Scientific understanding : philosophical perspectives / edited by Henk W. de Regt, Sabina Leonelli, and Kai Eigner ; contributors, Mieke Boon [and thirteen others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Regt, Henk W. de, editor.

Leonelli, Sabina, editor.

Eigner, Kai, editor.

Boon, Mieke, contributor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Philosophy.

Science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (365 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania : University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

To most scientists, and to those interested in the sciences, understanding is the ultimate aim of scientific endeavor. In spite of this, understanding, and how it is achieved, has received little attention in recent philosophy of science. Scientific Understanding seeks to reverse this trend by providing original and in-depth accounts of the concept of understanding and its essential role in the scientific process. To this end, the chapters in this volume explore and develop three key topics: understanding and explanation, understanding and models, and understanding in scientific practice. Earlier philosophers, such as Carl Hempel, dismissed understanding as subjective and pragmatic. They believed that the essence of science was to be found in scientific theories and explanations. In Scientific Understanding, the contributors maintain that we must also consider the relation between explanations and the scientists who construct and use them. They focus on understanding as the cognitive state that is a goal of explanation and on the understanding of theories and models as a means to this end.The chapters in this book highlight the multifaceted nature of the process of scientific research. The contributors examine current uses of theory, models, simulations, and experiments to evaluate the degree to which these elements contribute to understanding. Their analyses pay due attention to the roles of intelligibility, tacit knowledge, and feelings of understanding. Furthermore, they investigate how understanding is obtained within diverse scientific disciplines and examine how the acquisition of understanding depends on specific contexts, the objects of study, and the stated aims of research.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

1 - Focusing on Scientific Understanding by Henk W. de Regt, Sabina Leonelli, and Kai Eigner

Part I - Understanding, Explanation, and Intelligibility

2 - Understanding and Scientific Explanation by Henk W. de Regt

3 - Understanding without Explanation by Peter Lipton

4 - Ontological Principles and the Intelligibility of Epistemic Activities by Moses Chang

5 - Reliability and the Sense of Understanding by Stephen R. Grimm

6 - The Illusion of Depth of Understanding by Petri Ylikpski

Part II - Understanding and Models

7 - Understanding in Physics and Biology: From the Abstract to the Concrete by Margaret Morrison

8 - Understanding by Modeling: An Objectual Approach by Tarja Knuuttila and Martina Merz

9 -The Great Deluge: Simulation Modeling and Scientific Understanding by Johannes Lenhard

Part III - Understanding in Scientific Practices

10 - Understanding in Biology: The Impure Nature of Biological Knowledge by Sabina Leonelli

11 - Understanding in Economics: Gray-Box Models by Marcel Boumans

12 - Understanding in Physics: Bottom-Up versus Top-Down by Dennis Dieks

13 - Understanding in the Engineering Sciences: Interpretative Structures by Mieke Boon

14 - Understanding in Psychology: Is Understanding a Surplus? by Kai Eigner

15 - Understanding in Political Science: The Plurality of Epistemic Interests by Jeroen van Bouwel

16 - Understanding in Historical Science: Intelligibility and Judgment by Edwin Koster

Contributors

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780822962793

0822962799

9780822971245

0822971240

OCLC:

891385632