The History and Philosophy of Science

Nandan Bhattacharya is currently Assistant Director of UGC-Human Resource Development Centre, Jadavpur University. Dr Bhattacharya received his MSc (Zoology) in 1992 and PhD (Zoology) degree in 2004 from Vidyasagar University. He has so far published several articles in reputed journals and delivered lectures in different national and international colleges and universities. He has experience in coordinating and designing the course curriculum of orientation programmes, workshops and short-term courses especially meant for college and university teachers/librarians under the UGC guideline. He is interested in ecology, education, communication skill development, science and art connection, theatre in education, forum theatre, etc. as research fields. Dr Bhattacharya is also an acclaimed stage actor and director.

Lists of Figures

Lists of Tables

Lists of Contributors

Series Editor’s Note

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Nandan Bhattacharya

PART I

History of Science

1 History of Science: A Brief Overview

Samir Kumar Saha

2 Science, Society and Governance in Colonial India

Deepak Kumar

3 Evolution of Ideas From Aristotle to Newton: A Journey Towards the Unification of the Earth and the Heavens

Bichitra Kumar Guha

4 History of Ancient Indian Mathematics

Manjusha Majumdar (Tarafdar)

5 Surgery in Ancient India and Suśruta-saṃhita̅

Sudipa Bandyopadhyay

6 Dr M.J. Bramley (1803–1837), the First Principal of Calcutta Medical College

Sankar Kumar Nath

PART II

Philosophy of Science

7 The Philosophy of Science: A Brief Understanding

Pradip Kumar Ghosh

8 Written on the Body: Agency, Representation, Deviance

Samantak Das

9 A Rationale of Āryabhata I’s Method for Solving ax+c=by

Pradip Kumar Majumdar

10 The “Death Drive” in Psychoanalysis

Santanu Biswas

PART III

Emerging Issues in Biomedical Sciences and Healthcare

11 Origin of Life on Earth

Bijan Das

12 Unraveling the Fascinating World of RNA Interference

Manika Pal Bhadra, Paromita Das, Akash Mallick and Deepika Pamarthy

13 Role of Additives and Nutrient Supplementation for Enhancement of Somatic Embryogenesis in Momordica charantia L.

Subhasree Das, Anwesh Roy, Puja Chakraborty and Sarmistha Sen Raychaudhuri

14 Application of Cognitive Ergonomics in Communication: A Social Perspective

Somnath Gangopadhyay

15 Evolutionary Trend of Ecological Concepts, Hypothesis and Theories: Perspectives on Biodiversity

Susanta Kumar Chakraborty