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Rather than defining himself by an occupation, John Stachel follows the Emersonsonian tradition and defines himself as "a man doing political organizing, union organizing, theoretical physics, history of science, philosophy of science, and Einstein editing", to name some of the things he has done in the course of his life. Academically, his goal has been to take a problem that puzzles him and follow this problem wherever it leads him, regardless of disciplinary boundaries.
This two-volume collection of published and unpublished papers span an academic career of over forty years. An introductory essay explains his credo and in particular the unity behind the apparent diversity of his interests.
The first volume includes discussions of topics in: the methodology of science, such as the role of scientific practice, the nature of creativity, and scientific theories as historical artifacts, quantum mechanics, such as the significance of quantum logic and the role of Feynman's approach, Marxism, such as why Marxism is still relevant today, Marx's critical concept of science, and its relation to critical realism.
True to his credo, technical, historical and philosophical aspects of some problem are often treated in the same paper.
The second volume, The Practice of Relativity, will include many of his papers on the special and general theories of relativity. His papers on Einstein have already been published in "Einstein from 'B' to 'Z'".
Table des matières
Preface: My Berlin talk. Introductory Survey. Papers: Methodology: A Note on Scientific Practice; R.S. Cohen, et al., eds. The Manifold of Possibilities: Comments on Norton; J. Leplin, ed. Scientific Discoveries as Historical Artifacts; K. Gavroglu, et al, eds. Quantum Mechanics: Bohr and the Photon; Unpublished. The Logic of Quantum Logic; R.S. Cohen, et al. eds. Do Quanta Need a New Logic? R. Colodny, ed. Feynman Paths and Quantum Entanglement: Is there any More to the Mystery? R.S. Cohen, et al. eds. Marxism: Marx's Critical Concept of Science. Marx on Science and Capitalism; K. Gavroglu, et al. eds. Contradiction, Contrariety and Colletti; Unpublished. History of Science, factual and Counterfactual: The Optics and Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies;M. Janssen. If Maxwell had Worked between Ampère and Faraday; M. Jammer. Reviews: Marxist Critique? Review of H. Rose and S Rose, eds. Wolfgang Pauli: Scientific Correspondence with Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg; A. Herrmann, K. von Meyenn, V.F. Weisskopf; eds. Evidence of Intent. Review of R. Clark, The Greatest Power on Earth: The Story of Nuclear Fission. Author and Augur in Theoretical Physics. Review of K.von Meyenn, ed. Inside a Physicist. Review of M. Dresden; H.A. Kramers. One Man and His Lab. Review of J.L. Heilbron and R.W. Seidel.
