Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought

Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein is a collection of essays on themes in the history of physics by Gerald Holton. It was originally published in 1973 by Harvard University Press, who issued multiple reprints of the book leading up to the publication of a revised edition in 1988. The book has been translated into several languages and has received many reviews.

Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein

Cover of the revised edition, published in 1988
Author	Gerald James Holton
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	History of science History of physics
Publisher	Harvard University Press
Publication date	1973 (original ed.) 1988 (revised ed.)
Pages	495 (original ed.) 500 (revised ed.)
ISBN	978-0-674-87747-4
OCLC	17299125
Dewey Decimal	509
LC Class	Q125
Identifiers refer to the 1988 revised hardcover edition version unless otherwise noted

Background

Holton was a well-known professor of physics at Harvard and a historian of science.[1] In the book, Holton draws on "themata" that tie breakthroughs together in the history of physics; one reviewer noted that he may be the first person to draw a clear line between the philosophy book Either/Or and the complementarity principle of quantum mechanics that was formulated by Niels Bohr in the early twentieth century.[1] After the release of the first edition, Holton released two sequels to the work, The Scientific Imagination and The Advancement of Science and its Burdens in 1978 and 1986, respectively.[2]

Content

The original book, published in 1973 by Harvard University Press, was a collection of fifteen of Holton's essays that were published between 1953 and 1971.[3] The University Press released a revised edition of the book in 1988 in which Holton removed some essays and added new ones in their place.[2] The revised edition and added new papers published as late as 1986.[4]

Table of contents
Section	First ed.	Revised ed.	Chapter
I. On the Thematic Analysis of Science	1	1	The Thematic Imagination in Science
	2	2	Johannes Kepler's Universe: Its Physics and Metaphysics
	3	3	Thematic and Stylistic Interdependence
	4	4	The Roots of Complementarity
	N/A	5	On the Hesitant Rise of Quantum Physics Research in the United States
II. On Relativity Theory	5	6	On the Origins of the Special Theory of Relativity
	6	7	Poincare and Relativity
	7	8	Influences on Einstein's Early Work
	8	9	Mach, Einstein, and the Search for Reality
	9	10	Einstein, Michelson, and the "Crucial" Experiment
	10	11	On Trying to Understand Scientific Genius
III. On the Growth of Physical Science	11	12	The Duality and Growth of Physical Science
	12	13	Models for Understanding the Growth of Research
	13	N/A	The Changing Allegory of Motion
	N/A	14	Niels Bohr and the Integrity of Science
IV. On Education	14	N/A	Modern Science and the Intellectual Tradition
	15	N/A	Physics and Culture: Criteria for Curriculum Design

Reception

The original version of the book, published in 1973 with several reprints thereafter, was reviewed by Stephen Toulmin,[1][5] Gary Gutting,[6] and James L. Park[3] in 1974, Thomas F. Gieryn in 1976,[7][8] and several others.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] In his review of the book, Gutting wrote that the "essays are of high quality" before analyzing the contents and going on to state: "To my mind, the one major defect of this fine book is Holton's failure to come to grips with the central problem of the rationality of science."[6] In his reviews of the book, which was published twice in two different months, Gieryn wrote that the book is "outstanding" and serves as a "Wegweiser" [trail sign] by "pointing out new areas of fruitful ignorance to scholars in many disciplines".[8] In his 1974 review, Park wrote: "The entire book is written with great eloquence and style; and its scholarly content is substantial, cogent, and provocative."[3] Park singled out the series of six lectures in part two on the history of relativity as "singularly outstanding".[3] Toulmin closed his review of the book in Physics World by writing: "His book deserves to have a permanent influence on the work of historians, philosophers and sociologists of science, as well as on educationists and intellectual historians, but it can also be most strongly recommended to the general reader."[1]

The 1988 revised edition also received several reviews.[2][16][4] One of the reviews for the 1988 revised edition of the book noted that the book had been used as "a source of insight to many students of science history" since its publication and that the new essay on Niels Bohr "should be required reading for science students in graduate school".[2] Another review of the revised edition stated that the "book is highly recommended" due to its discussions of the themes and philosophies that make scientific breakthroughs possible.[4] A third, critical, review of the revised edition noted the original was a "landmark study" but said the update "sheds little light" because the book "sticks so strictly to the concrete realities of physics"[16] and goes on to state: "Although links between these histories and the larger implications for organized science are promised, they are not delivered."[16]

Publication history

Original editions

• Holton, Gerald (1973). Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein (1st ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-87745-0. OCLC 702850. (hardcover)
• Holton, Gerald (1973). Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein (1st ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-87746-7. OCLC 702850. (paperback)
• Holton, Gerald (1988). Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein (revised ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-87747-4. OCLC 17299125. (hardcover)
• Holton, Gerald (1988). Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein (revised ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-87748-1. OCLC 17299125. (paperback)

