Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of ScienceHow does science work? Does it tell us what the world is "really" like? What makes it different from other ways of understanding the universe? In Theory and Reality, Peter Godfrey-Smith addresses these questions by taking the reader on a grand tour of one hundred years of debate about science. The result is a completely accessible introduction to the main themes of the philosophy of science. Intended for undergraduates and general readers with no prior background in philosophy, Theory and Reality covers logical positivism; the problems of induction and confirmation; Karl Popper's theory of science; Thomas Kuhn and "scientific revolutions"; the views of Imre Lakatos, Larry Laudan, and Paul Feyerabend; and challenges to the field from sociology of science, feminism, and science studies. The book then looks in more detail at some specific problems and theories, including scientific realism, the theory-ladeness of observation, scientific explanation, and Bayesianism. Finally, Godfrey-Smith defends a form of philosophical naturalism as the best way to solve the main problems in the field. Throughout the text he points out connections between philosophical debates and wider discussions about science in recent decades, such as the infamous "science wars." Examples and asides engage the beginning student; a glossary of terms explains key concepts; and suggestions for further reading are included at the end of each chapter. However, this is a textbook that doesn't feel like a textbook because it captures the historical drama of changes in how science has been conceived over the last one hundred years. Like no other text in this field, Theory and Reality combines a survey of recent history of the philosophy of science with current key debates in language that any beginning scholar or critical reader can follow. |
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Avis d'utilisateur - jeff.maynes - LibraryThingI'm reviewing this book as an instructor using it for an introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Godfrey-Smith is going for a general overview of the last one hundred or so years of debate in the ... Consulter l'avis complet
Table des matières
84 Leviathan and Latour | 134 |
Further Reading | 141 |
Feminism and Science Studies | 142 |
92 The Man of Reason | 143 |
93 The Case of Primatology | 145 |
94 Feminist Epistemology | 147 |
95 Science Studies the Science Wars and the Sokal Hoax | 150 |
Further Reading | 154 |
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Further Reading | 107 |
Lakatos Laudan Feyerabend and Frameworks | 108 |
72 Lakatos and Research Programs | 109 |
73 Laudan and Research Traditions | 114 |
74 Anything Goes | 116 |
75 An Argument from History That Haunts Philosophy | 119 |
76 Pluralism and the Ramblings of Madmen | 121 |
Frameworks and TwoProcess Theories of Science | 123 |
Further Reading | 127 |
The Challenge from Sociology of Science | 128 |
83 The Rise of the Strong Program | 131 |
Naturalistic Philosophy in Theory and Practice | 155 |
102 Quine Dewey and Others | 156 |
103 The TheoryLadenness of Observation | 161 |
Further Reading | 168 |
Naturalism and the Social Structure of Science | 169 |
112 Kitcher and the Division of Scientific Labor | 173 |
113 Social Structure and Empiricism | 175 |
Further Reading | 178 |
Scientific Realism | 179 |
122 Approaching Scientific Realism | 180 |
124 Challenges from Traditional Empiricism | 186 |
125 Metaphysical Constructivism | 187 |
126 Van Fraassens View | 189 |
127 Representation Models and Truth Optional Section | 192 |
Further Reading | 195 |
Explanation | 196 |
132 The Rise and Fall of the Covering Law Theory of Explanation | 197 |
133 Causation Unification and More | 200 |
134 Laws and Causes Optional Section | 206 |
Further Reading | 207 |
Bayesianism and Modern Theories of Evidence | 208 |
142 Understanding Evidence with Probability | 209 |
143 The Subjectivist Interpretation of Probability | 211 |
144 Assessing Bayesianism | 214 |
145 Scientific Realism and Theories of Evidence | 216 |
146 Procedural Naturalism Optional Section | 220 |
Further Reading | 223 |
Empiricism Naturalism and Scientific Realism? | 225 |
152 The Apparent Tensions | 226 |
153 Empiricism Reformed | 227 |
154 A Last Challenge | 233 |
155 The Future | 236 |
Glossary | 239 |
References | 249 |
Index | 261 |
Autres éditions - Tout afficher
Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science Peter Godfrey-Smith Aucun aperçu disponible - 2003 |
Expressions et termes fréquents
approach argued argument basic Bayes's theorem Bayesianism behavior biology Carnap causation chapter claims concepts confirmation covering law theory criticism debate deductive degrees of belief describe developed discussion distinction ence epistemology evidence example experience explanation explanatory inference famous feminist Feyerabend Fraassen framework Further Reading Galileo grue Hempel holism hypothesis ideas induction issues kind Kitcher knowledge Kuhn Kuhn's theory Lakatos Lakatos's language Latour Laudan logical empiricism logical empiricists logical positivism logical positivists look mathematical naturalistic nature normal science norms objects observation paradigm patterns philosophy of science picture Popper possible predictions principles prior probabilities probability problem questions Quine rational ravens are black reality reason research program role scientific change scientific realism Scientific Revolution scientific theories scientists seems sense Shapin sociology of science sometimes tend term testing theoretical theory of science things thought tion true truth understand Vienna Circle
Fréquemment cités
Page 16 - Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe, which stands continually open to our gaze. But the book cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and read the letters in which it is composed. It is written in the language of mathematics...
Page 16 - I mean the universe — which stands continually open to our gaze, but it cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and interpret the characters in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it; without these, one is wandering about in a dark labyrinth.
Page 103 - At the very least, as a result of discovering oxygen, Lavoisier saw nature differently. And in the absence of some recourse to that hypothetical fixed nature that he "saw differently," the principle of economy will urge us to say that after discovering oxygen Lavoisier worked in a different world.
Page 29 - ... is substance, as well as infinite power; its own infinite material underlying all the natural and spiritual life which it originates, as also the infinite form— that which sets this material in motion. On the one hand, reason is the substance of the universe; viz., that by which and in which all reality has its being and subsistence.
Page 119 - Nor can I ever sufficiently admire the outstanding acumen of those who have taken hold of this opinion and accepted it as true: they have, through sheer force of intellect done such violence to their own senses as to prefer what reason told them over that which sensible experience plainly showed them to the contrary.
Page 99 - In particular, our most recent examples show that paradigms provide scientists not only with a map but also with some of the directions essential for map-making. In learning a paradigm the scientist acquires theory, methods, and standards together, usually in an inextricable mixture.
Page 93 - ... can be answered only in terms of criteria that lie outside of normal science altogether, and it is that recourse to external criteria that most obviously makes paradigm debates revolutionary. Something even more fundamental than standards and values is, however, also at stake. I have so far argued only that paradigms are constitutive of science. Now I wish to display a sense in which they are constitutive of nature as well.
Page 49 - Drosophila, was seen in an entirely new light following the discovery of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.
Page 145 - But it does demand a degree of force: 'nature betrays her secrets more fully when in the grip and under the pressure of art than when in enjoyment of her natural liberty.
Page 117 - Always remember that the demonstrations and the rhetorics used do not express any 'deep convictions' of mine. They merely show how easy it is to lead people by the nose in a rational way.
Informations bibliographiques
| Titre | Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science Science and Its Conceptual Foundations series Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, Peter Godfrey-Smith |
| Auteur | Peter Godfrey-Smith |
| Édition | illustrée |
| Éditeur | University of Chicago Press, 2003 |
| ISBN | 0226300625, 9780226300627 |
| Longueur | 272 pages |
| Exporter la citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |