Search

Science and Hypothesis is a classic text in history and philosophy of science. Widely popular since its original publication in 1902, this first new translation of the work in over a century features unpublished material missing from earlier editions. Addressing errors introduced by Greenstreet and Halsted in their early 20th-century translations, it incorporates all the changes, corrections and additions Poincaré made over the years. Taking care to update the writing for a modern audience, Poincaré's ideas and arguments on the role of hypotheses in mathematics and in science become clearer and closer to his original meaning, while David J. Stump's introduction gives fresh insights into Poincaré's philosophy of science. By approaching Science and Hypothesis from a contemporary perspective, it presents a better understanding of Poincare's hierarchy of the sciences, with arithmetic as the foundation, geometry as the science of space, then mechanics and the rest of physics. For philosophers of science and scientists working on problems of space, time and relativity, this is a much needed translation of a ground-breaking work which demonstrates why Poincaré is still relevant today.

1. La découverte du principe de l'équivalence. — Il est difficile de dire à qui appartient l'honneur d'avoir découvert le principe de l'équivalence de la chaleur et du travail mécanique. Sadi Carnot semble l'avoir reconnu vers la fin de sa vie ; mais ses recherches sur ce sujet, consignées dans des Notes manuscrites publiées seulement dans ces dernières années, restèrent longtemps ignorées et ne furent d'aucun profit pour la Science. Fruit d'une sélection réalisée au sein des fonds de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, Collection XIX a pour ambition de faire découvrir des textes classiques et moins classiques dans les meilleures éditions du XIXe siècle.

'Science and Hypothesis'is a study written in 1902, by the French mathematician, Henri Poincaré. It was designed with non-specialist readers in mind, and contains information on mathematics, space, physics and biology. The main theme of this work is that the absolute truth of science is non-existent. It postulates that many scientific beliefs are closer to convenient conventions than valid explanations. The chapters of this book include:'Number and Magnitude','On the Nature of Mathematical Reasoning','Mathematical Magnitude and Experiment','Space','Non-Euclidean Geometries','Space and Geometry','Experiment and Geometry', etcetera. Many vintage texts such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive, and it is with this in mind that we are republishing this book now, in an affordable, high-quality, modern edition. It comes complete with a specially commissioned biography of the author.

Parmi les hommes qui ont, tous utilement, mais plus ou moins brillamment servi la science, les uns avaient reçu dans leur jeunesse une éducation classique solide, parfois raffinée, tandis que les autres n'avaient eu qu'une formation littéraire hâtive, incomplète et sommaire. On serait tenté d'en conclure que l'étude des lettres est inutile aux savants, puisque beaucoup d'entre eux ont pu s'en passer. Ce serait aller un peu vite en besogne. Est-il certain qu'on ne saurait faire de différence entre les œuvres des uns et des autres et y reconnaître une sorte de marque d'origine. Fruit d'une sélection réalisée au sein des fonds de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, Collection XIX a pour ambition de faire découvrir des textes classiques et moins classiques dans les meilleures éditions du XIXe siècle.

La Science et l'Hypothese est un ouvrage destiné au grand public et par lequel le mathématicien Henri Poincaré fait le point sur ce qu'il faut attendre ou non des sciences concernant les quatre sujets suivants :• les mathématiques• les caractéristiques de l'espace (y compris en géométrie non-euclidienne)• les connaissances physiques (mécanique classique, relativité des mouvements, énergie, thermodynamique)• la nature (hypotheses en physique, rôle des probabilités, optique, électricité et électrodynamique, fin de l'idée classique de matiere)et des relations qui existent entre les unes et les autres.Cet ouvrage, publié en 1902, a été l'un des premiers ouvrages grand public, peut-etre le premier, a déclarer qu'il faudrait probablement renoncer a l'idée d'un temps absolu dans l'univers. La théorie de la relativité restreinte ne sera publiée par Poincaré et Albert Einstein que trois ans plus tard.

These famous papers, with their characteristic mixture of deep insight and inevitable confusion, are here presented complete and in English for the first time, with a commentary by their translator, John Stillwell, that guides the reader into the heart of the subject. One of the finest works of one of the great mathematicians is now available anew for students and experts alike. —Jeremy Gray The AMS and John Stillwell have made an important contribution to the mathematics literature in this translation of Poincaré. For many of us, these great papers on the foundations of topology are given greater clarity in English. Moreover, reading Poincaré here illustrates the ultimate in research by successive approximations (akin to my own way of mathematical thinking). — Stephen Smale I am a proud owner of the original complete works in green leather in French bought for a princely sum in Paris around 1975. I have read them extensively, and often during topology lectures I refer to parts of these works. I am happy that there is now the option for my students to read them in English. —Dennis Sullivan The papers in this book chronicle Henri Poincaré's journey in algebraic topology between 1892 and 1904, from his discovery of the fundamental group to his formulation of the Poincaré conjecture. For the first time in English translation, one can follow every step (and occasional stumble) along the way, with the help of translator John Stillwell's introduction and editorial comments. Now that the Poincaré conjecture has finally been proved, by Grigory Perelman, it seems timely to collect the papers that form the background to this famous conjecture. Poincaré's papers are in fact the first draft of algebraic topology, introducing its main subject matter (manifolds) and basic concepts (homotopy and homology). All mathematicians interested in topology and its history will enjoy this book. This volume is one of an informal sequence of works within the History of Mathematics series. Volumes in this subset, “Sources”, are classical mathematical works that served as cornerstones for modern mathematical thought.

'Still a joy to read.'— Mathematical GazetteThis classic by the famous mathematician defines the basic methodology and psychology of scientific discovery, particularly regarding mathematics and mathematical physics. Drawing on examples from many fields, it explains how scientists analyze and choose their working facts, and it explores the nature of experimentation, theory, and the mind. 1914 edition.