The Social Relations of Physics, Mysticism, and Mathematics: Studies in Social Structure, Interests, and Ideas (Episteme Book 10)

The problems I address in this book are among the least studied in the soci­ ology of science and knowledge. Part I is a critique of the claim that there are parallels between ancient mysticism and modern physics, and a sociological analysis of this claim as a strategy in intellectual conflict. This study must. ultimately be rooted more firmly in a: type of sociology of knowledge that is just now beginning to crystallize (and which I discuss in Chapter 7), and a sociology of religion that is not so much unknown as underground, and timid, that is, a non-worshipful materialist sociology of religion. My study of physics-mysticism parallelism is a vehicle for exploring epistemic strategies. I thus conclude Part I by sketching a materialist, emancipatory epistemic strategy. My conclusion brings together a number of ideas formulated by myself and others over the past several years, but stops short of a systematic synthesis. A more integrated and coherent "model" than what I can sketch here must wait on the results of research now in progress in the critical (as opposed to apologetic or worshipful) sociology of knowledge. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Parallels Between Physics and Mysticism....Pages 5-21 The Pitfalls of Parallelism....Pages 22-52 Mysticism as a Social Fact....Pages 55-78 Physics as a Social Fact....Pages 79-87 Interests and Ideas: Parallelism as an Intellectual Strategy....Pages 91-104 Parallelism, Science, and Society....Pages 105-125 Epistemic Strategies, Society, and Social Change....Pages 129-156 Front Matter....Pages 157-157 The Sociology of Mathematics....Pages 161-175 Dialectics, Materialism, and Mathematics....Pages 179-187 Historical Materialism and Mathematics....Pages 188-193 Contemporary Marxist Sociology of Mathematics....Pages 194-207 Numbers and Cultures....Pages 211-219 Mathematics and World View....Pages 220-235 Mathematics in Ancient Greece....Pages 239-252 Mathematics in Europe, 1200–1700....Pages 253-266 Back Matter....Pages 267-309 'Sal Restivo's book is a major achievement in the sociology of science and mathematics. It is exciting to read and constitutes a creative, wide-ranging exploration of the connections between physics and mysticism, between the natural science and the humanities. Of particular interest is his attempt to show the emergence of abstraction and of formal disciplines in science by relating them to the structure of social interests in society. All told, this book challenges the separation of C.P. Snow's 'two cultures' and is an original attempt to overcome the chasms between the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences. The implications of the book's content certainly go far beyond its title.'

Prof. W. Heydebrand, New York University