9789087280178 / 9087280173

Fundamental controversies, or basic oppositions between methods and approaches, occur in all fields of science and scholarship.  Often these dilemmas arise at the nexus of science and society, or when several sciences or disciplines clash.  Paradoxically, as much as one might prefer to do without them, these dilemmas are indispensable to the progress of scientific scholarship.  Knowledge in Ferment collects the reflections of nineteen professors from Leiden University whose fields of expertise range from classics to quantum physics in order to evaluate the great controversies that dominate their fields and consistently form new paradigms that sustain the fermentation of knowledge and deliver remarkable new insights.