EPSA Philosophical Issues in the Sciences

EPSA Philosophical Issues in the Sciences PDF Author: Mauricio Suárez
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9048132525
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 329

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume collects papers presented at the Founding Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association meeting, held November 2007. It provides an excellent overview of the state of the art in philosophy of science in different European countries.

EPSA Philosophical Issues in the Sciences

EPSA Philosophical Issues in the Sciences PDF Author: Mauricio Suárez
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9048132525
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 329

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume collects papers presented at the Founding Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association meeting, held November 2007. It provides an excellent overview of the state of the art in philosophy of science in different European countries.

Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science: EPSA13 Helsinki

Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science: EPSA13 Helsinki PDF Author: Uskali Mäki
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319230158
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 378

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume showcases the best of recent research in the philosophy of science. A compilation of papers presented at the EPSA 13, it explores a broad distribution of topics such as causation, truthlikeness, scientific representation, gender-specific medicine, laws of nature, science funding and the wisdom of crowds. Papers are organised into headings which form the structure of the book. Readers will find that it covers several major fields within the philosophy of science, from general philosophy of science to the more specific philosophy of physics, philosophy of chemistry, philosophy of the life sciences, philosophy of psychology, and philosophy of the social sciences and humanities, amongst others. This volume provides an excellent overview of the state of the art in the philosophy of science, as practiced in different European countries and beyond. ​It will appeal to researchers with an interest in the philosophical underpinnings of their own discipline, and to philosophers who wish to explore the latest work on the themes explored.

Philosophy of Medicine

Philosophy of Medicine PDF Author: R. Paul Thompson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351660748
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Get Book Here

Book Description
What kind of knowledge is medical knowledge? Can medicine be explained scientifically? Is disease a scientific concept, or do explanations of disease depend on values? What is "evidence-based" medicine? Are advances in neuroscience bringing us closer to a scientific understanding of the mind? The nature of medicine raises fundamental questions about explanation, causation, knowledge and ontology – questions that are central to philosophy as well as medicine. This book introduces the fundamental issues in philosophy of medicine for those coming to the subject for the first time, including: • understanding the physician–patient relationship: the phenomenology of the medical encounter. • Models and theories in biology and medicine: what role do theories play in medicine? Are they similar to scientific theories? • Randomised controlled trials: can scientific experiments be replicated in clinical medicine? What are the philosophical criticisms levelled at RCTs? • The concept of evidence in medical research: what do we mean by "evidence-based medicine"? Should all medicine be based on evidence? • Causation in medicine. • What do advances in neuroscience reveal about the relationship between mind and body? • Defining health and disease: are explanations of disease objective or do they depend on values? • Evolutionary medicine: what is the role of evolutionary biology in understanding medicine? Is it relevant? Extensive use of empirical examples and case studies are included throughout, including debates about smoking and cancer, the use of placebos in randomised controlled trials, controversies about PSA testing and research into the causes of HIV. This is an indispensable introduction to those teaching philosophy of medicine and philosophy of science.

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Physics

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Physics PDF Author: Eleanor Knox
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317227131
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 1223

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Physics is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the state of the art in the philosophy of physics. It comprisess 54 self-contained chapters written by leading philosophers of physics at both senior and junior levels, making it the most thorough and detailed volume of its type on the market – nearly every major perspective in the field is represented. The Companion’s 54 chapters are organized into 12 parts. The first seven parts cover all of the major physical theories investigated by philosophers of physics today, and the last five explore key themes that unite the study of these theories. I. Newtonian Mechanics II. Special Relativity III. General Relativity IV. Non-Relativistic Quantum Theory V. Quantum Field Theory VI. Quantum Gravity VII. Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics VIII. Explanation IX. Intertheoretic Relations X. Symmetries XI. Metaphysics XII. Cosmology The difficulty level of the chapters has been carefully pitched so as to offer both accessible summaries for those new to philosophy of physics and standard reference points for active researchers on the front lines. An introductory chapter by the editors maps out the field, and each part also begins with a short summary that places the individual chapters in context. The volume will be indispensable to any serious student or scholar of philosophy of physics.

Towards a Theory of Spacetime Theories

Towards a Theory of Spacetime Theories PDF Author: Dennis Lehmkuhl
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 1493932101
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
This contributed volume is the result of a July 2010 workshop at the University of Wuppertal Interdisciplinary Centre for Science and Technology Studies which brought together world-wide experts from physics, philosophy and history, in order to address a set of questions first posed in the 1950s: How do we compare spacetime theories? How do we judge, objectively, which is the “best” theory? Is there even a unique answer to this question? The goal of the workshop, and of this book, is to contribute to the development of a meta-theory of spacetime theories. Such a meta-theory would reveal insights about specific spacetime theories by distilling their essential similarities and differences, deliver a framework for a class of theories that could be helpful as a blueprint to build other meta-theories, and provide a higher level viewpoint for judging which theory most accurately describes nature. But rather than drawing a map in broad strokes, the focus is on particularly rich regions in the “space of spacetime theories.” This work will be of interest to physicists, as well as philosophers and historians of science working with or interested in General Relativity and/or Space, Time and Gravitation more generally.

