Unifying Scientific Theories: Physical Concepts and Mathematical Structures - Softcover

Morrison, Margaret

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521037603 ISBN 13: 9780521037600

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2007

Synopsis

This book is about the methods used for unifying different scientific theories under one all-embracing theory. The process has characterized much of the history of science and is prominent in contemporary physics; the search for a "theory of everything" involves the same attempt at unification. Margaret Morrison argues that, contrary to popular philosophical views, unification and explanation often have little to do with each other. The mechanisms that facilitate unification are not those that enable us to explain how or why phenomena behave as they do. The book emphasizes the importance of mathematical structures in unification, and claims that despite this common feature theory unification is a multi-faceted process for which no general account can be offered.

About this title

Review

"Unifying Scientific Theories offers an exemplar of the historical and philosophical breadth that are important and badly needed in philosophical attempts to understand the many faces of unity in science." Andrew Wayne, Canadian Journal of Philosophy

"I expect this book to have a truly significant impact on today's philosophy of science. My reasons are three: it is solidly grounded in the history of science, it addresses biology as well as the physical sciences, and it represents a tremendous challenge to much contemporary thinking about scientific explanation." Bas van Fraassen, author of The Scientific Image

"a sustained, informative, and thought-provoking"

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0521037603
• ISBN 13: 9780521037600
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 284