Download or read book Isaac Newton on the action at a distance in gravity With or without God written by Nicolae Sfetcu and published by MultiMedia Publishing. This book was released on 2019-02-17 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The interpretation of Isaac Newton's texts has sparked controversy to this day. One of the most heated debates relates to the action between two bodies distant from each other (the gravitational attraction), and to what extent Newton involved God in this case. Practically, most of the papers discuss four types of gravitational attractions in the case of remote bodies: direct distance action as intrinsic property of bodies in epicurean sense; direct remote action divinely mediated by God; remote action mediated by a material ether; or remote action mediated by an immaterial ether. The purpose of this paper is to argue that Newton categorically rejected the types of direct action as the intrinsic property of bodies, and remote action mediated by a material ether. Concerning the other two types of action, direct through divine intervention and mediated through an immaterial environment, Newton has repeatedly stated that he does not know the exact cause of gravity, but in both cases, he has directly involved God, directly in the first case and as the primary cause (the environment/ether being the secondary cause) in immaterial mediated action. But since recognition of direct distance action could have given some credit to those who thought gravity could be essential to matter, and hence to atheism, Newton never openly acknowledged the possibility of such an idea. Keywords: Isaac Newton, action at a distance, God, gravity, gravity law, gravitation CONTENTS Abstract Introduction Principia Correspondence with Richard Bentley Queries in Opticks Conclusions Bibliography DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25823.92320

Download or read book Oxford Handbook of Newton written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online. For more information, please read the site FAQs.

Download or read book Principia The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy Annotated written by Isaac Newton and published by Nicolae Sfetcu. This book was released on with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, by Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) Translated into English by Andrew Motte (1693 - 1728) Published by Daniel Adee, 1846. Edited by N. W. Chittenden Images and text used from Wikisource (Public Domain) Addendum, by Nicolae Sfetcu: - Historical context: Action at a distance - The methodology of Isaac Newton - The dispute over the priority of the law of gravity Cover: Portrait of Isaac Newton (1642-1727), by Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723), oil on canvas, 1689, Collection Isaac Newton Institute (cropped and processed) The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (Latin: "Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica"), often abbreviated as Principia or Principia Mathematica, the Isaac Newton's masterpiece, was published in London on July 5, 1687. The text of the third edition in Latin, 1726 , will be revised and enriched for the last time by Newton, being generally considered as a reference. The book is one of the most important scientific books ever published, being the foundation of classical mechanics. It is considered by most physicists to be the most famous book in this field. Newton applies here the mathematical laws to the study of natural phenomena. The book contains Newton's laws of motion that formed the basis of Newtonian mechanics, as well as the universal law of gravity. Most translations of the book are based on Newton's third edition in 1726. The first translation, in 1729, belongs to Andrew Motte, republished in 1846 by Daniel Adee as the first American edition, edited by N. W. Chittenden. The book begins with definitions, laws, or axioms, followed by three parts (or "books") about "the motion of bodies" and "the system of the world." “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being... This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all; and on account of his dominion he is wont, to be called Lord God παντοκρατωρ or Universal Ruler.” (Isaac Newton) ”The whole evolution of our ideas about the processes of nature … might be regarded as an organic development of Newton’s work.” (Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar)