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Medicine

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Medicine PDF Author: Miriam Solomon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317519841
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 782

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Medicine is a comprehensive guide to topics in the fields of epistemology and metaphysics of medicine. It examines traditional topics such as the concept of disease, causality in medicine, the epistemology of the randomized controlled trial, the biopsychosocial model, explanation, clinical judgment and phenomenology of medicine and emerging topics, such as philosophy of epidemiology, measuring harms, the concept of disability, nursing perspectives, race and gender, the metaphysics of Chinese medicine, and narrative medicine. Each of the 48 chapters is written especially for this volume and with a student audience in mind. For pedagogy and clarity, each chapter contains an extended example illustrating the ideas discussed. This text is intended for use as a reference for students in courses in philosophy of medicine and philosophy of science, and pairs well with The Routledge Companion to Bioethics for use in medical humanities and social science courses.

Tainted

Tainted PDF Author: Kristin Sharon Shrader-Frechette
Publisher:
ISBN: 0199396418
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 313

Get Book Here

Book Description
Three-fourths of scientific research in the United States is funded by special interests. Many of these groups have specific practical goals, such as developing pharmaceuticals or establishing that a pollutant causes only minimal harm. For groups with financial conflicts of interest, their scientific findings often can be deeply flawed. To uncover and assess these scientific flaws, award-winning biologist and philosopher of science Kristin Shrader-Frechette uses the analytical tools of classic philosophy of science. She identifies and evaluates the concepts, data, inferences, methods, models, and conclusions of science tainted by the influence of special interests. As a result, she challenges accepted scientific findings regarding risks such as chemical toxins and carcinogens, ionizing radiation, pesticides, hazardous-waste disposal, development of environmentally sensitive lands, threats to endangered species, and less-protective standards for workplace-pollution exposure. In so doing, she dissects the science on which many contemporary scientific controversies turn. Demonstrating and advocating "liberation science," she shows how practical, logical, methodological, and ethical evaluations of science can both improve its quality and credibility -- and protect people from harm caused by flawed science, such as underestimates of cancers caused by bovine growth hormones, cell phones, fracking, or high-voltage wires. This book is both an in-depth look at the unreliable scientific findings at the root of contemporary debates in biochemistry, ecology, economics, hydrogeology, physics, and zoology -- and a call to action for scientists, philosophers of science, and all citizens.

The Bloomsbury Companion to Contemporary Philosophy of Medicine

The Bloomsbury Companion to Contemporary Philosophy of Medicine PDF Author: James A. Marcum
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474233015
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 425

Get Book Here

Book Description
A definitive and authoritative guide to a vibrant and growing discipline in current philosophy, The Bloomsbury Companion to Contemporary Philosophy of Medicine presents an overview of the issues facing contemporary philosophy of medicine, the research methods required to understand them and a trajectory for the discipline's future. Written by world leaders in the discipline, this companion addresses the ontological, epistemic, and methodological challenges facing philosophers of medicine today, from the debate between evidence-based and person-centered medicine, medical humanism, and gender medicine, to traditional issues such as disease, health, and clinical reasoning and decision-making. Practical and forward-looking, it also includes a detailed guide to research sources, a glossary of key terms, and an annotated bibliography, as well as an introductory survey of research methods and discussion of new research directions emerging in response to the rapid changes in modern medicine. “Philosophy needs medicine', Hillel Braude argues, 'to become more relevant'. By showing how modern medicine provides philosophers with a rich source of material for investigating issues facing contemporary society, The Bloomsbury Companion to Contemporary Philosophy of Medicine introduces the opportunities medicine offers philosophers together with the resources and skills required to contribute to contemporary debates and discussions.

The Foundation of Reality

The Foundation of Reality PDF Author: David Glick
Publisher:
ISBN: 0198831501
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 286

Get Book Here

Book Description
Are space and time fundamental features of our world or might they emerge from something else? The Foundation of Reality brings together metaphysicians and philosophers of physics working on space, time, and fundamentality to address this timely question. Recent developments in the interpretation of quantum mechanics and the understanding of certain approaches to quantum gravity have led philosophers of physics to propose that space and time might be emergent rather than fundamental. But such discussions are often conducted without engagement with those working on fundamentality and related issues in contemporary metaphysics. This book aims to correct this oversight. The diverse contributions to this volume address topics including the nature of fundamentality, the relation of space and time to quantum entanglement, and space and time in theories of quantum gravity. Only through consideration of a range of different approaches to the topic can we hope to get clear on the status of space and time in our contemporary understanding of physical reality.

The Philosophy of Symmetry

The Philosophy of Symmetry PDF Author: Nicholas Joshua Yii Wye Teh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009020544
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 151

Get Book Here

Book Description
This Element is a concise, high-level introduction to the philosophy of physical symmetry. It begins with the notion of 'physical representation' (the kind of empirical representation of nature that we effect in doing physics), and then lays out the historically and conceptually central case of physical symmetry that frequently falls under the rubric of 'the Relativity Principle,' or 'Galileo's Ship.' This material is then used as a point of departure to explore the key hermeneutic challenge concerning physical symmetry in the past century, namely understanding the physical significance of the notion of 'local' gauge symmetry. The approach taken stresses both the continuity with historically important themes such as the Relativity Principle, as well as novel insights earned by working with contemporary representational media such as the covariant phase space formalism.