James W. McAllister's Books

Beauty and Revolution in Science

By: James W. McAllister

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Beauty and Revolution in Science

By: James W. McAllister

Explaining why he embraced the theory of relativity, the Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist P. A. M. Dirac stated, "It is the essential beauty of the theory which I feel is the real reason for believing in it." How reasonable and rational can science be when its practitioners speak of "revolutions" in their thinking and extol certain theories for their "beauty"? James W. McAllister addresses this question with the first systematic study of the aesthetic evaluations that scientists pass on their theories.Using a wealth of other examples, McAllister explains how scientists' aesthetic preferences are influenced by the empirical track record of theories, describes the origin and development of aesthetic styles of theorizing, and reconsiders whether simplicity is an empirical or an aesthetic virtue of theories. McAllister then advances an innovative model of scientific revolutions, in opposition to that of Thomas S. Kuhn.Three detailed studies demonstrate the interconnection of empirical performance, beauty, and revolution. One examines the impact of new construction materials on the history of architecture. Another reexamines the transition from the Ptolemaic system to Kepler's theory in planetary astronomy, and the third documents the rise of relativity and quantum theory in the twentieth century.

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Page Count

246

Publisher

Cornell University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1501728644

ISBN 13

9781501728648

Beauty and Revolution in Science

By: James W. McAllister

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Beauty and Revolution in Science

By: James W. McAllister

The first systematic study of the aesthetic evaluations that scientists pass on their theories.

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Page Count

252

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Cornell University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801486254

ISBN 13

9780801486258

Composing the World

Harmony in the Medieval Platonic Cosmos

By: Andrew James Hicks

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Composing the World

Harmony in the Medieval Platonic Cosmos

By: Andrew James Hicks

Taking in hand the current "discovery" that we can listen to the cosmos, Andrew Hicks argues that sound-and the harmonious coordination of sounds, sources, and listeners-has always been an integral part of the history of studying the cosmos. In Composing the World, Hicks presents a narrative tour through medieval Platonic cosmology with reflections on important philosophical movements along the way. The book will resonate with a variety of readers, and it encourages us to rethink the role of music and sound within our greater understanding of the universe.

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345

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190658207

ISBN 13

9780190658205

Cannabis Britannica

Empire, Trade, and Prohibition 1800-1928

By: James H. Mills

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Cannabis Britannica

Empire, Trade, and Prohibition 1800-1928

By: James H. Mills

Cannabis Britannica explores the historical origins of the UK's legislation and regulations on cannabis preparations before 1928. It draws on published and unpublished sources from the seventeenth century onwards, from archives in the UK and India, to show how the history of cannabis and the British before the twentieth century was bound up with imperialism. James Mills argues that until the 1900s, most of the information and experience gathered by British sources were drawn from colonial contexts as imperial administrators governed and observed populations where use of cannabis was extensive and established. This is most obvious in the 1890s when British anti-opium campaigners in the House of Commons seized on the issue of Government of India excise duties on the cannabis trade in Asia in order to open up another front in their attacks on imperial administration. The result was that cannabis preparations became a matter of concern in Parliament which accordingly established the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission. The story in the twentieth century is of the momentum behind moves to include cannabis substances in domestic law and in international treaties. The latter was a matter of the diplomatic politics of imperialism, as Britain sought to defend its cannabis revenues in India against American and Egyptian interests. The domestic story focuses on the coming together of the police, the media, and the pharmaceutical industry to form misunderstandings of cannabis that forced it onto the Poisons Schedule despite the misgivings of the Home Office and of key medical professionals. The book is the first full history of the origins of the moments when cannabis first became subjected to laws and regulations in Britain.

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Page Count

268

Publisher

OUP Oxford

Published Date

ISBN 10

0191554650

ISBN 13

9780191554650

Cannabis Nation

Control and Consumption in Britain, 1928-2008

By: James H. Mills

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Cannabis Nation

Control and Consumption in Britain, 1928-2008

By: James H. Mills

Based on extensive archival research and interviews with key figures, this text provides a comprehensive history of the consumption and control of cannabis in the UK.

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Page Count

305

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199283427

ISBN 13

9780199283422

Forty Years' Familiar Letters of James W. Alexander, D.D., Constituting, with Notes, a Memoir of His Life:

By: James W. Alexander,John Hall

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Forty Years' Familiar Letters of James W. Alexander, D.D., Constituting, with Notes, a Memoir of His Life:

By: James W. Alexander,John Hall

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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Page Count

430

Publisher

Palala Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1379274818

ISBN 13

9781379274810

Book's by James W. McAllister

Beauty and Revolution in Science

Beauty and Revolution in Science

Beauty and Revolution in Science

Beauty and Revolution in Science

Composing the World

Composing the World

Cannabis Britannica

Cannabis Britannica

Cannabis Nation

Cannabis Nation

Forty Years' Familiar Letters of James W. Alexander, D.D., Constituting, with Notes, a Memoir of His Life:

Forty Years' Familiar Letters of James W. Alexander, D.D., Constituting, with Notes, a Memoir of His Life:

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