Einstein, History, and Other Passions: The Rebellion against Science at the End of the Twentieth Century / Edition 1

by Gerald Holton

Overview

“[The] book makes a wonderfully cohesive whole. It is rich in ideas, elegantly expressed. I highly recommend it to any serious student of science and culture.”—Lucy Horwitz, Boston Book Review

“An important and lasting contribution to a more profound understanding of the place of science in our culture.”—Hans C. von Baeyer, Boston Sunday Globe

“[Holton’s] themes are central to an understanding of the nature of science, and Holton does an excellent job of identifying and explaining key features of the scientific enterprise, both in the historical sense and in modern science…I know of no better informed scientist who has studied the nature of science for half a century.”—Ron Good, Science and Education

Through his rich exploration of Einstein’s thought, Gerald Holton shows how the best science depends on great intuitive leaps of imagination, and how science is indeed the creative expression of the traditions of Western civilization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674004337
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	09/15/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	1450L (what's this?)

About the Author

Gerald Holton is Mallinckrodt Research Professor of Physics, and Research Professor of History of Science, Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part One: Science in History

What Place for Science at the "End of the Modern Era"?

The Public Image of Science

"Doing One's Damndest": The Evolution of Trust in Scientific Findings

Imagination in Science

Understanding the History of Science

Part Two: Learning from Einstein

Einstein's Influence on the Culture of Our Time

Einstein and the Goal of Science

Of Physics, Love, and Other Passions: The Letters of Albert and Mileva

"What, Precisely, Is Thinking?"...Einstein's Answer

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

What People are Saying About This

John Kenneth Galbraith

Brilliantly informed, wonderfully written.

Editorial Reviews

Using Albert Einstein as the embodiment of the creative force that connects science with society, Holton embraces the humanistic side of science and fights the contemporary backlash against it.

Science News

Brilliantly informed, wonderfully written.

John Kenneth Galbraith

[The] book makes a wonderfully cohesive whole. It is rich in ideas, elegantly expressed. I highly recommend it to any serious student of science and culture.

Boston Book Review - Lucy Horowitz

An important and lasting contribution to a more profound understanding of the place of science in our culture.

Boston Sunday Globe - Hans C. von Baeyer

Holton has succeeded admirably.

New York Times Book Review

I know of no better informed scientist who has studied the nature of science for half a century.

Science and Education - Ron Good

An important and lasting contribution to a more profound understanding of the place of science in our culture.

Boston Sunday Globe - Hans C. Von Baeyer

I know of no better informed scientist who has studied the nature of science for half a century.
— Ron Good

Science and Education

An important and lasting contribution to a more profound understanding of the place of science in our culture.
— Hans C. von Baeyer

Boston Sunday Globe

[The] book makes a wonderfully cohesive whole. It is rich in ideas, elegantly expressed. I highly recommend it to any serious student of science and culture.
— Lucy Horowitz

Boston Book Review