Science in the Looking Glass: What Do Scientists Really Know? [Hardcover]

E. Brian Davies (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198525435 | ISBN-13: 978-0198525431 | Publication Date: October 9, 2003 | Edition: 1

In this wide-ranging book, Brian Davies discusses the basis for scientists' claims to knowledge about the world. He looks at science historically, emphasizing not only the achievements of scientists from Galileo onwards, but also their mistakes. He rejects the claim that all scientific knowledge is provisional, by citing examples from chemistry, biology and geology. A major feature of the book is its defense of the view that mathematics was invented rather than discovered. A large number of examples are used to illustrate these points, and many of the deep issues in today's world discussed-from psychology and evolution to quantum theory, consciousness and even religious belief. Disentangling knowledge from opinion and aspiration is a hard task, but this book provided a clear guide to the difficulties.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Science in the Looking Glass is worth reading in your leisure time."--Physics Today

"I recommend this book unreservedly as a rich intellectual adventure. The issues Davies addresses may have been grappled with innumerable times in innumerable ways, but I doubt they have ever been put more concisely, clearly, and sanely."-Henry H. Bauer, Journal of Scientific Exploration

About the Author

E Brian Davies, Tutorial Fellow at St John's College, Oxford in 1970 and one of two editors for the Quarterly Journal of Mathematics, Oxford. Developed the theory of open quantum systems, writing a monograph on the subject, which became the standard text. Appointed to the Chair of Pure Mathematics at King's College, London in 1981 and researched heat kernels and spectral theory. Subsequently became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1995. His monograph on heat kernels, involving several hundred publications and having applications in many parts of mathematics, is the authoritative text on the subject. Founded the London Mathematical Society Student Text Series in the 1980s, and has recently become Senior Editor for the LMS Monographs. Has previously been a member of the National Advisory Board of the Isaac Newton Institute and sat on the Research Assessment Exercise Panel for Pure Mathematics in 2001. Published over 180 papers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (October 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198525435
• ISBN-13: 978-0198525431
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,692,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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