Description
Book SynopsisA stimulating perspective on how scientists interpret the world and communicate among themselves and with others
Trade Review"An interesting and important book . . . filled with insight about the way scientists think and work, a book that will generate an important dialogue about science and science education.”--
Journal of Chemical Education"
Making Truth is an engaging and well-written book about the importance of metaphor in science, intended for a wide audience."--
Philosophy of Science"Brown has a fluid and accessible writing style, and whether or not you find his thesis convincing,
Making Truth makes for thought-provoking and worthwhile reading."--
The Nucleus“For anyone interested in the philosophy of science. Highly recommended.”--
Choice"To sum up: Theodore L. Brown's book is excellent."--
HYLE--International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry"Anyone with a serious interest in science
must read this book. In it, Brown demonstrates that metaphorical thought is central in all branches of science, just as it is in everyday life and mathematics. Particles as waves, time as a spatial dimension, gravity as the curvature of space-time, ion channels, protein folding. All these crucial scientific metaphors--and many more--allow us to understand science in terms of our embodied experience, build comprehensible models, make predictions, and perform precise calculations."--George Lakoff, coauthor of
Metaphors We Live By, Philosophy in the Flesh, and
Where Mathematics Comes From“This is an important book. Scientists will find it thought-provoking, and science teachers will find it a gold mine. Indeed, this book could be transforming for science education at the elementary, high school, and introductory college level.”--Linda S. Wilson, president emerita of Radcliffe College and coauthor of
Who Succeeds in Science? The Gender DimensionTable of ContentsPreface ix
1. Scientific Thought and Practice 1
2. Introduction to Metaphor 14
3. The Theory of Conceptual Metaphor 31
4. The Classical Atom 53
5. The Modern Atom 74
6. Molecular Models in Chemistry and Biology 100
7. Protein Folding 122
8. Cellular-Level Metaphors 146
9. Global Warming 160
10. Science's Metaphorical Foundations: The Social in Science 183
Notes 197
Index 211
