Birth of Physics

The Birth of Physics represents a foundational work in the development of chaos theory from one of the world's most influential living theorists, Michel Serres. Focussing on the largest text still intact to reach us from the Ancient Greek Atomists - Lucretius' De Rerum Natura - Serres mobilises everything we know about the related scientific work of the time (Archemides, Epicurus et al) in order to demand a complete reappraisal of the legacy. Crucial to his reconception of the Atomists' thought is a recognition that their model of atomic matter is essentially a fluid one - they are describing the actions of turbulence, which impacts our understanding of the recent disciplines of chaos and complexity. It explains the continuing presence of Lucretius in the work of such scientific giants as Nobel Laureates Schroedinger and Prigogine. This book is truly a landmark in the study of ancient physics and has been enormously influential on work in the area, amongst other things stimulating a more general rebirth of philosophical interest in the ancients.

List of contents

Introduction / Editions of Lucretius / Translator's note / 1. Protocol / 2. Mathematics / 3. Return to the Model / 4. Experiences / 5. Conditions / 6. Application: Genesis of the Text / 7. History / 8. Morality / Index

About the author

Michel Serres is a Professor in the History of Science at Stanford University and a member of the Academie Francaise.

Summary

Michel Serres is one of the most influential living theorists in European philosophy. This volume makes available a work which has a foundational place in the development of chaos theory, representing a tour de force application of the principles underlying Serres' distinctive philosophy of science.

Product details

• Authors: William James Ross, Michel Serres, Serres Michel, David Webb
• Assisted by: William Ross (Translation), William James Ross (Translation), David Webb (Translation)
• Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.01.2018
• EAN: 9781786606259
• ISBN: 978-1-78660-625-9
• No. of pages: 242
• Series: Groundworks; Groundworks
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; Physik, Philosophie, Wissenschaftsphilosophie, Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Wissenschaftsphilosophie und -theorie, Wissenschaftsgeschichte (Sozial- und Geisteswissenschaften), Wissenschaftsgeschichte (Naturwissenschaften), SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects, PHILOSOPHY / Movements / Critical Theory, Philosophy of Science, History of Science, Physics, Western philosophy from c 1800, Impact of science and technology on society