Wondrous Truths: The Improbable Triumph of Modern Science by J.D. Trout (English

Description: Wondrous Truths by J.D. Trout Wondrous Truths answers two questions about the steep rise of theoretical discoveries around 1600: Why in the European West? And why so quickly? The history of sciences awkward assortment of accident and luck, geography and personal idiosyncrasy, explains scientific progress alongside experimental method. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description A fresh, daring, and genuine alternative to the traditional story of scientific progress Explaining the world around us, and the life within it, is one of the most uniquely human drives, and the most celebrated activity of science. Good explanations are what provide accurate causal accounts of the things we wonder at, but explanations earthly origins havent grounded it: we have used it to account for the grandest and most wondrous mysteriesin the natural world. Explanations give us a sense of understanding, but an explanation that feels right doesnt mean it is true. For every true explanation, there is a false one that feels just asgood. A good theorys explanations, though, have a much easier path to truth. This push for good explanations elevated science from medieval alchemy to electro-chemistry, or a pre-inertial physics to the forces underlying nanoparticles. And though the attempt to explain has existed as long as we have been able to wonder, a science timeline from pre-history to the present will reveal a steep curve of theoretical discovery that explodes around 1600, primarily in the West.Ranging over neuroscience, psychology, history, and policy, Wondrous Truths answers two fundamental questions-Why did science progress in the West? And why so quickly? J.D. Trouts answers aresurprising. His central idea is that Western science rose above all others because it hit upon successive theories that were approximately true through an awkward assortment of accident and luck, geography and personal idiosyncrasy. Of course, intellectual ingenuity partially accounts for this persistent drive forward. But so too does the persistence of the objects of wonder. Wondrous Truths recovers the majesty of science, and provides a startling new look at the grand sweep of itsbiggest ideas. Author Biography J.D. Trout is Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at Loyola University in Chicago. His previous books include Measuring the Intentional World, Epistemology and the Psychology of Human Judgment (with Michael A Bishop), and The Empathy Gap. He has been interviewed in The New York Times, on Latino USA, and Martha Stewart Radio, and has written for the Chicago Tribune and Psychology Today. Table of Contents Ch 1 Wonder and the Feeling of UnderstandingCh 2 Explanatory Fluency and the False ClimbCh 3 The Biology Behind the FeelingCh 4 Believing the Best ExplanationCh 5 Good Theories, Lucky HunchesCh 6 Newtons HunchCh 7 ConclusionReferencesEndnotes Review "J.D. Trout proposes a fascinating, controversial, brilliant explanation for why modern science took off in the seventeenth century and never looked back. The Scientific Revolution was due, in his telling, not to the discovery of an amazing new methodological rule or form of social organization but rather to simple good luck: it was a matter of the right people probing the right ideas in the right way. Essential reading for historians and philosophers ofscience and highly recommended to anyone interested in the rise of modern science." -- Michael Strevens, New York University"The principal idea of this short but entertaining popular book is that the standard narrative about how science arose across Europe, the one that tells us progress in scientific discovery during the seventeenth century was the result of the inevitable march of scientific method, is incorrect. Rather than being the result of sustained and diligent application of method, successful science is a consequence of hitting upon correct theories through a mixture ofaccident, luck, geography, and personal idiosyncrasy.... this is a very nice book advocating an original approach to how science got from there to here. I strongly recommend it to anyone even remotelyinterested in history and/or philosophy of science." -- Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"[I]n in the general motivation and aim of this book, I think Trout gets it entirely correct. Trout is at pains to articulate how precarious our epistemic position really is. By emphasizing the contingency of scientific theorizing, Trout points out how hard-won our theoretical knowledge is and consequently how precious it is. The epistemic location in which we now find ourselves was not inevitable, and we should take seriously the luck and serendipity thatdelivered us here. Understood this way, and understood as directed at those not already familiar with the idea that science is as much a product of contingency as of insight, the book offers an importantand helpful viewpoint." -- Metascience Long Description A fresh, daring, and genuine alternative to the traditional story of scientific progress Explaining the world around us, and the life within it, is one of the most uniquely human drives, and the most celebrated activity of science. Good explanations are what provide accurate causal accounts of the things we wonder at, but explanations earthly origins havent