Understanding scientific understanding / Henk W. de Regt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Regt, Henk W. de, author.

Series:

Oxford studies in philosophy of science.

Oxford studies in philosophy of science

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Philosophy.

Science.

Reflection (Philosophy).

Knowledge, Theory of.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 301 pages) : illustrations (black and white).

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2017.

Summary:

Understanding is a central aim of science and highly important in present-day society. But what precisely is scientific understanding and how can it be achieved? This text answers these questions, through philosophical analysis and historical case studies, and presents a philosophical theory of scientific understanding that highlights its contextual nature.

Contents:

Introduction : the desire to understand

Understanding and the aims of science

Explanatory understanding : a plurality of models

A contextual theory of scientif understanding

Intelligibility and metaphysics : understanding gravitation

Models and mechanisms : physical understanding in the nineteenth century

Visualizability and intelligibility : insight in the quantum world

Conclusion : the many faces of understanding.

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2017.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version :

ISBN:

0-19-065293-4

0-19-065294-2