The Case and the Canon. Anomalies, discontinuities, metaphors between science and literature

Material or immaterial artefacts are a way of channelling the human creative thrust and of communicating with long lasting messages. This is a dynamic process where a set of rules forming a theoretical body, the canon, is pro- gressively established in every sphere of human activity. The canon fixes the guidelines, which must be respected in order to produce a new artefact or theoretical work. From time to time a non conventional artwork or discovery requires a revision of the existing canon, since it cannot fit within it, and eventually a new canon is established. As a paradigmatic example we might consider the theory of perspective in painting introduced by Piero della Fran- cesca, which changed the canon of the figurative arts. Physics, life sciences, literature and other disciplines offer several examples of discoveries which could not be adjusted to within the existing canon and consequently required a deep revision of their theoretical framework and the formulation of a new canon. This volume collects essays, on science and literature, which illustrate some para- digmatic cases, whose impact was so strong as to impose a transition to new canons. The evolution of science and arts appears to be a smooth process with jumps, which correspond to critical events and has some similarities with the evolution of species. The evolution of physics for instance can be depicted as a series of concentric circles corresponding to theories whose range of applic- ability has progressively extended, without contradicting the previous ones within their realm of validity.