What is this thing called science? / Alan Chalmers.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chalmers, A. F. (Alan Francis), 1939-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Philosophy.

Science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (304 p.)

Edition:

4th ed.

Place of Publication:

St Lucia, Qld. : UQP, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

<P style=""MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"" class=MsoNormal>Every ten years, Alan Chalmers draws on his experience as a teacher and researcher to improve and update the text that strives to answer the philosophical question in it's title: <I>What is This Thing Called Science?</I> Identifying the qualitative difference between knowledge of atoms as it figures in contemporary science and metaphysical speculations about atoms common in philosophy since the time of Democritus proves to be a highly revealing and instructive way to pinpoint key features of the answer to that question. The most significant feat

Contents:

Front Cover ; About the Author ; Title page; Copyright ; Epigraph; Contents; Preface to the first edition; Preface to the second edition; Preface to the third edition; Preface to the fourth edition; Introduction; CHAPTER 1 Science as knowledge derived from the facts of experience; A widely held commonsense view of science; Seeing is believing; Visual experiences not determined solely by theobject viewed; Observable facts expressed as statements; Why should facts precede theory?; The fallibility of observation statements; Further reading; CHAPTER 2 Observation as practical intervention

Observation: passive and private or active and public?Galileo and the moons of Jupiter; Observable facts objective but fallible; Further reading; CHAPTER 3 Experiment; Not just facts but relevant facts; The production and updating of experimental results; Transforming the experimental base of science: historical examples; Experiment as an adequate basis for science; Further reading; CHAPTER 4 Deriving theories from the facts: induction; Introduction; Baby logic; Can scientific laws be derived from the facts?; What constitutes a good inductive argument?; Further problems with inductivism

The appeal of inductivismFurther reading; CHAPTER 5 Introducing falsificationism; Introduction; A logical point in favour of falsificationism; Falsifiability as a criterion for theories; Degree of falsifiability, clarity and precision; Falsificationism and progress; Further reading; CHAPTER 6 Sophisticated falsificationism, novel predictions and the growth of science; Relative rather than absolute degrees of falsifiability; Increasing falsifiability and ad hoc modifications; Confirmation in the falsificationist account of science; Boldness, novelty and background knowledge

Comparison of the inductivist and falsificationist view of confirmationAdvantages of falsificationism over inductivism; Further reading; CHAPTER 7 The limitations of falsificationism; Problems stemming from the logical situation; Falsificationism inadequate on historical grounds; The Copernican Revolution; Inadequacies of the falsificationist demarcation criterion and Popper's response; Further reading; CHAPTER 8 Theories as structures I: Kuhn's paradigms; Theories as structures; Introducing Thomas Kuhn; Paradigms and normal science; Crisis and revolution

The function of normal science and revolutionsThe merits of Kuhn's account of science; Kuhn's ambivalence on progress through revolutions; Objective knowledge; Further reading; CHAPTER 9 Theories as structures II: research programs; Introducing Imre Lakatos; Lakatos's research programs; Methodology within a program and the comparison of programs; Novel predictions; Testing the methodology against history; Problems with Lakatos's methodology; Further reading; CHAPTER 10 Feyerabend's anarchistic theory of science; The story so far; Feyerabend's case against method

Feyerabend's advocacy of freedom

Notes:

"New and extended"--Cover.

"An assessment of the nature and status of science and its methods"--CIP.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-7022-5087-2

0-7022-5086-4

OCLC:

843202565