Josiah-Willard Gibbs, A Propos de la Publication de ses Mémoires Scientifiques
Paris: Librairie Scientifique A. Hermann, 1908. First edition. Softcover. Quarto. 43, [1]pp. Original printed wrappers. French physicist Pierre Duhem was one of the first to appreciate the work of American scientist W. J. Gibbs, writing the earliest critical examination of Gibbs' “On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances” in 1887, and later (with this booklet) promoting the French translation of Gibbs' "Scientific Papers." Wrappers sunned, with sporadic and minor chipping along edges. Half-title age-toned. Text in French. Wrappers in overall fair, interior in very good condition. f to vg. Item #39520
About the author: Pierre Duhem (1861–1916) was a French physicist and historian and philosopher of science. As a physicist, he championed “energetics,” holding generalized thermodynamics as foundational for physical theory, that is, thinking that all of chemistry and physics, including mechanics, electricity, and magnetism, should be derivable from thermodynamic first principles. In philosophy of science, he is best known for his work on the relation between theory and experiment, arguing that hypotheses are not straightforwardly refuted by experiment and that there are no crucial experiments in science. In history of science, he produced massive groundbreaking work in medieval science and defended a thesis of continuity between medieval and early modern science.
Price: $70.00