Philosophy of Science: The Key Thinkers

Philosophy of Science: The Key Thinkers PDF Author: James Robert Brown
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1441142002
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
A guide to the key figures in the Philosophy of Science from Plato and Aristotle through to Popper, Puttnam and Cartwright.

Philosophy of Science: The Key Thinkers

Philosophy of Science: The Key Thinkers PDF Author: James Robert Brown
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1441142002
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Get Book

Book Description
A guide to the key figures in the Philosophy of Science from Plato and Aristotle through to Popper, Puttnam and Cartwright.

Philosophy of Mind: The Key Thinkers

Philosophy of Mind: The Key Thinkers PDF Author: Andrew Bailey
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1441190961
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Exploring what great philosophers have written about the nature of thought and consciousness Philosophy of Mind: The Key Thinkers offers a comprehensive overview of this fascinating field. Thirteen specially commissioned essays, written by leading experts, introduce and explore the contributions of those philosophers who have shaped the subject and the central issues and arguments therein. The modern debate about the mind was shaped by Descartes in the seventeenth century, and then reshaped in the mid-twentieth century, and since, by exciting developments in science and philosophy. This book concentrates on the development of philosophical views on the mind since Descartes, offering coverage of the leading thinkers in the field including Husserl, Ryle, Lewis, Putnam, Fodor, Davidson, Dennett and the Churchlands. Crucially the book demonstrates how the ideas and arguments of these key thinkers have contributed to our understanding of the relationship between mind and brain. Ideal for undergraduate students, the book lays the necessary foundations for a complete and thorough understanding of this fascinating subject.

Science: Key Concepts in Philosophy

Science: Key Concepts in Philosophy PDF Author: Steven French
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441171908
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
The philosophical questions raised by the history and practice of science are among the most complex and stimulating. The philosophy of science inquires into such matters as scientific reasoning, scientific explanation, the nature and value of scientific knowledge, progress in science, and the debate between realist and anti-realist views of science. Science: Key Concepts in Philosophy is the ideal first stop for the student wishing to get to grips with this challenging subject. Written with the specific needs of students new to the discipline in mind, it covers the work of key thinkers and outlines clearly the central questions, problems and arguments encountered in studying the philosophy of science. The book considers such fundamentals as discovery, evidence, verification and falsification, realism and objectivity. It also draws on specific examples from the history of science to further illuminate the philosophical questions addressed. This is a practical and informative introduction to a major component of the undergraduate philosophy curriculum, as well as being a support to ongoing study.

The Philosophy of Science

The Philosophy of Science PDF Author: George Couvalis
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1849206929
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
This comprehensive textbook provides a clear nontechnical introduction to the philosophy of science. Through asking whether science can provide us with objective knowledge of the world, the book provides a thorough and accessible guide to the key thinkers and debates that define the field. George Couvalis surveys traditional themes around theory and observation, induction, probability, falsification and rationality as well as more recent challenges to objectivity including relativistic, feminist and sociological readings. This provides a helpful framework in which to locate the key intellectual contributions to these debates, ranging from those of Mill and Hume, through Popper and Kuhn to Laudan, Bloor and Garfinkel among others.

Philosophy of Science: Key Concepts

Philosophy of Science: Key Concepts PDF Author: Steven French
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474245250
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Science has made a huge impact on human society over hundred years, but how does it work? How do scientists do the things they do? How do they come up with the theories? How do they test them? How do they use these theories to explain phenomena? How do they draw conclusions from them about how the world might be? Now updated, this second edition of Philosophy of Science: Key Concepts looks at each of these questions and more. Taking in turn the fundamental theories, processes and views lying at the heart of the philosophy of science, this engaging introduction illuminates the scientific practice and provides a better appreciation of how science actually works. It features: - Chapters on discovery, evidence, verification and falsification, realism and objectivity - Accessible overviews of work of key thinkers such as Galileo, Einstein and Mullis - A new chapter on explanation - An extended range of easy-to-follow and contemporary examples to help explain more technical ideas - Study exercises, an annotated bibliography and suggestions of Where to Go Next Succinct and approachable, Philosophy of Science: Key Concepts outlines some of the most central and important scientific questions, problems and arguments without assuming prior knowledge of philosophy. This enjoyable introduction is the perfect starting point for anyone looking to understand how and why science has shaped and changed our view of the world.

