Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin, Germany; Université de Genève, Switzerland.
Stud Hist Philos Sci. 2022 Dec;96:174-185. doi: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.10.001. Epub 2022 Nov 2.
This paper follows the story of how John A. Wheeler became the enthusiastic baptizer and popularizer of black holes, after he overcame his own initial resistance and protracted skepticism about earlier results. However, the present work is not only historical, since its aim is to suggest as well that the notion of pursuitworthiness can but benefit from a close confrontation with actual heuristic paths, examined in their complexity. This specific case, moreover, may suggest some historical-critical insights on the current situation at the most speculative frontiers of theoretical physics.
本文讲述了约翰·惠勒如何克服最初的抵触情绪和对早期成果的长期怀疑，最终成为黑洞的热情倡导者和普及者。然而，这项工作不仅具有历史意义，因为其目的还在于表明，值得追求的观念可以从与实际启发式路径的密切对抗中受益，这些路径在其复杂性中得到了检验。此外，这个具体案例可能为理论物理学最具推测性前沿的当前情况提供一些历史批判的见解。
