Einstein, History, and Other Passions

by Gerald James Holton

Overview

Gerald Holton uses the life and work of our century’s greatest scientist to warn against today’s gathering Romantic rebellion, one in which science is blamed for all our social ills, and in which reason is being replaced by New Age ”ways of knowing.” Through his rich exploration of Einstein’s thought, the author shows how the best science depends on great intuitive leaps of imagination, and how science is indeed the creatice expression of the traditions of Western civilization. Wide-ranging and forecful, this book is must reading for anyone interested in the place of science in our world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781563963339
Publisher:	American Institute of Physics
Publication date:	04/01/1995
Series:	AIP Masters of Modern Physics Series , #16
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.58(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.95(d)

Editorial Reviews

Physicist, historian, and cultural critic Holton (physics and history of science, Harvard U.) begins with an exploration of Albert Einstein's life and work, including his contributions to fields besides science and his romantic but ultimately tragic relationship with Mileva Maric; moves into how scientific knowledge is created, the public's expectations of science, and the development of standards against which to judge scientific results; and ends with his own insights into teaching, and profiles of notable physicists and their roles in history. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

This latest in a recent spate of books about society's rejection of the authority of science tries to put the rise of the new Luddites into the larger context of the history of ideas.

In common with many distinguished older scientists, Holton (Physics and History of Science/Harvard) is disquieted by the turn away from science. However, he takes a larger view than most of his colleagues, seeing it not just as a loss of government funding and academic prestige, but as a wider cultural reevaluation of the rightful place of science in our culture. A century ago the Columbian Exposition celebrated the promise of electricity; today, the Smithsonian presents an exhibit concentrating on such "failures of science" as Three Mile Island. The historical reasons for this rejection of science include the increasingly esoteric ideas with which science works (quantum theory, genetic engineering, hyperspace), as well as an element of Romantic ideology that rejects rationality and objectivity in favor of broader spiritual values. Thus we have the perception of the scientist as cold and anti-humanistic—a stereotype Holton goes to some lengths to counter in his examination of the way in which great scientists, particularly Einstein, have been guided by passion and intuition in creating mental images of the world they study. The second half of the book focuses on Einstein's life and characteristic ways of thinking, drawing on Holton's own experience as one of the editors of the physicist's collected papers. Of particular interest is his evaluation, and refutation, of the contention that Einstein's first wife, Mileva, was an unacknowledged collaborator in his creation of relativity theory. Holton's arguments presuppose some understanding of Einstein's work, which may limit their impact on those who disparage science.

Much food for thought, and few easy answers—but Holton effectively outlines the terms of a debate that will determine much of our short-range future.

Kirkus Reviews