Reprints

• Holton, Gerald (1974) [1973]. Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein (1st ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-87745-0. OCLC 974144989. (2nd printing)
• Holton, Gerald (1975) [1973]. Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein (1st ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-87746-2. OCLC 702850. (3rd printing)

Translations

• Holton, Gerald James (1981). Thematische Analyse der Wissenschaft: die Physik Einsteins und seiner Zeit (in German) (1. Aufl ed.). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-07893-8. OCLC 7711225.
• Holton, Gerald James (1982). L'invention scientifique: thémata et interprétation (in French). Paris: Puf. ISBN 978-2-13-037181-6. OCLC 702590361.
• Holton, Gerald James; Holton, Gerald James (1982). Ensayos sobre el pensamiento científico en la época de Einstein (in Spanish). Madrid: Alianza. ISBN 978-84-206-2315-3. OCLC 29768575.

See also

• A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity
• The End of the Certain World
• Subtle is the Lord

References

1. Toulmin, Stephen (February 1974). "Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought, Kepler to Einstein". Physics Today. 27 (2): 47–48. Bibcode:1974PhT....27b..47H. doi:10.1063/1.3128445. ISSN 0031-9228.
2. Topper, David (1989). "Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein". Leonardo. 22 (2): 267. doi:10.2307/1575244. JSTOR 1575244. S2CID 124151494.
3. Park, James L. (April 1974). "Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein". American Journal of Physics. 42 (4): 346–347. Bibcode:1974AmJPh..42..346H. doi:10.1119/1.1987695. ISSN 0002-9505.
4. Faucher, Guy (May 1990). "Thematic origins of scientific thought: Kepler to Einstein". The Physics Teacher. 28 (5): 345. doi:10.1119/1.2343059. ISSN 0031-921X.
5. Toulmin, Stephen (October 1974). Holton, Gerald (ed.). "Science and Scientists: The Problem of Objectivity". Minerva. 12 (4): 522–529. doi:10.1007/BF01557644. ISSN 0026-4695. JSTOR 41806228. S2CID 189793219.
6. Gutting, Gary (October 1974). "Review of Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought". Technology and Culture. 15 (4): 657–659. doi:10.2307/3102263. ISSN 0040-165X. JSTOR 3102263.
7. Gieryn, Thomas F. (May 1976). "Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein". Contemporary Sociology. 5 (3): 368. doi:10.2307/2064149. JSTOR 2064149.
8. Gieryn, Thomas F. (July 1976). "Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein". Contemporary Sociology. 5 (4): 513. doi:10.2307/2063863. JSTOR 2063863.
9. De Benedetti, Sergio (1979). "Gerald Holton, Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought. Kepler to Einstein, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1973, in-8, pp. 495". Annali dell'Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze. 4 (2): 91–92. doi:10.1163/221058779X00126. ISSN 0391-3341.
10. Trenn, Thaddeus J. (December 1974). "Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein . Gerald Holton". Philosophy of Science. 41 (4): 415–418. doi:10.1086/288604. ISSN 0031-8248. JSTOR 187010.
11. Wall, Charles A. (April 1974). "Review of Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought". The Science Teacher. 41 (4): 55. ISSN 0036-8555. JSTOR 24123526.
12. de Buzon, Catherine (1977). "Review of Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought. Kepler to Einstein". Revue d'histoire des sciences. 30 (3): 275–276. ISSN 0151-4105. JSTOR 23631874.
13. Schubert, Leo (May 1974). "Review of Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein. First Edition". Journal of College Science Teaching. 3 (5): 362. ISSN 0047-231X. JSTOR 42965382.
14. Goldman, James A. (1976). "Scientific Themata". Journal of College Science Teaching. 5 (4): 265. ISSN 0047-231X. JSTOR 42984363.
15. Tilling, Laura (1 February 1974). "Intuitive cience". Nature. 247 (5439): 317. Bibcode:1974Natur.247..317T. doi:10.1038/247317a0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 4217212.
16. Shubin, Daryl E.; Davies, Richard; Heinz, LISA C. (Winter 1988). "Review of Farewell to Reason, ; Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein, ; Science, Philosophy, and Human Behavior in the Soviet Union, ; The Ends of Science: An Essay in Scientific Authority, ; Science Under Siege: The Myth of Objectivity in Scientific Research". Issues in Science and Technology. 5 (2): 110–112. ISSN 0748-5492. JSTOR 43309365.

External links

• "Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought — Gerald Holton | Harvard University Press". www.hup.harvard.edu. Retrieved 8 November 2020.