grounded it: we have used it to account for the grandest and most wondrous mysteriesin the natural world. Explanations give us a sense of understanding, but an explanation that feels right doesnt mean it is true. For every true explanation, there is a false one that feels just asgood. A good theorys explanations, though, have a much easier path to truth. This push for good explanations elevated science from medieval alchemy to electro-chemistry, or a pre-inertial physics to the forces underlying nanoparticles. And though the attempt to explain has existed as long as we have been able to wonder, a science timeline from pre-history to the present will reveal a steep curve of theoretical discovery that explodes around 1600, primarily in the West.Ranging over neuroscience, psychology, history, and policy, Wondrous Truths answers two fundamental questions-Why did science progress in the West? And why so quickly? J.D. Trouts answers aresurprising. His central idea is that Western science rose above all others because it hit upon successive theories that were approximately true through an awkward assortment of accident and luck, geography and personal idiosyncrasy. Of course, intellectual ingenuity partially accounts for this persistent drive forward. But so too does the persistence of the objects of wonder. Wondrous Truths recovers the majesty of science, and provides a startling new look at the grand sweep of itsbiggest ideas. Review Text "J.D. Trout proposes a fascinating, controversial, brilliant explanation for why modern science took off in the seventeenth century and never looked back. The Scientific Revolution was due, in his telling, not to the discovery of an amazing new methodological rule or form of social organization but rather to simple good luck: it was a matter of the right people probing the right ideas in the right way. Essential reading for historians and philosophers ofscience and highly recommended to anyone interested in the rise of modern science." -- Michael Strevens, New York University Review Quote "J.D. Trout proposes a fascinating, controversial, brilliant explanation for why modern science took off in the seventeenth century and never looked back. The Scientific Revolution was due, in his telling, not to the discovery of an amazing new methodological rule or form of social organization but rather to simple good luck: it was a matter of the right people probing the right ideas in the right way. Essential reading for historians and philosophers of science and highly recommended to anyone interested in the rise of modern science." -- Michael Strevens, New York University "The principal idea of this short but entertaining popular book is that the standard narrative about how science arose across Europe, the one that tells us progress in scientific discovery during the seventeenth century was the result of the inevitable march of scientific method, is incorrect. Rather than being the result of sustained and diligent application of method, successful science is a consequence of hitting upon correct theories through a mixture of accident, luck, geography, and personal idiosyncrasy.... this is a very nice book advocating an original approach to how science got from there to here. I strongly recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in history and/or philosophy of science." -- Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "[I]n in the general motivation and aim of this book, I think Trout gets it entirely correct. Trout is at pains to articulate how precarious our epistemic position really is. By emphasizing the contingency of scientific theorizing, Trout points out how hard-won our theoretical knowledge is and consequently how precious it is. The epistemic location in which we now find ourselves was not inevitable, and we should take seriously the luck and serendipity that delivered us here. Understood this way, and understood as directed at those not already familiar with the idea that science is as much a product of contingency as of insight, the book offers an important and helpful viewpoint." -- Metascience Feature Selling point: Answers the question of what led to the steep rise of theoretical discoveries around 1600 in the European WestSelling point: Argues that the history of sciences awkward assortment of accident and luck, geography and personal idiosyncrasy, explains scientific progress alongside experimental method.Selling point: Brings to bear neuroscience, psychology, history, and policySelling point: Blends psychological fluency, historical contingency, and theoretical accuracy Details ISBN0199385076 Year 2016 ISBN-10 0199385076 ISBN-13 9780199385072 Format Hardcover Author J.D. Trout Short Title WONDROUS TRUTHS Language English Media Book Subtitle The Improbable Triumph of Modern Science DEWEY 500 Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States Publisher Oxford University Press Inc Publication Date 2016-06-30 UK Release Date 2016-06-30 AU Release Date 2016-06-30 NZ Release Date 2016-06-30 US Release Date 2016-06-30 Illustrations 3 Edited by Alwyn Moerdyke Birth 1947 Affiliation Senior Manager, Microsoft Position Food Historian Qualifications PhD, RN, FAAN Imprint Oxford University Press Inc Alternative 9780190878658 Audience General Pages 258 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:131391902;

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