Author: Carl G. Hempel
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195343875
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 458
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Book Description
Editor James Fetzer presents an analytical and historical introduction and a comprehensive bibliography together with selections of many of Carl G. Hempel's most important studies to give students and scholars an ideal opportunity to appreciate the enduring contributions of one of the most influential philosophers of science of the 20th century.
Author: Sahotra Sarkar
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415939275
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 1012
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Book Description
The first in-depth reference to the field that combines scientific knowledge with philosophical inquiry, this encyclopedia brings together a team of leading scholars to provide nearly 150 entries on the essential concepts in the philosophy of science. The areas covered include biology, chemistry, epistemology and metaphysics, physics, psychology and mind, the social sciences, and key figures in the combined studies of science and philosophy. (Midwest).
Author: Humphrey Uchechukwu Ude
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1036407349
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 410
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Book Description
This book uses the tenets of Hesse’s Network Model of theory (NMT) to debunk scientism and argue for the indispensability of socio-cultural matrices including theological values in the search for objective knowledge. It is unique in many respects: First, it uses the notion of analogies and models to evaluate the structure of scientific knowledge and extrapolates its findings in Christian theological discussions. Second, there is no known scholarly work, to the best of my knowledge, which does an in-depth and extensive study of Mary Hesse from the point of view of her NMT. It uses the notion of ‘entrenchment’ not only to distinguish itself from other related concepts such as ‘holism’ but also to support the argument on ‘invariance theory-observation’ statements. Third, it underscores the indispensability of socio-cultural matrices in the search for knowledge by identifying a link between Hesse and Habermas in what I call Hesse-Habermas Sociology of Knowledge. Finally, it employs the notion of ‘metaphoric redescription’ to argue that both science and theology deal with interpretation of observed phenomena. It is a reliable source to all interested in epistemological debates: philosophically minded students of science and scientifically minded philosophers, theologians, metaphysicians, students of religion and sociology especially students of Habermas.
Author: Philip Kitcher
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 0816657653
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 546
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Book Description
Scientific Explanation was first published in 1962. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. Is a new consensus emerging in the philosophy of science? The nine distinguished contributors to this volume apply that question to the realm of scientific explanation and, although their conclusions vary, they agree in one respect: there definitely was an old consensus. Co-editor Wesley Salmon's opening essay, "Four Decades of Scientific Explanation," grounds the entire discussion. His point of departure is the founding document of the old consensus: a 1948 paper by Carl G. Hempel and Paul Oppenheim, "Studies in the Logic of Explanation," that set forth, with remarkable clarity, a mode of argument that came to be known as the deductive-nomological model. This approach, holding that explanation dies not move beyond the sphere of empirical knowledge, remained dominant during the hegemony of logical empiricism from 1950 to 1975. Salmon traces in detail the rise and breakup of the old consensus, and examines the degree to which there is, if not a new consensus, at least a kind of reconciliation on this issue among contemporary philosophers of science and clear agreement that science can indeed tell us why. The other contributors, in the order of their presentations, are: Peter Railton, Matti Sintonen, Paul W. Humphreys, David Papineau, Nancy Cartwright, James Woodward, Merrilee H. Salmon, and Philip Kitcher.
Author: Henk W. de Regt
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190652926
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321
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Book Description
It is widely acknowledged that a central aim of science is to achieve understanding of the world around us, and that possessing such understanding is highly important in our present-day society. But what does it mean to achieve this understanding? What precisely is scientific understanding? These are philosophical questions that have not yet received satisfactory answers. While there has been an ongoing debate about the nature of scientific explanation since Carl Hempel advanced his covering-law model in 1948, the related notion of understanding has been largely neglected, because most philosophers regarded understanding as merely a subjective by-product of objective explanations. By contrast, this book puts scientific understanding center stage. It is primarily a philosophical study, but also contains detailed historical case studies of scientific practice. In contrast to most existing studies in this area, it takes into account scientists' views and analyzes their role in scientific debate and development. The aim of Understanding Scientific Understanding is to develop and defend a philosophical theory of scientific understanding that can describe and explain the historical variation of criteria for understanding actually employed by scientists. The theory does justice to the insights of such famous physicists as Werner Heisenberg and Richard Feynman, while bringing much-needed conceptual rigor to their intuitions. The scope of the proposed account of understanding is the natural sciences: while the detailed case studies derive from physics, examples from other sciences are presented to illustrate its wider validity.
Author: Erik Weber
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400764464
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 100
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Book Description
When scientist investigate why things happen, they aim at giving an explanation. But what does a scientific explanation look like? In the first chapter (Theories of Scientific Explanation) of this book, the milestones in the debate on how to characterize scientific explanations are exposed. The second chapter (How to Study Scientific Explanation?) scrutinizes the working-method of three important philosophers of explanation, Carl Hempel, Philip Kitcher and Wesley Salmon and shows what went wrong. Next, it is the responsibility of current philosophers of explanation to go on where Hempel, Kitcher and Salmon failed. However, we should go on in a clever way. We call this clever way the pragmatic approach to scientific explanation and clarify briefly what this approach consists in. The third chapter (A Toolbox for Describing and Evaluating Explanatory Practices) elaborates the pragmatic approach by presenting a toolbox for analysing scientific explanation. In the last chapter (Examples of Descriptions and Evaluations of Explanatory Practices) the approach is illustrated with real-life examples of scientists aiming at explaining. This book can be used as a textbook for intermediate philosophy of science courses and is also valuable as “suggested reading” for introductory courses in philosophy of science. The way the book is set up makes it an excellent study and research guide for advanced (MA and PhD) students that work on the topic of scientific explanation. Finally, it is a handy source and reference book for senior researchers in the field of scientific explanations and – more generally – for all philosophers of science.
