Unifying Scientific Theories. Physical Concepts and Mathematical Structures
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Author(s): M. Morrison
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521037603
Format: softback
272pp
Price: £25.99
Review Date: 01 October 2007
Review: Here Margaret Morrison looks at the search for the ‘theory of everything’ from a different perspective. She gives some understanding of how unity is produced, its implication for the metaphysics of nature, and its role in the theory of construction and confirmation. From there she looks at some general features of unified theories and argues that unification and explanation often have little to do with each other, and frequently are even at odds with each other. There are chapters on: Maxwell’s unification of electromagnetism and optics; gauges, symmetries and forces; special relativity and the unity of physics; Darwin and natural selection; and structural unity and biological synthesis.