Download or read book Four Letters from Sir Isaac Newton to Doctor Bentley written by Isaac Newton and published by . This book was released on 1756 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Philosophical Essays written by Nicolae Sfetcu and published by MultiMedia Publishing. This book was released on with total page 936 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of personal essays in philosophy of science (physics, especially gravity), philosophy of information and communication technology, current social issues (emotional intelligence, COVID-19 pandemic, eugenics, intelligence), philosophy of art, and logic and philosophy of language. The distinction between falsification and refutation in the demarcation problem of Karl Popper Imre Lakatos - Heuristics and methodological tolerance Isaac Newton on the action at a distance in gravity: With or without God? Causal Loops in Time Travel The singularities as ontological limits of the general relativity Epistemology of Experimental Gravity - Scientific Rationality Philosophy of Blockchain Technology - Ontologies Big Data Ethics in Research Emotions and Emotional Intelligence in Organizations COVID-19 Pandemic - Philosophical Approaches Evolution and Ethics of Eugenics Epistemology of Intelligence Agencies Solaris, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky - Psychological and philosophical aspects Causal theories of reference for proper names CONTENTS: The distinction between falsification and refutation in the demarcation problem of Karl Popper - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - 1 The demarcation problem - - - 2 Pseudoscience - - - 3 Falsifiability - - - 4 Falsification and refutation - - - 5 Extension of falsifiability - - - 6 Criticism of falsifiability - - - 7 Support of falsifiability - - - 8 The current trend - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliography - - - Notes Imre Lakatos - Heuristics and methodological tolerance - - - Rational reconstruction of science through research programmes - - - Dogmatic Falsificationism - - - Justificationism - - - Bibliography Isaac Newton vs. Robert Hooke on the law of universal gravitation - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - Robert Hooke's contribution to the law of universal gravitation - - - Isaac Newton's contribution to the law of universal gravitation - - - Robert Hooke's claim of his priority on the law of universal gravitation - - - Newton's defense - - - The controversy in the opinion of other contemporary scientists - - - What the supporters of Isaac Newton say - - - What the supporters of Robert Hooke say - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliography - - - Notes Isaac Newton on the action at a distance in gravity: With or without God? - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - Principia - - - Correspondence with Richard Bentley - - - Queries in Opticks - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliography Causal Loops in Time Travel - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - History of the concept of time travel - - - Grandfather paradox - - - The philosophy of time travel - - - Causal loops - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliography - - - Notes The singularities as ontological limits of the general relativity - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - - - - Classical Theory and Special Relativity - - - - - - General Relativity (GR) - - - 1 Ontology of General Relativity - - - 2 Singularities - - - - - - Black Holes - - - - - - - - - Event Horizon - - - - - - Big Bang - - - - - - Are there Singularities? - - - 3 Ontology of Singularities - - - - - - Ontology of black holes - - - - - - The hole argument - - - - - - There are no singularities - - - Conclusions - - - Notes - - - Bibliography Epistemology of Experimental Gravity - Scientific Rationality - - - Introduction - - - - - - Gravity - - - - - - Gravitational tests - - - - - - Methodology of Lakatos - Scientific rationality - - - - - - The natural extension of the Lakatos methodology - - - - - - - - - Bifurcated programs - - - - - - - - - Unifying programs - - - 1. Newtonian gravity - - - - - - 1.1 Heuristics of Newtonian gravity - - - - - - 1.2 Proliferation of post-Newtonian theories - - - - - - 1.3 Tests of post-Newtonian theories - - - - - - - - - 1.3.1 Newton's proposed tests - - - - - - - - - 1.3.2 Tests of post-Newtonian theories - - - - - - 1.4 Newtonian gravity anomalies - - - - - - 1.5 Saturation point in Newtonian gravity - - - 2. General relativity - - - - - - 2.1 Heuristics of the general relativity - - - - - - 2.2 Proliferation of post-Einsteinian gravitational theories - - - - - - 2.3 Post-Newtonian parameterized formalism (PPN) - - - - - - 2.4 Tests of general relativity and post-Einsteinian theories - - - - - - - - - 2.4.1 Tests proposed by Einstein - - - - - - - - - 2.4.2 Tests of post-Einsteinian theories - - - - - - - - - 2.4.3 Classic tests - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.3.1 Precision of Mercury's perihelion - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.3.2 Light deflection - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.3.3 Gravitational redshift - - - - - - - - - 2.4.4 Modern tests - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.4.1 Shapiro Delay - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.4.2 Gravitational dilation of time - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.4.3 Frame dragging and geodetic effect - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.4.4 Testing of the principle of equivalence - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.4.5 Solar system tests - - - - - - - - - 2.4.5 