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2How to conceive the atom: imagery vs. formalismKairos 13 213-236. 2015.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion.
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62Francesco Fontana (1580–1656) from practice to rules of calculation of lens systemsArchive for History of Exact Sciences 78 (2): 153-182. 2023.In 1646, Francesco Fontana (1580–1656) published his Novae Coelestium Terresriumque Rerum Observationes which includes discussions of optical properties of systems of lenses, e.g., telescope and microscope. Our study of the Novae Coelestium shows that the advance Fontana made in optics could not have been accomplished on the basis of the traditional spectacle optics which was the dominant practice at his time. Though spectacle and telescope making share the same optical elements, improving eyesi…Read more
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4Maxwell's role in turning the concept of model into the methodology of modelingStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 88 (C): 321-333. 2021.
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12This monograph examines James Clerk Maxwell's contributions to electromagnetism to gain insight into the practice of science by focusing on scientific methodology as applied by scientists. First and foremost, this study is concerned with practices that are reflected in scientific texts and the ways scientists frame their research. The book is therefore about means and not ends.
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9‘Natures’ and ‘Laws’: The making of the concept of law of nature – Robert Grosseteste (c. 1168–1253) and Roger BaconStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 61 21-31. 2017.
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47From proportion to balance: the background to symmetry in scienceStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 36 (1): 1-21. 2005.We call attention to the historical fact that the meaning of symmetry in antiquity—as it appears in Vitruvius’s De architectura—is entirely different from the modern concept. This leads us to the question, what is the evidence for the changes in the meaning of the term symmetry, and what were the different meanings attached to it? We show that the meaning of the term in an aesthetic sense gradually shifted in the context of architecture before the image of the balance was attached to the term in…Read more
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17Law and Order natural regularities before the scientific revolutionStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 81 1-5. 2020.
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41Observation, Experiment, and Hypothesis in Modern Physical Science. Peter Achinstein, Owen HannawayPhilosophy of Science 55 (3): 482-486. 1988.
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10How Einstein Made Asymmetry Disappear: Symmetry and Relativity in 1905Archive for History of Exact Sciences 59 (5): 437-544. 2005.
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11Legendre’s Revolution (1794): The Definition of Symmetry in Solid GeometryArchive for History of Exact Sciences 59 (2): 107-155. 2005.
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241Going WrongReview of Metaphysics 49 (1): 3-20. 1995.It is ironic that the prototype of the oscilloscope--for that is what Hertz's apparatus amounted to--should be instrumental in demonstrating that cathode rays have no closer relation to electricity than has light produced by an electric lamp. Indeed, Hertz argued that since "cathode rays are electrically indifferent,... the phenomenon most nearly allied to them is light."
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Conclusion: A ReassessmentIn Yaakov Zik, Giora Hon & Arianna Borrelli (eds.), The Optics of Giambattista Della Porta : A Reassessment, Springer Verlag. 2017.
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“Baseline” and “Snapshot”: Philosophical Reflections on an Approach to Historical Case StudiesIn Raphael Scholl & Tilman Sauer (eds.), The Philosophy of Historical Case Studies, Springer. 2016.
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29The Optics of Giambattista Della Porta : A Reassessment (edited book)Springer Verlag. 2017.This volume contains essays that examine the optical works of Giambattista Della Porta, an Italian natural philosopher during the Scientific Revolution. Coverage also explores the science and technology of early modern optics. Della Porta's groundbreaking book, Magia Naturalis, includes a prototype of the camera. Yet, because of his obsession with magic, Della Porta's scientific achievements are often forgotten. As the contributors argue, his work inspired such great minds as Johanes Kepler and …Read more
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310History of science and science combined: solving a historical problem in optics—the case of Galileo and his telescopeArchive for History of Exact Sciences 71 (4): 337-344. 2017.The claim that Galileo Galilei transformed the spyglass into an astronomical instrument has never been disputed and is considered a historical fact. However, the question what was the procedure which Galileo followed is moot, for he did not disclose his research method. On the traditional view, Galileo was guided by experience, more precisely, systematized experience, which was current among northern Italian artisans and men of science. In other words, it was a trial-and-error procedure—no theor…Read more
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15The Art of Conjecturing, Together with Letter to a Friend on Sets in Court Tennis - by Jacob BernoulliCentaurus 50 (4): 335-337. 2008.
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231In Pursuit of Conceptual Change: the Case of Legendre and SymmetryCentaurus 51 (4): 288-293. 2009.
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9Adding Velocities without Exceeding the Velocity of Light: Wilhelm Wien's Algorithm (1904) and Albert Einstein's Light PostulateCentaurus 48 (2): 89-113. 2006.
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708Kant vs. Legendre on Symmetry: Mirror Images in Philosophy and MathematicsCentaurus 47 (4): 283-297. 2005.
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6Putting Error to (Historical) Work: Error as a Tell-tale in the Studies of Kepler and GalileoCentaurus 46 (1): 58-81. 2004.
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14Milton’s Thomistic Distinction: On the Usefulness of the Distinction Between Mistake and Error in ‘Samson Agonistes’In Andreas Speer & Maxime Mauriège (eds.), Irrtum – Error – Erreur (Miscellanea Mediaevalia Band 40), De Gruyter. pp. 743-756. 2018.
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19In addition to his scientific achievements, James Clerk Maxwell was an innovator in methodologies in physics. In fact, in his hands methodology and theory mutually inform one another, an aspect of his work that has not been properly appreciated. We examine closely from a methodological perspective Maxwell’s contributions to electromagnetism and uncover a trajectory of great interest, which we call Maxwell’s methodological odyssey. There are four principal stations along the fifteen-year trajecto…Read more
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7Magnification: How to turn a spyglass into an astronomical telescopeArchive for History of Exact Sciences 66 (4). 2012.According to the received view, the first spyglass was assembled without any theory of how the instrument magnifies. Galileo, who was the first to use the device as a scientific instrument, improved the power of magnification up to 30 times. How did he accomplish this feat? Galileo does not tell us what he did. We hold that such improvement of magnification is too intricate a problem to be solved by trial and error, accidentally stumbling upon a complex procedure. We construct a plausibility arg…Read more
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2Generating Experimental Knowledge (edited book)Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. 2008.
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289The Why and How of Explanation: An Analytical ExpositionIn Giora Hon & Sam Rakover (eds.), Explanation: Theoretical Approaches and Application, Springer. pp. 1--39. 2001.
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Metaphysics |
Epistemological Theories |
Philosophical Methods |