Abstract

A survey of contemporary physical science, and an attempt to envision a philosophy in harmony with it. The discussion of physics centers on three topics: the status of postulates and first principles; the movement away from limited forms of empiricism toward the acknowledgment of aesthetic and metaphysical considerations in framing theories; and the disappearance of mechanical models in favor of increasingly abstract mathematical formulations. The exposition of physical theory is lively and imaginative; the treatment of the more properly philosophical problems is stimulating, but will often leave the reader wishing for a more searching analysis.--B. J. H.