Customer Reviews

Forces and Fields: The Concept of Action at a Distance in the History of Physics

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not a philosopher of science, but I found this to be an extraordinarily good book -- much better than some highly-regarded recent studies of a similar kind. Hesse really makes clear the role of models in science and explains in language this non-scientist could (sometimes barely) understand, just how the successive Aristotelian, Cartesian, etc., models handled issues that involve action at a distance -- hence, the focus on forces and fields. This concept turns out to be a very useful focus for this kind of study, since it is both specific (which helps the reader get a handle on the scientific debates) and yet fundamental (so it sheds light on each theory as a whole).

This is not the condensceding sort of history of science that says, wasn't Aristotle dumb, and Descartes was full of mistakes, but sees how each provided a workable framework for handling the empirical observations and theoretical problems at the time. The reader comes to understand not only the particular theories and scientific "revolutions" better, but the nature of scientific theorizing itself. Very highly recommended.