Leaving aside for once all utilitarian considerations, this book attempts to demonstrate the role and influence of the natural sciences in the development of human thought and in shaping the way in which we perceive the world. This seems to be particularly necessary in the present day and age, in view of the fact that a large section of the public is scarcely aware of the great cultural contribution that the natural sciences make towards moulding our conception of the world and scarcely acknowledges their function in helping us to find our bearings in a world that is becoming increasingly complex.

Historical and Philosophical Aspects of the Unity of Physics: Scientific Progress by Unification

The Emergence of Theoretical Physics in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century
Physics and Human Thought
Physics as a Cultural Science
Time Flow
Time's Arrow
Between Pure and Applied Mathematics
Concepts of Causality in Pre-Socratic Philosophy
The Rationality of Reductionism
The Risk of Heuristics
Irreversibility and Self-Organization
Structural Basis of Serine Protease Action: The Fourth Dimension
Can the Concept of Evolution Tell Us Who We Are?
Changes of Paradigms in Biology and Medicine
The Relationship Between Medicine and Natural Sciences During the Twentieth Century Aspects of the Theory of Science
The Artificial Intelligence Approach to Modelling Medical Reasoning
The Role of Prediction in Modern Science - The Example of Psychiatry
From Brunelleschi to Leonardo
Antonio Scarpa, Luigi Porta, Camillo Golgi: The Development of Medical Thought at Pavia University
The Social Uses of Past Science: Celebrating Volta in Fascist Italy.