An interview with Gerald Holton

Abstract

The physicist Gerald Holton, Professor at the Harvard University, has been an expert in History of Science and Physics Teaching. He was one of the creators of The Connective Approach , in which History and Philosophy of Science contributions as well as the relationship between Physics and scientific subjects and social activities are strongly appreciated. Holton s well-known accomplishment in this area was the production of the Harvard Physics Teaching Project in the sixties. As a Historian of Science, Holton stood out by the concept of themata , which was introduced in his studies about the History of Physics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His most well-known books are: The Scientific Imagination (Cambridge University Press, 1978) and, Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein (Harvard University Press, 1988). The interview was conducted by Bernando Jefferson de Oliveira (UFMG) and Olival Freire Junior (UFBa), at the Harvard University. They were also in charge of its editing and notes.