Gregory J. Feist

I came to this book as a scientist who is looking for clarification of his own understanding of science in general and for perspective on his particular branch of science, which in my case happens to be Forensic Science. In the first part of the book, the author spends a great deal of time laying out the framework and clarifying the need for a discipline dedicated to studying The Psychology of Science. This section is very thorough and well reasoned but it is more intended for an audience from the Psychology discipline.

Upon completion of the argument for the creation of a new branch of Psychological inquiry related to Science, the author then proceeds to analyze the foundations of science from a developmental and cognitive point of view. I found this perspective to be extremely interesting because it is not the typical way the foundations or Philosophy of Science are presented. For example, there is a detailed discussion on the origins of scientific thinking resulting from five key components: observation, categorization, pattern recognition, hypothesis testing and causal thinking. Most books dealing with science focus on two or three of these concepts and they are usually treated in a linear fashion. This book not only increases the breadth of the discussion but also enriches its complexity by proposing that the process is a circular interrelated one.

The Title of the book, "The Psychology of Science and the Origins of the Scientific Mind" implies two distinct discussions. Hopefully a Philosophy of Science discipline will be formalized in the not too distant future. Once that happens I think a single book on the Origins of the Scientific Mind should be considered. Such a book, targeted at a general scientific audience, would certainly become a classic in scientific literature.

I highly recommend this book for scientists and those interested in the philosophy, history and foundations of scientific thought.… (more)