On the shoulders of giants
About this book
With playfulness and a large dose of wit, Robert Merton traces the origin of Newton's aphorism, "If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Using as a model the discursive and digressive style of Sterne's Tristram Shandy , Merton presents a whimsical yet scholarly work which deals with the questions of creativity, tradition, plagiarism, the transmission of knowledge, and the concept of progress.
Details
- First published
- 1965
- OL Work ID
- OL1412870W
Subjects
Aphorisms and apothegmsLearning and scholarshipHistoryScienceHistory and criticismMethodologyQuotationsAnecdotesEnglish QuotationsAnecdotes, facetiae, satireWetenschapssociologieNewton, isaac, sir, 1642-1727Science, methodology