1. The exclusion principle: a philosophical overview; 2. The origins of the exclusion principle: an extremely natural prescriptive rule; 3. From the old quantum theory to the new quantum theory: reconsidering Kuhn's incommensurability; 4. How Pauli's rule became the exclusion principle: from the Fermi-Dirac statistics to the spin-statistics theorem; 5. The exclusion principle opens up new avenues: from the eightfold way to quantum chromodynamics.
This book develops a philosophical framework for understanding a scientific principle's validation, for philosophers, historians and physicists.
Michela Massimi is a Research Fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge, affiliated to the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.
'Michela Massimi seeks in her marvellous book a more systematic answer to a more specific question: 'under what conditions are we justified in regarding an empirical and contingent rule as a scientific principle?' ... The result is a subtle, thought-provoking book that exemplifies the good that can come of putting careful history of science to sound philosophical use ...Massimi's book is a significant contribution to the history and philosophy of physics and offers fresh perspectives on long-standing philosophical problems regarding science.' Kent Staley, British Journal for the History of Science ' ... accurate, and very well informed ... Her mastery of philosophical sources is equally impressive ... Pauli's Exclusion Principle offers an effective presentation of an interpretative perspective in which scientific principles, rather than isolated theories, play a unifying role." Edward MacKinnon, Isis ' ... excellent book which demonstrates great physical and historical understanding of the topic ... The book yields an important contribution to our understanding of not only Pauli's exclusion principle but of the development of quantum physics during the 20th century. It combines physical insight, historical scrutiny, and philosophical skills, which is not a common combination.' Jan Faye, Metascience Massimi's richly articulated case study is a timely intervention in a rapidly growing literature on distinctive transcendental idealist approaches in philosophy of physics and on the contested topic of structural realism?. In masterfully marrying philosophical analysis to physical and historical knowledge, it sets a high standard for what work in this area may accomplish. But it also should be read by those who remain to be convinced that Kantian-oriented philosophy of physics is once again alive and well. Thomas Ryckman, Kantian Review
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