1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910780079603321

Titolo

Prematurity in scientific discovery [[electronic resource] ] : on resistance and neglect / / edited by Ernest B. Hook

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, c2002

ISBN

0-520-92773-7

9786612356728

1-282-35672-0

1-59734-830-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (399 p.)

Classificazione

TB 4000

Altri autori (Persone)

HookErnest B. <1936->

Disciplina

509

Soggetti

Discoveries in science

Science - Philosophy

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Figures and Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Contributors -- 1. A Background to Prematurity and Resistance to "Discovery" -- 2. Prematurity in Scientific Discovery -- 3. Prematurity, Nuclear Fission, and the Transuranium Actinide Elements -- 4. Resistance to Change and New Ideas in Physics: A Personal Perspective -- 5. The Timeliness of the Discoveries of the Three Modes of Gene Transfer in Bacteria -- 6. Scotoma: Forgetting and Neglect in Science -- 7. Prematurity and Delay in the Prevention of Scurvy -- 8. A Triptych to Serendip: Prematurity and Resistance to Discovery in the Earth Sciences -- 9. Theories of an Expanding Universe: Implications of Their Reception for the Concept of Scientific Prematurity -- 10. Interdisciplinary Dissonance and Prematurity: Ida Noddack's Suggestion of Nuclear Fission -- 11. Michael Polanyi's Theory of Surface Adsorption: How Premature? -- 12. Prematurity and the Dynamics of Scientific Change -- 13. Barbara McClintock's Controlling Elements: Premature Discovery or Stillborn Theory? -- 14. The Work of Joseph Adams and Archibald Garrod: Possible Examples of Prematurity in Human Genetics -- 15. The Prematurity of Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection -- 16. Prematurity, Evolutionary Biology,



and the Historical Sciences -- 17. The Prematurity of "Prematurity" in Political Science -- 18. The Impact and Fate of Gunther Stent's Prematurity Thesis -- 19. Premature Discovery Is Failure of Intersection among Social Worlds -- 20. Fleck, Kuhn, and Stent: Loose Reflections on the Notion of Prematurity -- 21. The Concept of Prematurity and the Philosophy of Science -- 22. Prematurity and Promise: Why Was Stent's Notion of Prematurity Itself So Premature? -- 23. Reflections on Hull's Remarks -- 24. Comments -- 25. Extensions and Complexities: In Defense of Prematurity in Scientific Discovery

Sommario/riassunto

For centuries, observers have noted the many obstacles to intellectual change in science. In a much-discussed paper published in Scientific American in 1972, molecular biologist Gunther Stent proposed an explicit criterion for one kind of obstacle to scientific discovery. He denoted a claim or hypothesis as "premature" if its implications cannot be connected to canonical knowledge by a simple series of logical steps. Further, Stent suggested that it was appropriate for the scientific community to ignore such hypotheses so that it would not be overwhelmed by vast numbers of false leads. In this volume, eminent scientists, physicians, historians, social scientists, and philosophers respond to Stent's thesis.