that category by taking at face value what he writes about his own motivation for adopting it? In response to both types of questions, there is by now a consensus amongst many historians of science and of philosophy that (a) intellectual history - like other kinds of history - has to be careful not to uncritically adopt actors' categories, and (b) more generally, even the actors' own thinking about a particular issue has to be contextualized...
twentieth-century literature about the distinction between explanation and und- standing)? Second, can we do justice to a particular writer's notion o...
In a detailed reconstruction of the genesis of Feynman diagrams, the author traces their development from the beginning, demonstrating that Feynman and Dyson not only created a powerful computational device but, above all, a new conceptual framework.
In a detailed reconstruction of the genesis of Feynman diagrams, the author traces their development from the beginning, demonstrating that Feynman an...
Ptolemy was the most important physical scientist of the Roman Empire, and for a millennium and a half his writings on astronomy, astrology, and geography were models for imitation, resources for new work, and targets of criticism. Ptolemy in Perspective traces reactions to Ptolemy from his own times to ours. The nine studies show the complex processes by which an ancient scientist and his work gained and subsequently lost an overreaching reputation and authority.
Ptolemy was the most important physical scientist of the Roman Empire, and for a millennium and a half his writings on astronomy, astrology, and ge...
This book revises the picture of the teacher and educator of princes, Vittorino Rambaldoni da Feltre (c. 1378, Feltre -- 1446, Mantua), taking a completely new approach to show his work and life from the individual perspectives created by his students and contemporaries. From 1423 to 1446, Vittorino da Feltre was in charge of a school in Mantua, where his students included not only the offspring of Italy's princes, but also the first generation of authors dealing with books in print. Among his students were historians like Bartolomeo Sacchi (named Platina), who wrote an extensive history of...
This book revises the picture of the teacher and educator of princes, Vittorino Rambaldoni da Feltre (c. 1378, Feltre -- 1446, Mantua), taking a compl...
In this monograph, Steffen Ducheyne provides a historically detailed and systematically rich explication of Newton's methodology. Throughout the pages of this book, it will be shown that Newton developed a complex natural-philosophical methodology which encompasses procedures to minimize inductive risk during the process of theory formation and which, thereby, surpasses a standard hypothetico-deductive methodological setting. Accordingly, it will be highlighted that the so-called 'Newtonian Revolution' was not restricted to the empirical and theoretical dimensions of science, but applied...
In this monograph, Steffen Ducheyne provides a historically detailed and systematically rich explication of Newton's methodology. Throughout the pa...
New essays in science history ranging across the entire field and related in most instance to the works of Charles Gillispie, one of the field's founders.
New essays in science history ranging across the entire field and related in most instance to the works of Charles Gillispie, one of the field's found...
This volume explores the challenges of sustaining long-term ecological research through a historical analysis of the Long Term Ecological Research Program created by the U.S. National Science Foundation in 1980. The book examines reasons for the creation of the Program, an overview of its 40-year history, and in-depth historical analysis of selected sites. Themes explored include the broader impact of this program on society, including its relevance to environmental policy and understanding global climate change, the challenge of extending ecosystem ecology into urban environments, and...
This volume explores the challenges of sustaining long-term ecological research through a historical analysis of the Long Term Ecological Research ...
