A noted scientist illuminates the intertwined paths of philosophy and science from Plato to the present, and examines the transition from Newtonian classical mechanics to modern relativistic physics.

In Plutarch’s Quæstiones Conviviales there is a discussion on the topic—π.

Published in 1934 as a second edition to James Jeans' popular work on the general understanding of the physical universe, The New Background of Science took advantage of a comparatively 'quiescent' period in physical investigation when fundamental theories and findings gained wide acceptance. Jeans' aim in writing this book was to depict this 'situation in broad outline and in the simplest possible terms. I have drawn my picture against a roughly sketched background of rudimentary philosophy... because I believe, in common (...) with most scientific workers, that without a background of this kind we can neither see our new knowledge as a consistent whole, nor appreciate its significance to the full.'. (shrink)