000			05708cam a2200481 a 4500
001			ocm34245278
003			OCoLC
005			20251028093232.0
008			960205s1996 nyua b 001 0 eng
010			_a 96003910
035			_a(Sirsi) i9780801432408
040			_aDLC _beng _cDLC _dUKM _dNLGGC _dBTCTA _dYDXCP _dBAKER _dOCLCG _dUBC _dP4I _dHEBIS _dBDX _dVF$
015			_aGB96-77032
019			_a35831436
020			_a0801432405 (alk. paper)
020			_a9780801432408 (alk. paper)
035			_a(OCoLC)34245278 _z(OCoLC)35831436
050	0	0	_aQ 175 _b.M415 1996
049			_aVF$A
100	1		_aMcAllister, James W. _q(James William), _d1962-
245	1	0	_aBeauty & revolution in science / _cJames W. McAllister.
246	3	0	_aBeauty and revolution in science.
260			_aIthaca : _bCornell University Press, _c1996.
300			_axi, 231 p. : _bill. ; _c24 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aHow reasonable and rational can science be when its practitioners speak of "revolutions" in their thinking and extol certain theories for their "beauty"? James W. McAllister addresses this question with the first systematic study of the aesthetic evaluations that scientists pass on their theories. P. A. M. Dirac explained why he embraced relativity by saying, "It is the essential beauty of the theory which I feel is the real reason for believing in it." Dirac's claim seems to belie rationalist accounts of science. Using this and a wealth of other historical examples, McAllister explains how scientists' aesthetic preferences are influenced by the empirical track record of theories, describes the origin and development of aesthetic styles of theorizing, and reconsiders whether simplicity is an empirical or an aesthetic virtue of theories. McAllister then advances an innovative model of scientific revolutions, in opposition to that of Thomas S. Kuhn. Three detailed studies demonstrate the interconnection of empirical performance, beauty, and revolution. One examines the impact of new construction materials on the history of architecture. Another reexamines the transition from the Ptolemaic system to Kepler's theory in planetary astronomy, and the third documents the rise of relativity and quantum theory in the twentieth century.
505	0		_aThe Rationalist Image of Science -- A Rationalist Model of Theory Evaluation -- Aesthetic Factors in Discovery and Justification -- The Boundaries of Scientific Behavior -- A Precursor:Hutcheson's Account of Beauty in Science -- The Distinction between Theories and Their Representations -- The Disregard of Abstract Entities by the Actor-Network Theory -- Perceiving the Properties of Abstract Entities -- Aesthetic Values, Properties, and Evaluations -- Aesthetic Criteria and Canons -- Identifying Which Properties of Theories Are Aesthetic -- Classes of Aesthetic Properties -- Form of Symmetry -- Invocation of a Model -- Visualization and Abstractness -- Metaphysical Allegiance -- Beauty in the Biological and Social Sciences -- The Theory of Aesthetic Disinterestedness -- The Accord of Aesthetic and Empirical Judgments -- Reductionism about Aesthetic and Empirical Judgments
505	0		_aPrecepts and Their Warrants -- The Warrant of Empirical Criteria -- The Aesthetic Induction -- The Conservatism of Aesthetic Canons -- Fashions and Styles in Science -- An Example of Scientific Style:Mechanicism -- Beauty as an Attribute of Truth -- Aesthetic Judgment and the Recognition of Truth and Falsity -- Einstein's Account of Theory Assessment -- The Properties of Theories and the Properties of Phenomena -- The Possible Success of the Aesthetic Induction -- The Empirical Corroboration of Metaphysical World Views -- The Controversy about Scientists' Simplicity Judgments -- Simplicity and the Unification of Phenomena -- Degrees and Forms of Simplicity -- Quantitative Definitions of Simplicity in Theory Choice -- Simplicity, Beauty, and Truth -- The Occurrence of Scientific Revolutions -- The Abandonment of Aesthetic Commitments
505	0		_aContinuity and Rupture in Revolutions -- Understanding Past Science -- Factors Inducing and Inhibiting Revolutions -- The Analogy with Moral and Political Revolutions -- Aesthetic Judgments and Utilitarian Performance -- The Response of Architectural Design to Iron and Steel -- The Use of Reinforced Concrete in Architecture -- Materials and Forms in Industrial Design -- The Induction to Styles -- Testing the Model against History -- Did Copernicus's Theory Constitute and Empirical Advance? -- Copernicus's Return to Aristotelian Principles -- The Aesthetic Preference for Copernicus's Theory -- Kuhn's Account of the Acceptance of Copernicanism -- The Iconoclasm of Kepler's Ellipses -- Two Flaws in Classical Physics -- Aesthetic Factors in the Appeal of Relativity Theory -- Quantum Theory and the Loss of Visualization -- The Renunciation of Determinism -- Review of Results
505	0		_aA Rational Warrant for Aesthetic Commitments -- The Rationality of Revolutions -- A Natural Inductive Disposition
650		0	_aScience _xPhilosophy.
650		0	_aScience _xMathematical models.
650		0	_aAesthetics.
650		0	_aRationalism.
653	0		_aScience _aPhilosophy
776	0	8	_iOnline version: _aMcAllister, James W. (James William), 1962- _tBeauty & revolution in science. _dIthaca : Cornell University Press, 1996 _w(OCoLC)604102604
938			_aBaker and Taylor _bBTCP _n96003910
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