Abstract
Our historical analysis shows that the construction of the present concept of electromagnetic field took place in three periods, or phases, which I will call: (1) ‘heuristic guide’, (2) ‘elaborational’, and (3) ‘philosophical’. The contributions of Faraday and of Maxwell, until his third paper, come under phase (1); those of Maxwell, beginning with the third paper, and of Lorentz, under phase (2); and those of Einstein fall under phase (3). The reasons for these groupings and for the choice of name for each phase will become apparent as we discuss the relevant details that have emerged from the historical analysis.
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Notes
See Gooding (1980a).
See note 21 of Part II.
There is an extensive philosophical literature on analogies in science. The most useful are Harré (1970), Hesse (1963), and North (1980). Only North addresses the role of analogies as “instruments of cognitive meaning” (his expression).
See, e.g., Osherson and Smith (1981), Rosch (1975), Rosch and Mervis (1975), and Smith and Median (1981).
For an interesting analysis of the problem of defining concepts, see Fodor et al. (1980). However, I disagree with Fodor’s own conclusion (Fodor, 1981) that, since we cannot ‘define’ concepts, all lexical concepts are unstructured and innate. See also, Smith and Median (1981).
Marovcsik (1981) has made a similar suggestion for concepts in general. Although I reject the essentialism of his view, his notion of an ‘Aitiational frame’ has influenced my notion of a ‘meaning schema’.
Shapere (1966) and (1982a).
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© 1984 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht
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Nersessian, N.J. (1984). Erratum to: Meaning in scientific practice. In: Faraday to Einstein: Constructing Meaning in Scientific Theories. Science and Philosophy, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6187-6_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6187-6_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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