The Principles of Science: A Treatise on Logic and Scientific Method by Jevons, William Stanley (1835-1882) - 1874

William Jevons was the first economist to construct index numbers, and he had a tremendous influence on the development of empirical methods and the use of statistics and econometrics in the social sciences.

2 volumes; x + 463 pages with plate of author's logical machine on frontispiece; vii + 480 pages. Octavo bound in original red cloth boards with gilt lettering to spine; each volume enclosed in beige clamshell box with title and volume listed on spine. First edition.

W. Stanley Jevons was a leading political economist and logician of his time; his work in these fields led to the development of new perspectives on scientific study and economics, one of which became what is now known as bioeconomics. His contributions to The Coal Question (a study on the coal industry of Britain) in 1865 led to the establishment of the Jevons paradox and received widespread recognition. In The Principles of Science, Jevons uses a philosophical approach to scientific research and logic. It introduces ideas such as logic, reasoning, and experimentation, and is considered one of the first works to endorse the use of probability and other mathematical applications in the process of scientific inquiry. It is still widely regarded as one of Jevons' most important and useful works to date.

Condition:

Volume 1 missing front free endpaper, with owner bookplates on front pastedown; front hinge broken, back hinge cracked, spine ends and corners bumped and worn; occasional foxing and marginal browning. Volume 2 front free endpaper torn, owner bookplates on front pastedown, ownership inscription in pencil on front free endpaper; front and back hinges cracked, spine ends and corners bumped and worn; dark mark, possibly ink, on back board, occasional marginal browning. Provenance: From the library of Adelle and Erwin Tomash.