Reflections on the Practice of Physics: James Clerk Maxwell’s Methodological Odyssey in Electromagnetism

Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Introduction
	1.1 Methodology: framing scientific knowledge
	1.2 An overview of Maxwell’s approach to methodology
	1.3 Maxwell’s initial publication of 1856 (an abstract)—placing methodology at the forefront
	1.4 Methodology as an essential feature of scientific practice: the case of Maxwell
	1.5 The argument
2. Maxwell’s choice
	2.1 Michael Faraday (1791–1867) and James Clerk Maxwell: a unique relation
	2.2 André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836): the contrast
3. Thomson, Stokes, Rankine, and Thomson and Tait
	3.1 Introduction: methodology in electromagnetism
	3.2 William Thomson (1824–1907): from analogy to representation
	3.3 George Stokes (1819–1903): idealization
	3.4 William J. M. Rankine (1820–1872): energy—a novel unifying concept
	3.5 W. Thomson and Peter Tait (1831–1901): abstract dynamics
	3.6 Conclusion
4. Station 1 (1856–1858)
	4.1 A novel methodology: modifying the methodology of analogy
	4.2 The structure of Maxwell’s argument
	4.3 From the general to the specific
	4.4 Confronting Ampère’s theory
	4.5 Conclusion
	4.6 Appendix: a bibliographical note on Maxwell 1858
5. Station 2 (1861–1862)
	5.1 Introduction
	5.2 Preliminary: from instrumentalism to causality
	5.3 The methodology: linking hypothesis to representation
	5.4 Applying the methodology: assumptions and their consequences
	5.5 Part III: a landmark in the history of physics
	5.6 Conclusion
6. Station 3 (1865)
	6.1 Introduction
	6.2 Part I: marking the goal—the construction of a formal theory consisting of a set of general equations
	6.3 Part II: the flywheel analogy
		6.3.1 How does the analogy work?
		6.3.2 Illustration vs. analogy
	6.4 The methodology of reversing the argument
	6.5 Intermediate summary
	6.6 A physical theory in symbolic language
		6.6.1 An example—the case of electric elasticity
	6.7 Conclusion
7. Station 4 (1873)
	7.1 Introduction
	7.2 Framework
	7.3 Novel methodologies
		7.3.1 Energy as a key concept in electrodynamics
		7.3.2 Mathematical tools in the treatment of electrodynamics
		7.3.3 Dimensionality of units
		7.3.4 Analogies, illustrations, and working models as mechanical representations
		7.3.5 Mental imagery
	7.4 The impact of the new methodologies on the construction of the theory
		7.4.1 The electric displacement and the displacement current
		7.4.2 General equations of the electromagnetic
		7.4.3 From mathematics to physics: vortices and mechanism
	7.5 Conclusion
8. Philosophical reflections on Maxwell’s methodological odyssey
	8.1 Commitment
	8.2 Modifications of methodologies
		8.2.1 Station 1: analogy
		8.2.2 Station 2: hypothesis
		8.2.3 Station 3: textual description
		8.2.4 Station 4: abstract dynamics
		8.2.5 Transitions from one methodology to the next
	8.3 Methodologies in Maxwell’s practice
		8.3.1 The role of mathematics
		8.3.2 Reciprocity of formulation: translation
		8.3.3 Mental imagery
		8.3.4 Analogy
		8.3.5 Hypothesis: the micro-level and explanatory claims
		8.3.6 Model and modeling
	8.4 Concluding remarks
References
Index