Science and Hypothesis

{{short description|Book by Henri Poincaré}}

{{Infobox book

| name = Science and Hypothesis

| image = Poincaré-13.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Title page of 1905 edition, with preface by Joseph Larmor

| alt =

| title_orig = La Science et l'Hypothèse

| orig_lang_code = fr

| translator =

| country = France

| language = French

| subject = Science

| published = 1902

| media_type = Print

| wikisource = Science and Hypothesis

}}

Science and Hypothesis ({{langx|fr|La Science et l'Hypothèse}}) is a book by French mathematician Henri Poincaré, first published in 1902. Aimed at a non-specialist readership, it deals with mathematics, space, physics and nature.{{citation|title=Poincaré's Science and Hypothesis|department=Scientific Books|journal=Science|first=J. W. A.|last=Young|volume=20|issue=520|date=December 16, 1904|pages=833–837|jstor= 1630324|doi=10.1126/science.20.520.833|bibcode = 1904Sci....20..833Y |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1447934}}.{{citation|title=Science and Hypothesis by H. Poincaré|department=Reviews of Books|first=Theodore|last=De Laguna|journal=The Philosophical Review|volume=15|issue=6|date=November 1906|pages=634–641|doi=10.2307/2177514|jstor= 2177514}}.{{citation|title=Science and Hypothesis by H. Poincaré|first=B.|last=Russell|authorlink=Bertrand Russell|journal=Mind|volume=14|issue=55|date=July 1905|pages=412–418|doi=10.1093/mind/XIV.3.412|jstor= 2248430|department=Critical Notices}}. It puts forward the theses that absolute truth in science is unattainable, and that many commonly held beliefs of scientists are held as convenient conventions rather than because they are more valid than the alternatives.{{citation|title=From Science and Hypothesis to Last Thoughts of H. Poincaré (1854-1912)|first=André|last=Lalande|journal=Journal of the History of Ideas|volume=15|issue=4|date=October 1954|pages=596–598|doi=10.2307/2707678|jstor=2707678}}.

In this book, Poincaré describes open scientific questions regarding the photo-electric effect, Brownian motion, and the relativity of physical laws in space.

Reading this book inspired Albert Einstein's subsequent Annus Mirabilis papers published in 1905.

A new translation was published in November 2017.[http://www.bloomsbury.com/au/science-and-hypothesis-9781350026773/ Science and Hypothesis], bloomsbury.com

File:Poincaré-12.jpg|Science and hypothesis (1905)

File:Poincaré-14.jpg|Table of contents to Science and hypothesis (1905)

File:Poincaré-15.jpg|Table of contents to Science and hypothesis (1905)

File:Poincaré-16.jpg|First page of Science and hypothesis (1905)