This series of essays discusses how progress is identified in a range of disciplines - physics, mathematics, biology, medicine, sociology, linguistics, art history, history, economics and ecology. The articles are based on discussions at a symposium organised by the European Science Foundation and are by acknowledged leaders in the fields covered. They seek to promote communication between the different disciplines, to identify the criteria of advancement and to examine problems in assessing them.
Contents
Preface; 1. Pushing back frontiers - or redrawing maps! J. M. Ziman; 2. Assessment in physics H. Haken; 3. Identifying progress in mathematics M. F. Atiyah; 4. Progress and expectations in biology H. G. Gyllenberg; 5. Assessment of progress in medicine H. R. Wulff; 6. Scientific advancement in sociology R. Boudon; 7. Progress in linguistics S. C. Dik; 8. How is scientific progress assessed in art history? G. Kauffmann; 9. The identification of scientific advancement: a contribution on history H. L. Wesseling; 10. The identification of scientific advances in economics E. Malinvaud; 11. Breakthroughs in ecology L. B. Slobodkin; 12. Public knowledge, truth and the ways of scholarship advancement in western civilization S. N. Eisenstadt.
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