Strong field gravitational tests - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.5.1 Gravitational lenses - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.5.2 Gravitational waves - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.5.3 Synchronization binary pulsars - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.5.4 Extreme environments - - - - - - - - - 2.4.6 Cosmological tests - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.6.1 The expanding universe - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.6.2 Cosmological observations - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.4.6.3 Monitoring of weak gravitational lenses - - - - - - 2.5 Anomalies of general relativity - - - - - - 2.6 The saturation point of general relativity - - - 3. Quantum gravity - - - - - - 3.1 Heuristics of quantum gravity - - - - - - 3.2 The tests of quantum gravity - - - - - - 3.3 Canonical quantum gravity - - - - - - - - - 3.3.1 Tests proposed for the CQG - - - - - - - - - 3.3.2. Loop quantum gravity - - - - - - 3.4 String theory - - - - - - - - - 3.4.1 Heuristics of string theory - - - - - - - - - 3.4.2. Anomalies of string theory - - - - - - 3.5 Other theories of quantum gravity - - - - - - 3.6 Unification (The Final Theory) - - - 4. Cosmology - - - Conclusions - - - Notes - - - Bibliography Philosophy of Blockchain Technology - Ontologies - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - Blockchain Technology - - - - - - Design - - - - - - Models - - - Bitcoin - - - Philosophy - - - Ontologies - - - - - - Narrative ontologies - - - - - - Enterprise ontologies - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliography - - - Notes Big Data Ethics in Research - - - Abstract - - - 1. Introduction - - - - - - 1.1 Definitions - - - - - - 1.2 Big Data dimensions - - - 2. Technology - - - - - - 2.1 Applications - - - - - - - - - 2.1.1 In research - - - 3. Philosophical aspects - - - 4. Legal aspects - - - - - - 4.1 GDPR - - - - - - - - - Stages of processing of personal data - - - - - - - - - Principles of data processing - - - - - - - - - Privacy policy and transparency - - - - - - - - - Purposes of data processing - - - - - - - - - Design and implicit confidentiality - - - - - - - - - The (legal) paradox of Big Data - - - 5. Ethical issues - - - - - - Ethics in research - - - - - - Awareness - - - - - - Consent - - - - - - Control - - - - - - Transparency - - - - - - Trust - - - - - - Ownership - - - - - - Surveillance and security - - - - - - Digital identity - - - - - - Tailored reality - - - - - - De-identification - - - - - - Digital inequality - - - - - - Privacy - - - 6. Big Data research - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliography Emotions and Emotional Intelligence in Organizations - - - Abstract - - - 1. Emotions - - - - - - 1.1 Models of emotion - - - - - - 1.2 Processing emotions - - - - - - 1.3 Happiness - - - - - - 1.4 The philosophy of emotions - - - - - - 1.5 The ethics of emotions - - - 2. Emotional intelligence - - - - - - 2.1 Models of emotional intelligence - - - - - - - - - 2.1.1 Model of abilities of Mayer and Salovey - - - - - - - - - 2.1.2 Goleman's mixed model - - - - - - - - - 2.1.3 The mixed model of Bar-On - - - - - - - - - 2.1.4 Petrides' model of traits - - - - - - 2.2 Emotional intelligence in research and education - - - - - - 2.3 The philosophy of emotional intelligence - - - - - - - - - 2.3.1 Emotional intelligence in Eastern philosophy - - - 3. Emotional intelligence in organizations - - - - - - 3.1 Emotional labor - - - - - - 3.2 The philosophy of emotional intelligence in organizations - - - - - - 3.3 Critique of emotional intelligence in organizations - - - - - - 3.4 Ethics of emotional intelligence in organizations - - - - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliography COVID-19 Pandemic - Philosophical Approaches - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - 1 Viruses - - - - - - 1.1 Ontology - - - 2 Pandemics - - - - - - 2.1 Social dimensions - - - - - - 2.2 Ethics - - - 3 COVID-19 - - - - - - 3.1 Biopolitics - - - - - - 3.2 Neocommunism - - - - - - 3.3 Desocialising - - - 4 Forecasting - - - Bibliography Evolution and Ethics of Eugenics - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - New Eugenics - - - The Future of Eugenics - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliography Epistemology of Intelligence Agencies - - - Abstract - - - 1 Introduction - - - - - - 1.1. History - - - 2. Intelligence activity - - - - - - 2.1. Organizations - - - - - - 2.2. Intelligence cycle - - - - - - 2.3 Intelligence gathering - - - - - - 2.4. Intelligence analysis - - - - - - 2.5. Counterintelligence - - - - - - 2.6. Epistemic communities - - - 3. Ontology - - - 4. Epistemology - - - - - - 4.1. The tacit knowledge (Polanyi) - - - 5. Methodologies - - - 6. Analogies with other disciplines - - - - - - 6.1. Science - - - - - - 6.2. Archeology - - - - - - 6.3. Business - - - - - - 6.4. Medicine - - - 7. Conclusions - - - Bibliography Solaris, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky - Psychological and philosophical aspects - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - 1 Cinema technique - - - 2 Psychological Aspects - - - 3 Philosophical aspects - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliography - - - Notes Causal theories of reference for proper names - - - Abstract - - - Introduction - - - 1. The causal theory of reference - - - 2. Saul Kripke - - - 3. Gareth Evans - - - 4. Michael Devitt - - - 5. Blockchain and the causal tree of reference - - - Conclusions - - - Bibliografie About the author - - - Nicolae Sfetcu - - - - - - Contact Publishing House - - - MultiMedia Publishing

