Description
Book SynopsisThis volume takes a look at the history of science and its place in cultural crises.
Trade Review'A very important contribution to studies in the history of science and in the history of the philosophy of science, with particular reference to the development of American science in the twentieth century. One of the author's strenghts in her capacity to deal with technical issues in physics and philosophy in such a way as to speak to the specialist without turning away the general reader.' Stanley Goldberg, National Museum of American History
Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I. A Career in Physics: 1. Percy Williams Bridgman: Harvard physicist 2. The experimental method: pioneering a research program 3. Theory and the generation gap: explaining metallic conduction Part II. The Meaning of Measurement: 4. Dimensional analysis: the building blocks of physical reality 5. The shadow of Einstein: relativity and the operational method Part III. Operational Reasoning and the Tyranny of Language: 6. Wordless truth: deliverance from the idolatry of language 7. The positivists and the behaviourists: defining away private experience Part IV. Measurement and Communication: 8. Quantum mechanics: signals from beyond the 'here and now' 9. Thermodynamics: the outer bounds of physical knowledge Part V. Science as a Vocation: 10. Puritan logic and the politics of science: neither shalt thou serve their gods 11. The broken covenant: science, society, and individual freedom Notes Bibliography Index.
