Is Water H2O?: Evidence, Realism and Pluralism (Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, 293) - Hardcover

Chang, Hasok

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9400739311 ISBN 13: 9789400739314

Publisher: Springer, 2012

Synopsis

This book exhibits deep philosophical quandaries and intricacies of the historical development of science lying behind a simple and fundamental item of common sense in modern science, namely the composition of water as H2O. Three main phases of development are critically re-examined, covering the historical period from the 1760s to the 1860s: the Chemical Revolution (through which water first became recognized as a compound, not an element), early electrochemistry (by which water’s compound nature was confirmed), and early atomic chemistry (in which water started out as HO and became H2O). In each case, the author concludes that the empirical evidence available at the time was not decisive in settling the central debates and therefore the consensus that was reached was unjustified or at least premature. This leads to a significant re-examination of the realism question in the philosophy of science and a unique new advocacy for pluralism in science. Each chapter contains three layers, allowing readers to follow various parts of the book at their chosen level of depth and detail. The second major study in "complementary science", this book offers a rare combination of philosophy, history and science in a bid to improve scientific knowledge through history and philosophy of science.

About this title

About the Author

Gun-Sik Park received the B.S. degree in physics education from Seoul National University in Korea and the Ph.D degree in physics from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, in 1978 and 1989, respectively. During 1987-1995 , he worked at Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC through mega-P, Inc. In 1995, he joined Seoul National University and currently is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and also jointly with the Department of Electrical Engineering at Seoul National University. He leads the Center for THz-Bio Application Systems(2009-2018) at Seoul National University supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Korea as a Director. His service to journal editor includes Journal of Korean Physical Society (JKPS), Journal of New Physics, and electronic journal of THz Science and Technology. He serves as a topical editor for IEEE Trans. on THz Science and Technology. He serves as a technical committee member of IEEE Electron Devices Society in Vacuum Electronics since 1999. He was a conference chair for 4th IEEE International Vacuum Electronics Conference in 2003 held in Korea and is a co-chair for 34th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves in 2009 held in Korea. He is the author of over 100 journal publications in the areas of high power microwaves to terahertz waves. Dr. Park is a member of the IEEE.

Review

From the reviews:

“The present book is Hasok Chang’s second book in History and Philosophy of Science. ... he takes the example of the discovery of the formula H2O for water. ... The jury were very impressed by the overall quality of the book. Excellent scholarly research underpins the historical part of the book, and Hasok Chang develops his philosophical theses with clear and rigorous argumentation. ... book will be much discussed in the coming years, and become a central text in the history and philosophy of science.” (Fernando Gil International Prize, fernando-gil.org.pt, February, 2014)

“This book is an exemplary instance of a welcome contemporary trend to produce work that self-consciously attempts to integrate history and philosophy of science. ... The history is detailed, acute and informative and the philosophical views defended are challenging. The book is valuable and well worth reading both by those professionally involved in history and philosophy of science and more widely.” (Alan Chalmers, Science & Education, October, 2012)

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 9400739311
• ISBN 13: 9789400739314
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 337