The Workshop and the World: What Ten Thinkers Can Teach Us About Science and Authority

The Workshop and the World: What Ten Thinkers Can Teach Us About Science and Authority PDF Author: Robert P. Crease
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393292444
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
A fascinating look at key thinkers throughout history who have shaped public perception of science and the role of authority. When does a scientific discovery become accepted fact? Why have scientific facts become easy to deny? And what can we do about it? In The Workshop and the World, philosopher and science historian Robert P. Crease answers these questions by describing the origins of our scientific infrastructure—the “workshop”—and the role of ten of the world’s greatest thinkers in shaping it. At a time when the Catholic Church assumed total authority, Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei, and René Descartes were the first to articulate the worldly authority of science, while writers such as Mary Shelley and Auguste Comte told cautionary tales of divorcing science from the humanities. The provocative leaders and thinkers Kemal Atatürk and Hannah Arendt addressed the relationship between the scientific community and the public in in times of deep distrust. As today’s politicians and government officials increasingly accuse scientists of dishonesty, conspiracy, and even hoaxes, engaged citizens can’t help but wonder how we got to this level of distrust and how we can emerge from it. This book tells dramatic stories of individuals who confronted fierce opposition—and sometimes risked their lives—in describing the proper authority of science, and it examines how ignorance and misuse of science constitute the preeminent threat to human life and culture. An essential, timely exploration of what it means to practice science for the common good as well as the danger of political action divorced from science, The Workshop and the World helps us understand both the origins of our current moment of great anti-science rhetoric and what we can do to help keep the modern world from falling apart.

Creatively Undecided

Creatively Undecided PDF Author: Menachem Fisch
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022651465X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Thomas Kuhn and Karl Popper are believed by many who study science to be the two key thinkers of the twentieth century. Each addressed the question of how scientific theories change, but they came to different conclusions. By turning our attention to ambiguity and indecision in science, Menachem Fisch, in Creatively Undecided, offers a new way to look at how scientific understandings change. Following Kuhn, Fisch argues that scientific practice depends on the framework in which it is conducted, but he also shows that those frameworks can be understood as the possible outcomes of the rational deliberation that Popper viewed as central to theory change. How can a scientist subject her standards to rational appraisal if that very act requires the use of those standards? The way out, Fisch argues, is by looking at the incentives scientists have to create alternative frameworks in the first place. Fisch argues that while science can only be transformed from within, by people who have standing in the field, criticism from the outside is essential. We may not be able to be sufficiently self-critical on our own, but trusted criticism from outside, even if resisted, can begin to change our perspective—at which point transformative self-criticism becomes a real option.

Philosophy of Mind: The Key Thinkers

Philosophy of Mind: The Key Thinkers PDF Author: Andrew Bailey
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1441166319
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Exploring what great philosophers have written about the nature of thought and consciousness Philosophy of Mind: The Key Thinkers offers a comprehensive overview of this fascinating field. Thirteen specially commissioned essays, written by leading experts, introduce and explore the contributions of those philosophers who have shaped the subject and the central issues and arguments therein. The modern debate about the mind was shaped by Descartes in the seventeenth century, and then reshaped in the mid-twentieth century, and since, by exciting developments in science and philosophy. This book concentrates on the development of philosophical views on the mind since Descartes, offering coverage of the leading thinkers in the field including Husserl, Ryle, Lewis, Putnam, Fodor, Davidson, Dennett and the Churchlands. Crucially the book demonstrates how the ideas and arguments of these key thinkers have contributed to our understanding of the relationship between mind and brain. Ideal for undergraduate students, the book lays the necessary foundations for a complete and thorough understanding of this fascinating subject.

WJEC/Eduqas A Level Religious Studies Key Thinkers: Philosophy

WJEC/Eduqas A Level Religious Studies Key Thinkers: Philosophy PDF Author: Ruth Marx
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1036008312
Category : Study Aids
Languages : en
Pages : 474

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Book Description
An essential companion to help students master one of the most important areas of their Religious Studies course in Philosophy: knowing the key thinkers. - Provides an overview of each thinker's life and their ideas, with key dates, social context and why they are important. - Helps students understand the thinkers' main arguments and how they justified their approach to philosophy, allowing students to evaluate the theories them for themselves. - Exam guidance section in each chapter provides a focus for revision and includes advice on how different types of questions could be tackled. - Encourages students to explore each area of scholarly knowledge required by the specification, from grasping key ideas to knowing how to best criticise a thinker's approach. - Puts ideas and theories into contemporary contexts to help students build their evaluation skills. - Timeline displaying an overview of the key dates for each thinker in relation to world events.

Key Thinkers in Linguistics and the Philosophy of Language

Key Thinkers in Linguistics and the Philosophy of Language PDF Author: Siobhan Chapman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195187670
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
This book is a unique and accessible reference guide to the work of eighty key figures who have played an important role in the development of ideas about language from antiquity to the twenty-first century. The entries are extensively cross referenced, allowing readers to trace influences, developments, and debates both in contemporary thinking and across time. Each entry concludes with suggestions for further reading of primary texts and secondary sources, encouraging readers to find out more about the particular key thinker and the impact of his or her ideas.