The truth of science : physical theories and reality / Roger G. Newton.

Author
Newton, Roger G. [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1997.
Description
viii, 260 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
ReCAP - Remote StorageQC6.4.R42 N49 1997 Browse related items Request

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    Subject(s)
    Summary note
    • It's not a scientific truth that has come into question lately but the truth - the very notion of scientific truth. Bringing a reasonable voice to the culture wars that have sprung up around this notion, this book offers a clear and constructive response to those who contend, in parodies, polemics, and op-ed pieces, that there really is no such thing as verifiable objective truth - without which there could be no such thing as scientific authority.
    • Roger Newton gives us a guided tour of the intellectual structure of physical science. From there he conducts us through the understanding of reality engendered by modern physics, the most theoretically advanced of the sciences. With its first-hand look at models, facts, and theories, intuition and imagination, the use of analogies and metaphors, the importance of mathematics (and now, computers), and the "virtual" reality of the physics of micro-particles, The Truth of Science is a practicing scientist's account of the foundations, processes, and value of science.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-253) and index.
    Contents
    • Conventions
    • Science as a social construct?
    • The aim of science is understanding
    • Explanatory devices
    • The role of facts
    • The birth and death of theories
    • The power of mathematics
    • Casuality, determinism, and probability
    • Reality on two scales
    • Reality at the submicroscopic level
    • Truth and objectivity.
    ISBN
    • 0674910923 ((cloth ; : alk. paper))
    • 9780674910928 ((cloth ; : alk. paper))
    LCCN
    97009079
    OCLC
    36461745
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