Download or read book Priest of Nature written by Rob Iliffe and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first major book on Isaac Newton's religious writings in nearly four decades that negotiates the complex boundaries between the scientific genius's public and private faith

Download or read book Isaac Newton vs Robert Hooke on the law of universal gravitation written by Nicolae Sfetcu and published by MultiMedia Publishing. This book was released on 2019-03-08 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most disputed controversy over the priority of scientific discoveries is that of the law of universal gravitation, between Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke. Hooke accused Newton of plagiarism, of taking over his ideas expressed in previous works. In this paper I try to show, on the basis of previous analysis, that both scientists were wrong: Robert Hooke because his theory was basically only ideas that would never have materialized without Isaac Newton's mathematical support; and the latter was wrong by not recognizing Hooke's ideas in drawing up the theory of gravity. Moreover, after Hooke's death and taking over the Royal Society presidency, Newton removed from the institution any trace of the former president Robert Hooke. For this, I detail the accusations and arguments of each of the parts, and how this dispute was perceived by the contemporaries of the two scientists. I finish the paper with the conclusions drawn from the contents. Keywords: Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, law of gravity, priority, plagiarism CONTENTS Abstract Introduction Robert Hooke's contribution to the law of universal gravitation Isaac Newton's contribution to the law of universal gravitation Robert Hooke's claim of his priority on the law of universal gravitation Newton's defense The controversy in the opinion of other contemporary scientists What the supporters of Isaac Newton say What the supporters of Robert Hooke say Conclusions Bibliography DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.19370.26567

Download or read book Newton on Matter and Activity written by Ernan McMullin and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Newton on Matter and Activity shows persuasively that while the Principia remains within the first two stages of inquiry (mathematical and physical) into nature, Newton spent the next forty years of his life making a philosophical analysis of matter, force, and transmission of force. Close attention is paid to methodological issues, especially Newton's move beyond inductivism and toward a reproductive theoretical schema of interpretation required to treat of attraction, hardness, and impenetrability." —Cross Currents

Download or read book The God Equation written by Michio Kaku and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2022-03-29 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic story of the greatest quest in all of science—the holy grail of physics that would explain the creation of the universe—from renowned theoretical physicist and author of The Future of the Mind and The Future of Humanity When Newton discovered the law of gravity, he unified the rules governing the heavens and the Earth. Since then, physicists have been placing new forces into ever-grander theories. But perhaps the ultimate challenge is achieving a monumental synthesis of the two remaining theories—relativity and the quantum theory. This would be the crowning achievement of science, a profound merging of all the forces of nature into one beautiful, magnificent equation to unlock the deepest mysteries in science: What happened before the Big Bang? What lies on the other side of a black hole? Are there other universes and dimensions? Is time travel possible? Why are we here? Kaku also explains the intense controversy swirling around this theory, with Nobel laureates taking opposite sides on this vital question. It is a captivating, gripping story; what’s at stake is nothing less than our conception of the universe. Written with Kaku’s trademark enthusiasm and clarity, this epic and engaging journey is the story of The God Equation.

