The scientific imagination: case studies

[ANTONIO] ALIOTTA, The idealistic reaction against science, [facsimile of 1914 ed.], New York, Arno Press, 1976, 8vo, pp. xxii, 483, $28.00 JOHN R. BAKER, Thefreedom ofscience, [facsimiles of The scientific life (1943), and Science and the planned state (1945)], New York, Arno Press, 1975, 8vo, pp. 154, 120, $15.00. [ROBERT] FLINT, Philosophy as scientia scientiarum and a history of classification of the sciences, [facsimile of 1904 ed.], New York, Arno Press, 1975, 8vo, pp. x, 340, $19.00. HENRY BENCE JONES, The Royal Institution: itsfounders and itsfirst professors, [facsimile of 1871 ed.], New York, Arno Press, 1975, 8vo, pp. x, 431, $25.00. Four new titles are added to this excellent series, which is entitled, History, philosophy and sociology of science. Classics, staples and precursors. Each is an elegant facsimile reprint of the original, and in each case the opportunity of being able again to purchase a copy will be widely welcomed. They do, however, lack added material, such as an introductory essay or explanatory notes, and are understandably expensive. Aliotta's book (1914) is translated from the Italian and is partly philosophy of science and partly "The new theories of mathematics and physics". It is a classic worthy of a wide audience. Freedom of science comprises two perceptive essays by Professor John R. Baker. Flint (1904) is concerned with the history, philosophy, and sociology of science. Again this is a classic, well worth close study today. Unfortunately, like so many of these earlier works, precise references to the masses of literature that must have gone into the book's production are lacking, which of course diminishes the value of the work. Dr. Henry Bence Jones (1814-1873), better known for the proteinuria of multiple myeloma, published his book in 1871, and it has ever since provided scholars with a useful source of information concerning the first two decades of the Royal Institution, Count Rumford, and Sir Humphry Davy. Further titles in this series will be much appreciated.