Customer Reviews

Theory of Scientific Method

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

 

 

I'll be the first to admit that Professor Butts' little book on 19th century polymath William Whewell isn't for everyone, but boy there are parts that are truly engaging, amusing, and instructive. Whewell invented/coined the word "consilience" and was the first person (at least that I'm aware of) to build a logical map of the history of scientific induction---starting with the written record through Newton, illustrating in table form how each new discovery was derived from an earlier discovery or hypothesis. Whewell's writing was geared toward British students, so his unique sense of humor comes through.
As an exercise and a philosophy, I try each year to read "old books"---this one of my old books for 2008 (I also read his three volume: The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences). An old saw I heard as a young man: "If you want a new idea, read an old book!" And, I learned much.
Highly recommended, but very specialized.