The Oxford Handbook of Generality in Mathematics and the Sciences
Karine Chemla editor David Rabouin editor Renaud Chorlay editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:14th Jul '16
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Generality is a key value in scientific discourses and practices. Throughout history, it has received a variety of meanings and of uses. This collection of original essays aims to inquire into this diversity. Through case studies taken from the history of mathematics, physics and the life sciences, the book provides evidence of different ways of understanding the general in various contexts. It aims at showing how collectives have valued generality and how they have worked with specific types of "general" entities, procedures, and arguments. The books connects history and philosophy of mathematics and the sciences at the intersection of two of the most fruitful contemporary lines of research: historical epistemology, in which values (e.g. "objectivity", "accuracy") are studied from a historical viewpoint; and the philosophy of scientific practice, in which conceptual developments are seen as embedded in networks of social, instrumental, and textual practices. Each chapter provides a self-contained case-study, with a clear exposition of the scientific content at stake. The collection covers a wide range of scientific domains - with an emphasis on mathematics - and historical periods. It thus allows a comparative perspective which suggests a non-linear pattern for a history of generality. The introductory chapter spells out the key issues and points to the connections between the chapters.
This book astonishes with its richness, its methodological relevance, and its novelty. We must recommend this book to a readership specializing in the history and philosophy of science because of the variety of approaches grouped together and because of its undeniable programmatic virtue. * Christophe Eckes and translated by Rachel Keith, The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science *
[T]his book contains many very good things... Several of the contributors to this volume succeed in showing how careful attention to the special meanings attached to "the general" and its cognates can lead to deeper historical insights. * David Rowe, Isis Journal *
...this collective book proposes an interesting theoretical framework as well as a collection of studies which are original and important for the history of science, both from a historical and a methodological viewpoint. * Jenny Boucard, Revue d'histoire des sciences (translated from French) *
Early mathematicians and scientists seldom discussed their use of generality; the authors expertly examine their work to determine how this concept evolved ... This is an important resource for practitioners in the areas of the history and philosophy of science and mathematics ... Recommended. * CHOICE *
The accessibility of the essays is such that not only the specialist, but anyone engaged in the history of science or one of the books historical key figures will benefit from them. Its ideal audience will be composed of historians of science with epistemological interests, and epistemologists wishing to engage with historical matters. * Vincenzo De Risi, Early Science and Medicine *
ISBN: 9780198777267
Dimensions: 247mm x 191mm x 36mm
Weight: 1084g
528 pages