The Intelligibility of Nature

May 29, 2006
Cornell historian of science Dear (Revolutionizing the Sciences) here looks at central developments in Western science since the 16th century in terms of intelligibility versus instrumentality. His distinction asks of any given theory: does its success depend on its claims to expressing something about the nature of reality, or on its ability to produce experimental results? Dear draws out nuanced discussions of, for example, the way Newton's contemporaries viewed his work on gravity, the early development of the mechanical world view from the Aristotelian perspective, and the fundamental differences between the Copenhagen group's approach to quantum physics and David Bohm's. For specialists, it's science history at its best; non-specialist readers should be prepared to dig in and work hard, as much of this book presupposes at least a passing familiarity with a great deal of scientific theory.

September 4, 2006
Cornell historian of science Dear (Revolutionizing the Sciences) here looks at central developments in Western science since the 16th century in terms of intelligibility versus instrumentality. His distinction asks of any given theory: does its success depend on its claims to expressing something about the nature of reality, or on its ability to produce experimental results? Dear draws out nuanced discussions of, for example, the way Newton's contemporaries viewed his work on gravity, the early development of the mechanical world view from the Aristotelian perspective, and the fundamental differences between the Copenhagen group's approach to quantum physics and David Bohm's. For specialists, it's science history at its best; non-specialist readers should be prepared to dig in and work hard, as much of this book presupposes at least a passing familiarity with a great deal of scientific theory.

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