Explaining Photosynthesis
Springer (Verlag)
978-94-024-0682-5 (ISBN)
Photosynthesis makes for an instructive example. The first tentative ideas were developed by organic chemists around 1840, while by 1960 an elaborate proposal at a molecular level, for both light and dark reactions, was established. The latter is still assumed to be basically correct today. The author makes a persuasive case for a historically informed philosophy of science, especially regarding methodology, and advocates a history of science whose narrative deploys philosophical approaches and categories. She shows how scientists’ attempts to formulate, justify, modify, confirm or criticize their models are best interpreted as series of coordinated research actions, dependent on a network of super- and subordinated epistemic goals, and guided by recurrent heuristic strategies.
With dedicated chapters on key figures such as Otto Warburg, who borrowed epistemic fundamentals from other disciplines to facilitate his own work on photosynthesis, and on more general topics relating to the development of the field after Warburg, this new work is both a philosophical reflection on the nature of scientific enquiry and a detailed history of the processes behind one of science’s most important discoveries.
Kärin Nickelsen is professor of history of science at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany. Her research interests focus on the field of history and philosophy of the life sciences, with a particular emphasis on methodological issues. She has published on topics ranging from the practices of natural history in the 18th century to the analysis of experimental physiology and biochemistry of the 19th / 20th centuries.
Introduction.- 1. In Pursuit of a Pathway (1843-1918).- 2. Otto Warburg and the Turn to Manometry (1912-25).- 3. Struggling with the Standard Model (1930-41).- 4. The Maximum Quantum Yield Controversy (1937-55).- 5. The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis (1937-1954).- 6. Elucidating the Light Reactions (1950-1961).- Epilogue.
| Erscheinungsdatum | 21.11.2016 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences ; 8 |
| Zusatzinfo | 6 Illustrations, color; 56 Illustrations, black and white; X, 349 p. 62 illus., 6 illus. in color. |
| Verlagsort | Dordrecht |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 155 x 235 mm |
| Themenwelt | Schulbuch / Wörterbuch ► Lexikon / Chroniken |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie | |
| Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Biochemie | |
| Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Botanik | |
| ISBN-10 | 94-024-0682-4 / 9402406824 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-94-024-0682-5 / 9789402406825 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
aus dem Bereich
