Pierre-Maurice Duhem (1861-1916).
French physicist and philosopher and historian of science.
After studying at the École Normale Supérieure he taught at Lille (1887–1893), Rennes (1893–1894), and Bordeaux (1894–1916).
His extension and application of the thermodynamic potential to topics in chemistry ranks him among the founders of modern physical chemistry. His Traité d’énergétique générale (2 vol., 1911) aimed at a generalized, abstract thermodynamics that subsumed classical mechanics.
His major philosophical work, La théorie physique: Son objet, sa structure (1906), depreciates pictorial models in favor of an axiomatic approach, according to which a physical theory is not an explanation, but a system of mathematical propositions that represents experimental laws.
As a historian, Duhem discovered important currents of medieval thought in physics, cosmology, and astronomy, which he saw as precursors of the 17th century scientific revolution.
Table of Contents
- 1 Major Works of Pierre-Maurice Duhem
- 2 Videos
- 3 Related Products
- 3.1 The Electric Theories of J. Clerk Maxwell: A Historical and Critical Study (Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science Book 314)
- 3.2 The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory (Princeton Science Library)
- 3.3 Un fragment inédit de l'Opus tertium de Roger Bacon - 1909 (French Edition)
- 3.4 Medieval cosmology: Theories of infinity, place, time, void, and the plurality of worlds
- 3.5 Scientist and Catholic: Pierre Duhem
- 3.6 Lettres de Pierre Duhem a sa fille Helene (Scientifiques & croyants, 7) (French Edition)
- 3.7 Can Theories be Refuted?: Essays on the Duhem-Quine Thesis (Synthese Library Book 81)
- 3.8 The physicist as artist: The landscapes of Pierre Duhem
- 3.9 Le Système du Monde; Histoire des Doctrines Cosmologiques de Platon a Copernic (French Edition)
- 3.10 Leçons sur l'électricité et le magnétisme (French Edition)
Major Works of Pierre-Maurice Duhem
Most of Duhem’s work has not yet been translated into English. Selections from his works in French are available in the following English translations:
– To Save the Phenomena: An Essay on the Idea of Physical Theory from Plato to Galileo (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969)
– Medieval Cosmology: Theories of Infinity, Place, Time, Void and the Plurality of Worlds (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985)
– The Evolution of Mechanics (Alphen an den Rijn: Sijthoff & Noordhoff, 1980)
– The Origins of Statics (Dodrecht: Kluwer Academic, 1991)
Videos
The Electric Theories of J. Clerk Maxwell: A Historical and Critical Study (Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science Book 314)
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 185 Pages - 06/01/2015 (Publication Date) - Springer (Publisher)
The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory (Princeton Science Library)
- Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 344 Pages - 07/09/1991 (Publication Date) - Princeton University Press (Publisher)
Un fragment inédit de l'Opus tertium de Roger Bacon - 1909 (French Edition)
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Bacon, Roger (Author)
- French (Publication Language)
- 196 Pages - 10/17/2011 (Publication Date) - SINE CAUSA (Publisher)
Medieval cosmology: Theories of infinity, place, time, void, and the plurality of worlds
- Hardcover Book
- Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 601 Pages - 08/10/1985 (Publication Date) - University of Chicago Press (Publisher)
Scientist and Catholic: Pierre Duhem
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Jaki, Stanley L. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 280 Pages - 10/01/2004 (Publication Date) - Christendom Press (Publisher)
Lettres de Pierre Duhem a sa fille Helene (Scientifiques & croyants, 7) (French Edition)
- Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie (Author)
- French (Publication Language)
- 237 Pages - 08/10/1994 (Publication Date) - Beauchesne (Publisher)
Can Theories be Refuted?: Essays on the Duhem-Quine Thesis (Synthese Library Book 81)
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- English (Publication Language)
- 318 Pages - 12/06/2012 (Publication Date) - Springer (Publisher)
The physicist as artist: The landscapes of Pierre Duhem
- Hardcover Book
- Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 188 Pages - 08/10/1988 (Publication Date) - Scottish Academic Press (Publisher)
Le Système du Monde; Histoire des Doctrines Cosmologiques de Platon a Copernic (French Edition)
- Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie (Author)
- French (Publication Language)
- 602 Pages - 12/07/2009 (Publication Date) - BiblioBazaar (Publisher)
Leçons sur l'électricité et le magnétisme (French Edition)
- Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie (Author)
- French (Publication Language)
- 494 Pages - 09/06/2011 (Publication Date) - Nabu Press (Publisher)
Last update 2020-06-17. Price and product availability may change.