The book that teaches you to think like a scientist

Francesco Vissani belongs to that category of scientists who combine a passion for research with civil commitment in the dissemination of scientific thought.

In his first capacity, he is the research director of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory , while in his second capacity he is the creator and soul of the Asimov Prize , which for ten years has brought Italian high school students closer to scientific culture by rewarding the best reviews written by students of popular works and genre essays, as well as being the author, in particular, of the book which is the subject of this review.

What (and who) is this book for?

Getting straight to the heart of its contents, it is important to say right away that "The Evolution of Scientific Thought from Ancient Greece to the Present Day" (Springer-Nature, 30.86 euros) is not just a book on the history of science, or epistemology, or even a book on the politics of knowledge, but it is an intellectual journey that harmoniously combines all these — and other — aspects of the way in which scientists have questioned how the world works. It serves to learn to think and not to stuff your memory with data, facts, anecdotes — the latter are present, but as functional to the argument and not as a simple literary expedient.

In short, Vissani's book is a stimulator of reflections to be read from beginning to end but also "in pieces", depending on the topic that interests you most at the moment. This is also thanks to the stylistic choice of maintaining a rigorous but discursive tone, and of presenting the arguments without logical leaps or forcing based on the principle of authority that would make it less easy for the reader to critically evaluate the theses argued in the book.

From this point of view, the very fact that Vissani speaks of scientific thought and not of “Science with a capital S” is the first thing that should attract the reader’s attention. The “unsaid”, but which shines through with great evidence on every page, is the rejection of the “divinization” of Science, that is, the transformation of a method for exploring the world into a sort of secular divinity to be venerated and not questioned. “It seems to me” — writes Vissani — “to get to the heart of the matter, that the approach to scientific knowledge can be considered as an evolved form of that mental discipline called critical thinking, which helps us so much to relate to the world with some success, where by “world” I mean: ourselves and others, our memories, our time, nature as we perceive or understand it, its intimate structure, things near and far”.

Science as an activity of the human intellect

In re-proposing the modernity of the ancient desire to open up to the world through observation and experimentation lies another pillar of this book: the criticism of rationalism as an end in itself, and of the desire to bend reality to ideological constructs - or rather, since we are talking about Hegel - idealistic. On this point, let us once again leave room for the author's words, who, commenting on the theses on electricity formulated by the philosopher from Stuttgart, writes: "We note how a scientific acquisition is re-interpreted and re-directed to purposes other than the original ones; an operation that apparently exalts science, but diverts the discussion, and betrays its spirit of work in progress - and therefore in fact, hinders it".

Scientific Thinking and Human Error

Finally, in addition to relying on scientific thought as a tool for knowledge and on experimental observation as a lens through which to look at the world, Vissani builds the third point of support on which the book is built by highlighting the fundamental role of error as fuel that powers the engine of knowledge (but at the same time warning against elevating error to a rule to be respected, instead of considering it an obstacle to be removed): "I recognize that in practice it is almost inevitable to make mistakes ... when they occur, the error offers the opportunity to improve. However, it seems appropriate to add, for absolute clarity, that science does not propose to live with errors or even to find new ways of making them, but rather to identify them and then correct them. Risking something every now and then, in research as in other endeavors, is certainly reasonable; proceeding regardless of evaluations I would not say".

An invitation to adopt the method of science

Vissani's ability to combine the narrative of historical developments with epistemological reflection and analysis of the scientific method gives this book a value that goes beyond the specialist public (many of whom, moreover, would benefit greatly from reading it). Anyone who wants to delve deeper into the meaning of scientific knowledge, grasp its scope but also its inevitable limits, will find in these pages a valuable tool.

The Evolution of Scientific Thought from Ancient Greece to the Present Day is not a book that simply describes science, but an invitation to adopt its method, to train critical thinking and to develop a rational awareness of the world. In an age in which discerning between knowledge and pseudo-knowledge is increasingly difficult, this is a lesson that cannot be ignored.