How do novel scientific concepts arise? This is a question that every researcher deals with on a regular basis. Nersessian attempts to answer this question. Novel concepts are shown to arise out of the interplay of three factors: an attempt to solve specific problems; the use of conceptual, analytical, and material resources provided by the cognitive-social-cultural context of the problem; and the dynamic processes of reasoning that extend ordinary cognition. Nersessian's investigation of historical scientific practices show conceptual change as deriving from the use of analogies, imagistic representations, and thought experiments, integrated with experimental investigations and mathematical analyses. While this book is not an easy read, it does give insight into the cognitive processes that take place in research and, therefore, would be of interest to those actively involved in research.
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