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The Creation of Ideas in Physics

Studies for a Methodology of Theory Construction

  • Book
  • © 1995

Overview

Editors:
  1. Jarrett Leplin

    1. University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA

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Part of the book series: The Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science (WONS, volume 55)

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vii
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  2. Introduction

    • Jarrett Leplin
    Pages 1-11

  3. On the Methods of Science

    • Dudley Shapere
    Pages 13-27

  4. Eliminative Induction as a Method of Discovery: How Einstein Discovered General Relativity

    • John D. Norton
    Pages 29-69

  5. “The Manifold of Possibilities”: Comments on Norton

    • John Stachel
    Pages 71-88

  6. Einstein’s Luckiest Thought

    • Roberto Torretti
    Pages 89-96

  7. Einstein’s Methodology of Discovery was Newtonian Deduction from the Phenomena

    • Jon Dorling
    Pages 97-111

  8. Newton's New Way of Inquiry

    • William Harper, George E. Smith
    Pages 113-166

  9. A Specimen of Theory Construction from Quantum Gravity

    • Rafael D. Sorkin
    Pages 167-179

  10. The Hartle-Hawking Proposal for the Quantum State of the Universe

    • Don N. Page
    Pages 181-187

  11. On the Introduction of New Ideas in Science

    • Dudley Shapere
    Pages 189-222

  12. Prior Information and the Development of New Ideas: The Copenhagen Family of Theories

    • Alberto Cordero
    Pages 223-243

  13. Back Matter

    Pages 245-255
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Keywords

About this book

The unusual ambition of this volume is to engage scientists, historians, and philosophers in a common quest to delineate the structure of the creative thinking responsible for major advances in physical theory. The topic does not fit anyone discipline's proprietary interests, and can only be pursued cooperatively. This volume was conceived in the hope that the importance of learning something general about how theories are developed and what makes the difference between productive and abortive directions of theo­ retical inquiry could overcome well-known barriers to such cooperation. The volume originated in a conference held at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro in 1988, as an installment of the annual Greensboro Symposium in Philosophy. Most of the papers descend from papers pre­ sented on that occasion. The authors are well known in their own disciplines, but should be identified to the wider audience for interdisciplinary work in science studies. Rafael Sorkin, of Syracuse University, and Don Page, of the University of Alberta, are theoretical physicists who have done research in quantum gravity and cosmology. John Stachel, a physicist at Boston University, is widely known as the Director of the Einstein Project and editor of Einstein's papers. William Harper, a historian of science and philosopher at the University of Western Ontario, is a Newton scholar and specialist in decision theory.

Editors and Affiliations

  • University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA

    Jarrett Leplin

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