Science In The Looking Glass: What Do Scientists Really Know? - Couverture souple

Davies, E. Brian

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0199219184 ISBN 13 : 9780199219186

Editeur : Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2009

Synopsis

How do scientific conjectures become laws? Why does proof mean different things in different sciences? Do numbers exist, or were they invented? Why do some laws turn out to be wrong? In this wide-ranging book, Brian Davies discusses the basis for scientists' claims to knowledge about the world. He looks at science historically, emphasizing not only the achievements of scientists from Galileo onwards, but also their mistakes. He rejects the claim that all scientific knowledge is provisional, by citing examples from chemistry, biology and geology. A major feature of the book is its defence of the view that mathematics was invented rather than discovered. While experience has shown that disentangling knowledge from opinion and aspiration is a hard task, this book provides a clear guide to the difficulties. Full of illuminating examples and quotations, and with a scope ranging from psychology and evolution to quantum theory and mathematics, this book brings alive issues at the heart of all science.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Professor E. B. Davies
Department of Mathematics
King's College London

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Date d'édition: 2009
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0199219184
• ISBN 13: 9780199219186
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 312
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: Ufficio Anagrafiche Messaggerie; ufficio.anagrafiche@meli.it; ; Via Verdi, 8; Assago Milano; 20090; Italie