Download or read book The Adventures of a Red Ant written by Henri de la Blanchère and published by Nicolae Sfetcu. This book was released on with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Reddish Polyergus, the most powerful ants of France by their courage in the fighting, form a people composed of four orders of citizens: males, females, neutrals or warriors ... and slaves, workers conquered on suitable species. I am neutral, and I am proud of it. Is there a life more noble, more chivalrous than mine: to fight, to conquer or to die!... We live for years, and all this time we spend it to serve the country and the nation, to contribute to its greatness, to its power; to make us serve as kings ... and enjoy the sun!"

Download or read book Epistemology and Natural Philosophy in the 18th Century written by Danilo Capecchi and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-08-25 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book documents the process of transformation from natural philosophy, which was considered the most important of the sciences until the early modern era, into modern disciplines such as mathematics, physics, natural history, chemistry, medicine and engineering. It focuses on the 18th century, which has often been considered uninteresting for the history of science, representing the transition from the age of genius and the birth of modern science (the 17th century) to the age of prodigious development in the 19th century. Yet the 18th century, the century of Enlightenment, as will be demonstrated here, was in fact characterized by substantial ferment and novelty. To make the text more accessible, little emphasis has been placed on the precise genesis of the various concepts and methods developed in scientific enterprises, except when doing so was necessary to make them clear. For the sake of simplicity, in several situations reference is made to the authors who are famous today, such as Newton, the Bernoullis, Euler, d’Alembert, Lagrange, Lambert, Volta et al. – not necessarily because they were the most creative and original minds, but mainly because their writings represent a synthesis of contemporary and past studies. The above names should, therefore, be considered more labels of a period than references to real historical characters.

Download or read book The Books of Nature and Scripture written by J.E. Force and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dick Popkin and James Force have attended a number of recent conferences where it was apparent that much new and important research was being done in the fields of interpreting Newton's and Spinoza's contributions as biblical scholars and of the relationship between their biblical scholarship and other aspects of their particular philosophies. This collection represents the best current research in this area. It stands alone as the only work to bring together the best current work on these topics. Its primary audience is specialised scholars of the thought of Newton and Spinoza as well as historians of the philosophical ideas of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Newton written by I. Bernard Cohen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-04-25 with total page 785 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) was one of the greatest scientists of all time, a thinker of extraordinary range and creativity who has left enduring legacies in mathematics and the natural sciences. In this volume a team of distinguished contributors examine all the main aspects of Newton's thought, including not only his approach to space, time, mechanics, and universal gravity in his Principia, his research in optics, and his contributions to mathematics, but also his more clandestine investigations into alchemy, theology, and prophecy, which have sometimes been overshadowed by his mathematical and scientific interests.

Download or read book Newton s Metaphysics written by Eric Schliesser and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-16 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this collection of new and previously published essays, noted philosopher Eric Schliesser offers new interpretations of the signifance of Isaac Newton's metaphysics on his physics and the subsequent development of philosophy more broadly. Schliesser address Newton's account of space, time, gravity, motion, inertia, and laws-all evergreens in the literature; he also breaks new ground in focusing on Newton's philosophy of time, Newton's views on emanation, and Newton's modal metaphysics. In particular, Schliesser explores the rich resonances between Newton's and Spinoza's metaphysics. Schliesser presents a new argument of the ways in which Newton and his circle respond to the treatment and accusations of Spinozism, illuminating both the details of Newton's metaphysics and the content of Spinoza's. Schliesser provides a fine-grained analysis of some of the key metaphysical concepts in Newton's physics, including controversial interpretations of Newton's ideas on space, time, inertia, and necessity. Schliesser restates his provocative interpretation of Newton's views on action at a distance as he was developing the Principia. Newton's Metaphysics contains a substantive introduction, two chapters co-authored with Zvi Biener and with Mary Domski, new chapters on Newton's modal metaphysics and his theology, and two postscripts in which Schliesser responds to some of his most important critics, including Katherine Brading, Andrew Janiak, Hylarie Kochiras, Steffen Ducheyne, and Adwait Parker. The collection presents new and varied analyses on familiar focuses of Newton's work, adding important perspectives to the recent revival of interest in Spinoza's metaphysics.

