Overview
- Symmetry is a key concept in modern science
- Its history has been distorted for various reasons
- A critical account of the history of the concept sheds light on the dynamics of scientific change and the role of concepts in theory formation
- The transition from the aesthetic concept of symmetry to its scientific usage is analyzed for the first time
- Legendre’s pivotal role has not been noted at all in the secondary literature
Part of the book series: Archimedes (ARIM, volume 20)
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Introduction
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Tradition: Ancient Perspectives and Their SurvivalintheEarlyModernEra
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The Path to Revolution: Symmetry as a Modern Scientific Concept
Keywords
About this book
Reviews
From the reviews:
“Hon and Goldstein’s book is, primarily, a historical study of the term ‘symmetry’ and the concepts associated with it up to the early 1800s. … a contribution to fruitful discussion between historians and philosophers of science. … For philosophers of science, such historical work is invaluable.” (Katherine Brading, Metascience, Vol. 19, March, 2010)Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: From Summetria to Symmetry: The Making of a Revolutionary Scientific Concept
Authors: Giora Hon, Bernard R. Goldstein
Series Title: Archimedes
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8448-5
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, History (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4020-8447-8Published: 15 July 2008
Softcover ISBN: 978-90-481-7884-1Published: 30 November 2010
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4020-8448-5Published: 09 July 2008
Series ISSN: 1385-0180
Series E-ISSN: 2215-0064
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVI, 336
Topics: History of Science, Philosophy of Science, History of Mathematical Sciences, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, Architectural History and Theory, Aesthetics