Thing Knowledge A Philosophy of Scientific Instruments

Western philosophers have traditionally concentrated on theory as the means for expressing knowledge about a variety of phenomena. This absorbing book challenges this fundamental notion by showing how objects themselves, specifically scientific instruments, can express knowledge. As he considers numerous intriguing examples, Davis Baird gives us the tools to "read" the material products of science and technology and to understand their place in culture. Making a provocative and original challenge to our conception of knowledge itself, Thing Knowledge demands that we take a new look at theories of science and technology, knowledge, progress, and change. Baird considers a wide range of instruments, including Faraday's first electric motor, eighteenth-century mechanical models of the solar system, the cyclotron, various instruments developed by analytical chemists between 1930 and 1960, spectrometers, and more.

ISBN:	9780520232495
Publisher:	University of California Press
Imprint:	University of California Press
Published date:	10 Feb 2004
DEWEY:	502.84
DEWEY edition:	22
Language:	English
Number of pages:	273
Weight:	576g
Height:	239mm
Width:	162mm
Spine width:	26mm

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