The Truth of Science Paperback – 1 January 2010

A distinguished physicist with a rare gift for making the most complicated scientific ideas comprehensible, Roger Newton gives us a guided tour of the intellectual structure of physical science. From there he conducts us through the understanding of reality engendered by modern physics, the most theoretically advanced of the sciences. With its firsthand look at models, facts, and theories, intuition and imagination, the use of analogies and metaphors, the importance of mathematics (and now, computers), and the "virtual" reality of the physics of micro-particles, The Truth of Science truly is a practicing scientist"s account of the foundations, processes, and value of science. Contents: Introduction ??? Conventions ??? Science as a Social Construct? ??? The Aim of Science Is Understanding ??? Explanatory Devices ??? The Role of Facts ??? The Birth and Death of Theories ??? The Power of Mathematics ??? Causality, Determinism, and Probability ??? Reality on Two Scales ??? Reality at the Submicroscopic Level ??? Truth and Objectivity ??? Notes ??? Further Reading ??? Bibliography ??? Index About the Author: Roger G. Newton is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics at Indiana University, and author of What Makes Nature Tick? Target Audience: Students & science, sociologists (critics of science), general public.

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