To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science
HOW SCIENCE LEARNED TO THINK
Written by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg, this ambitious survey traces humanity's long effort to understand the natural world, from the earliest Greek philosophers to the emergence of modern scientific thought.
Rather than presenting scientific progress as inevitable, Weinberg examines the false starts, misconceptions, and intellectual breakthroughs that gradually transformed natural philosophy into modern science.
Drawing on his unique perspective as one of the twentieth century's leading physicists, Weinberg evaluates the achievements and limitations of figures ranging from Aristotle and Ptolemy to Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and their successors. The result is both a history of ideas and a reflection on how scientific knowledge is created, tested, and refined.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Publisher's hardcover in original dust jacket. Octavo; approximately 9.25 inches tall. xvii, 412 pages with notes, bibliography, and index.
CONDITION: Fine hardcover in a Fine dust jacket. Appears unread. A New Giftable Book. First Edition, First Printing.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —
Steven Weinberg was awarded the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics for contributions to the unification of the weak and electromagnetic interactions between elementary particles. In this volume he turns from scientific discovery itself to the history of science, examining how modern methods of inquiry emerged from centuries of philosophical and observational traditions.
Unlike many popular histories, Weinberg evaluates historical thinkers from the perspective of a practicing scientist, asking not only what they believed but whether their methods contributed to the development of reliable scientific knowledge. The book stands as one of the final major works of a scientist widely regarded as one of the most influential physicists of the modern era.
CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS
+++ Written by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg.
+++ Surveys scientific thought from ancient Greece to modern science.
+++ Examines Aristotle, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and others.
+++ Explains how modern scientific methodology emerged.
+++ Balances intellectual history with scientific analysis.
+++ Accessible to general readers while grounded in scholarship.
SUBJECTS: History of Science, Scientific Revolution, Steven Weinberg, Ancient Greek Science, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Aristotle, Copernicus, Natural Philosophy, Scientific Method, Physics, Intellectual History, History of Science; Intellectual History; Philosophy of Science; Scientific Biography.
Item #22075
ISBN: 9780062346650
Price: $34.00
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