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One of the great mysteries of the human
mind is its power to create new forms of knowledge. Arthur
I. Miller offers a fresh, unique approach to this subject.
First, the relation between creative scientific
thinking and the construction of scientific concepts from
prescientific knowledge is explored through historical case
studies. Miller focuses on Niels Bohr, Ludwig Boltzmanm,
Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and Henri Poincare because
the depth of their research led them to consider the problem
of thinking itself. To a large degree these philosopher-scientists
set the intellectual milieu of the 20th century. The historical
case studies reveal that fundamental advances in science
are closely coupled to, and affected by, changing notions
of mental imagery.
These results are then used as data for
contemporary theories of cognitive psychology in order to
investigate the dynamics of creative scientific thinking.
This method of investigation permits further assessment
of the cognitive theories themselves.
For the first time, the history of science
is used as a laboratory for cognitive psychology.
The history, philosophy, psychology, and
science in this book have been developed with the goal of
reaching the widest possible audience.
The methods of psychological analysis
make the book especially appropriate for courses in cognitive
psychology which discuss creative thinking. Aside from offering
valuable and fascinating insights in general, Professor
Miller's book is particularly suitable for use in science,
history, and philosophy of science courses: it offers a
means to teach basic concepts in these disciplines through
self-contained case studies of actual scientific research.
Unique methods of identifying, relating,
and analyzing thought processes which culminate in the remarkable
creations of 20th-century science lead to reassessments
of a fascinating problem in the history of ideas: the process
of creative thinking.
Arthur I. Miller is University Professor
of Philosophy and History, University of Lowell, and an
Associate of the Physics Department, Harvard University.
He has written and lectured extensively on the history of
19th- and 20th-century science and technology.
Professor Miller is an Associate Editor
of the American Journal of Physics
and has been the recipient of fellowships and grants from
the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, American
Philosophical Society, American Council of Learned Societies,
National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science
Foundation, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique,
and the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung. He is the science presenter
on WGBH's NOVA production "Einstein," and, in
the fall term of 1977, was visiting professor at l'Ecole
Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris.
Professor Miller was elected Vice-Chairman,
Division of History of Physics, American Physical Society
for 1983-1984, and Chairman for 1984-1985.
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