Pavlov's Dogs and Schrödinger's Cat: Scenes from the living laboratory - Hardcover

Harré, Rom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199238561 ISBN 13: 9780199238569

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2009

Synopsis

From the sheep, dog, and cockerel that were sent aloft in Montgolfier's balloon to test the air over Paris, to the famous clone Dolly the Sheep and the Darwinian finches of the Galapagos, Pavlov's Dogs and Schrödinger's Cat offers a fascinating and enlightening look at the use of plants and animals--including humans--in scientific experiments. Rom Harré provides a fresh and fascinating perspective on research, setting aside moral reflection to simply examine the history of how and why living creatures have been used for the purposes of discovery. Ranging over five centuries, the book uncovers many extraordinary stories, including tales of the people involved, to many curious incidents and episodes, and the occasional scientific fraud. From Gregor Mendel's use of pea plants to explore heredity, to Barry Marshall's used of himself as the experimental animal in his helicobacter experiments (he survived) and even the use of an imaginary cat in Schrödinger's famous thought experiment, the reader discovers a perspective on scientific work he or she has never encountered before.

About this title

About the Author:

Rom Harré is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Linacre College, Oxford, and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He is past president of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science.

Review:

"This charming book is entertaining, thought provoking and frustrating. It is worth reading for all three of those reactions."--Nature

Listed in Science Book News

"Rom Harre carefully examines the role of living things in science by way of some famouse episodes."--New Scientist

"Recommended: Harre provides a concise (barely 300 pages), easily readable, selective historical narrative about scientific experiments involving plants and animals (including humans) in biological, behavioral, and physical sciences, and in medical settings."--CHOICE

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0199238561
• ISBN 13: 9780199238569
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 322