Author: Wang Wei
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317542304
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 326
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Book Description
The book is a translation of the second edition of a much-used and research-based Chinese textbook. As a succinct and issue-based introduction to the Western philosophy of science, the book brings eight focal issues in the field to the fore and augments each topic by incorporating Chinese perspectives. Followed by an overview of the historical framework and logical underpinnings of the philosophy of science, the book thoroughly discusses eight issues in the discipline: (1) the criteria of cognitive meaning, (2) induction and confirmation, (3) scientific explanation, (4) theories of scientific growth, (5) the demarcation between science and pseudoscience, (6) scientific realism and empiricism; (7) the philosophy of scientific experimentation, (8) science and value. Not confined to Western mainstream discourse in this field, the book also introduces voices of Chinese philosophers of note and adopts a stance that productively combines logical empiricism and Kuhnianism, both of which tend to be covered in less detail by many English language textbooks. In the final chapter the author offers a prognosis regarding the future of the discipline based on recent trends. This book will be of value to students who study philosophy of science and hope to gain a better understanding of science and technology.
Author: Everest Media,
Publisher: Everest Media LLC
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 26
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Book Description
Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 What is science. According to many, science is the attempt to understand and explain the world we live in. However, this answer is not quite right. Science is not just the collection of activities that are typically labeled science. Rather, it is the shared feature that all the things on that list have in common. #2 Science is the attempt to understand and explain the world we live in. The modern scientific world-view was developed between the years 1500 and 1750, and it was based on the Copernican revolution, which suggested that the sun was the fixed centre of the universe. #3 Science is the attempt to understand and explain the world we live in. The modern scientific world-view was developed between the years 1500 and 1750, and it was based on the Copernican revolution, which suggested that the sun was the fixed centre of the universe. #4 Science is the attempt to understand and explain the world we live in. The modern scientific world-view was developed between the years 1500 and 1750, and it was based on the Copernican revolution, which suggested that the sun was the fixed centre of the universe.
Author: J. P. Moreland
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1441206663
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 385
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Book Description
A defense of the scientific view of creationism.
Author: Byron Kaldis
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1506332617
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 1195
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Book Description
This encyclopedia, magnificently edited by Byron Kaldis, will become a valuable source both of reference and inspiration for all those who are interested in the interrelation between philosophy and the many facets of the social sciences. A must read for every student of the humanities.--Wulf Gaertner, University of Osnabrueck, Germany "Byron Kaldis′ Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences is a triumph. The entries are consistently good, the coverage is amazing, and he has managed to involve the whole scholarly community in this field. It shows off the field very well, and will be a magnificent resource for students and others." -- Stephen Turner, USF, USA " Like all good works of reference this Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences is not to be treated passively: it provides clear and sometimes controversial material for constructive confrontation. It is a rich resource for critical engagement. The Encyclopedia conceived and edited by Byron Kaldis is a work of impressive scope and I am delighted to have it on my bookshelf."-- David Bloor, Edinburgh, UK "This splendid and possibly unique work steers a skilful course between narrower conceptions of philosophy and the social sciences. It will be an invaluable resource for students and researchers in either or both fields, and to anyone working on the interrelations between them." -- William Outhwaite, Newcastle, UK "A work of vast scope and widely gathered expertise, the Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences is a splendid resource for anyone interested in the interface between philosophy and the social sciences." --Nicholas Rescher, Pittsburgh This encyclopedia is the first of its kind in bringing together philosophy and the social sciences. It is not only about the philosophy of the social sciences but, going beyond that, it is also about the relationship between philosophy and the social sciences. The subject of this encyclopedia is purposefully multi- and inter-disciplinary. Knowledge boundaries are both delineated and crossed over. The goal is to convey a clear sense of how philosophy looks at the social sciences and to mark out a detailed picture of how the two are interrelated: interwoven at certain times but also differentiated and contrasted at others. The Entries cover topics of central significance but also those that are both controversial and on the cutting-edge, underlining the unique mark of this Encyclopedia: the interrelationship between philosophy and the social sciences, especially as it is found in fresh ideas and unprecedented hybrid disciplinary areas. The Encyclopedia serves a further dual purpose: it contributes to the renewal of the philosophy of the social sciences and helps to promote novel modes of thinking about some of its classic problems. "The Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences edited by Byron Kaldis, provides a unique, needed, and invaluable resource for researchers at every level. Unique because nothing else offers the breadth of coverage found in this work; needed because it permits researchers to find longer but also relatively brief, clear, but nonetheless expert articles introducing important topics; and invaluable because of the guidance offered to both related topics and further study. It should be the place that any interested person looks first when seeking to learn about philosophy and the social sciences." Paul Roth, UC Santa Cruz, USA "The Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences edited by Byron Kaldis covers an enormous range of topics in philosophy and the social sciences and the entries are compact overviews of the essential issues" Harold Kincaid, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
