Natural Sciences and Human Thought

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XII

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2. Historical and Philosophical Aspects of the Unity of Physics: Scientific Progress by Unification

   • E. Schmutzer

   Pages 1-11

3. The Emergence of Theoretical Physics in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

   • F. Bevilacqua

   Pages 13-36

4. Physics and Human Thought

   • Z. Neubauer

   Pages 37-44

5. Physics as a Cultural Science

   • H. G. Dosch

   Pages 45-53

6. Time Flow

   • G. Süssmann

   Pages 55-70

7. Time’s Arrow

   • C. H. Holland

   Pages 71-83

8. Between Pure and Applied Mathematics

   • A. Pelczar

   Pages 85-92

9. Concepts of Causality in Pre-Socratic Philosophy

   • D. Z. Andriopoulos

   Pages 93-99

10. The Rationality of Reductionism

    • E. Scheibe

    Pages 101-109

11. The Risk of Heuristics

    • W. A. Wagenaar

    Pages 111-123

12. Irreversibility and Self-Organization

    • H. Haken

    Pages 125-137

13. Structural Basis of Serine Protease Action: The Fourth Dimension

    • L. Gráf

    Pages 139-148

14. Can the Concept of Evolution Tell Us Who We Are?

    • R. Zwilling

    Pages 149-159

15. Changes of Paradigms in Biology and Medicine

    • A. Koj

    Pages 161-169

16. The Relationship Between Medicine and Natural Sciences During the Twentieth Century — Aspects of the Theory of Science

    • U. Zwiener

    Pages 171-176

17. The Artificial Intelligence Approach to Modelling Medical Reasoning

    • M. Stefanelli, M. Ramoni

    Pages 177-186

18. The Role of Prediction in Modern Science — The Example of Psychiatry

    • C. Höschl

    Pages 187-191

19. From Brunelleschi to Leonardo

    • P. Galluzzi

    Pages 193-202

20. Antonio Scarpa, Luigi Porta, Camillo Golgi: The Development of Medical Thought at Pavia University

    • G. Armocida, A. Calligaro

    Pages 203-215

Leaving aside for once all utilitarian considerations, this book attempts to demonstrate the role and influence of the natural sciences in the development of human thought and in shaping the way in which we perceive the world. This seems to be particularly necessary in the present day and age, in view of the fact that a large section of the public is scarcely aware of the great cultural contribution that the natural sciences make towards moulding our conception of the world and scarcely acknowledges their function in helping us to find our bearings in a world that is becoming increasingly complex.

• History of Science
• Irreversibility and Self-Organization
• Meaning of time
• Molecular Evolution
• Theorateical Physics
• psychiatry
• theory of science

• Department of Physiology, University of Heidelberg, Institute of Zoology, Heidelberg, Germany

  Robert Zwilling

Policies and ethics