P. B. Medawar

""He's tart, tough-minded, terribly British...an imposing grand master of aphorism, argument and lightning-bolt one-liners." So Newsweek writer wrote of Sir Peter Medawar, the renowned British immunologist. "The most accomplished writer of popular-science essays," declared the Philadelphia Inquirer. Now this Nobel Prize-winning scientist and highly acclaimed author of Pluto's Republic, Aristotle to Zoos, and many other books has written a fascinating account of his own life. The image of man as a cross between Pascal's "thinking reed" and Falstaff's "forked radish," expressed in the title of Sir Peter's autobiography, stems from his humble desire "not to claim for myself as an author any distinction more extravagant than membership of the human race." But it is an exceptional life that unfolds in the pages of this incisive and witty memoir. Sir Peter describes his early years in Rio de Janiero, "the rude and barbaric life of Marlborough," Oxford in 1930s, his illnesses and recovery, and the rewards and frustrations of work in a wide variety of academic institutions around the world. Rich anecdotes abound--his early school days and family life, his musical education, his wife Jean and their family, his frequent visits to America, and much more. A sheer delight to read, this highly personal account illuminates the life of one of the most engaging and impressive men of out time"--Publisher description.

Intended for browsing by educated persons such as biologists, psychologists, sociologists, and other "reflective people who see in biology the science most relevant to the understanding and melioration of the human condition." Lengthy enties. Index.

This is a truly extraordinary introduction to the philosophy of science by a real practitioner. Even though some 'professional' philosophers of science may object to Medawar's use of Popper's theories (about which they have already a settled, and mostly negative, opinion), the fact that the author really knows, and knows from the inside, how science works offsets any weak points in the book - and there are very few such points.

Includes An Essay on Scians, Can Scientific Discovery be Premeditated and the Limits of Science.