Download or read book Cosmological Fine Tuning Arguments written by Jason Waller and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-05 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If the physical constants, initial conditions, or laws of nature in our universe had been even slightly different, then the evolution of life would have been impossible. This observation has led many philosophers and scientists to ask the natural next question: why is our universe so "fine-tuned" for life? The debates around this question are wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary, complicated, technical, and (at times) heated. This study is a comprehensive investigation of these debates and the many metaphysical and epistemological questions raised by cosmological fine-tuning. Waller’s study reaches two significant and controversial conclusions. First, he concludes that the criticisms directed at the "multiverse hypothesis" by theists and at the "theistic hypothesis" by naturalists are largely unsuccessful. Neither of these options can plausibly be excluded. Choosing between them seems to turn on primitive (and so hard to justify) metaphysical intuitions. Second, in order to break the philosophical deadlock, Waller moves the debate from the level of universes to the level of possible worlds. Arguing that possible worlds are also "fine-tuned" in an important and interesting sense, Waller concludes that the only plausible explanation for the fine-tuning of the actual world is to posit the existence of some kind of "God-like-thing."

Download or read book The Holistic Inspirations of Physics written by Val Dusek and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While many books have claimed parallels between modern physics and Eastern philosophy, none have dealt with the historical influences of both Chinese traditional thought and non-mechanistic, holistic western thought on the philosophies of the scientists who developed electromagnetic field theory. In The Holistic Inspirations of Physics, R. Valentine Dusek asks: to what extent is classical field theory a product of organic and holistic philosophies and frameworks? Electromagnetic theory has been greatly influenced by holistic worldviews, Dusek posits, and he highlights three alternative scientific systems that made the development of electromagnetic theory possible: medieval Chinese science, Western Renaissance occultism, and the German romantic traditions. He situates these "alternative" approaches in their social context and background, and traces their connection with components of "accepted" physical science in relation to a number of social movements and philosophical theories. Readers will learn of specific contributions made by these alternative traditions, such as the Chinese inventing the compass and discovering the earth's magnetic field and magnetic declination. Western alchemical ideas of active forces and "occult" influences contributed to Newton's theory of gravitation force as action at a distance, rather as a result of purely mechanical collisions and contact action. Dusek also describes the extent to which women's culture supplied (often without credit) the philosophical background ideas that were absorbed into mainstream field theory.

Download or read book Making 20th Century Science written by Stephen G. Brush and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-13 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historically, the scientific method has been said to require proposing a theory, making a prediction of something not already known, testing the prediction, and giving up the theory (or substantially changing it) if it fails the test. A theory that leads to several successful predictions is more likely to be accepted than one that only explains what is already known but not understood. This process is widely treated as the conventional method of achieving scientific progress, and was used throughout the twentieth century as the standard route to discovery and experimentation. But does science really work this way? In Making 20th Century Science, Stephen G. Brush discusses this question, as it relates to the development of science throughout the last century. Answering this question requires both a philosophically and historically scientific approach, and Brush blends the two in order to take a close look at how scientific methodology has developed. Several cases from the history of modern physical and biological science are examined, including Mendeleev's Periodic Law, Kekule's structure for benzene, the light-quantum hypothesis, quantum mechanics, chromosome theory, and natural selection. In general it is found that theories are accepted for a combination of successful predictions and better explanations of old facts. Making 20th Century Science is a large-scale historical look at the implementation of the scientific method, and how scientific theories come to be accepted.