Getting to know the world scientifically : an objective view / Paul Needham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Needham, Paul, 1948- author.

Series:

Synthese library ; v. 423.

Synthese library ; Volume 423

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Philosophy.

Science.

Knowledge, Theory of.

Objectivity.

Social constructionism.

Physical Description:

x, 176 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cham, Switzerland : Springer, [2020]

Summary:

"This undergraduate textbook introduces some fundamental issues in philosophy of science for students of philosophy and science students. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 deals with knowledge and values. Chap. 1 presents the classical conception of knowledge as initiated by the ancient Greeks and elaborated during the development of science, introducing the central concepts of truth, belief and justification. Aspects of the quest for objectivity are taken up in the following two chapters. Moral issues are broached in Chap. 4, which discusses some aspects of the use and abuse of science, taking up the responsibilities of scientists in properly conducting their business and decision-makers in their concerns with the import of science for society. Part 2 contrasts the view of scientific progress as the rejecting of old hypotheses and theories and replacing them with new ones, represented by Karl Popper, with the conception of progress as accumulating knowledge, saving as much as possible from older theories, represented by Pierre Duhem. A concluding chapter defends the natural attitude of taking the theories of modern science to be literally true, i.e. realism, in the face of arguments drawn partly from the history of scientific progress in criticism of this stance."--Back cover.

Contents:

(from table of contents) Part I. Knowledge, Objectivity and Values. Knowledge (Ideals Deriving From the Greeks ; What Is Knowledge? ; Inductive Support and Proof ; Looking Forward)

Objectivity (Introduction ; Observation and Experiment ; Objectivity of Interpretation ; Fallibility ; In the Eyes of Others ; On the Shoulders of Others ; Error, Risk and Values ; Summary)

Countering Relativism (Vanquishing Reason ; Radical Meaning Change ; Euclidean Methodology ; Pressure: An Example of Progress in the Articulation of a Concept ; Taking Stock)

The Use and Abuse of Science (Introduction: The Misuse of Science ; Abusing the Right to Declare ``I Know'' ; Fraud and Controversy ; Cooking ; Masquerading as Science ; Science and Responsibility)

Part II. Philosophies of Science. Popper: Proving the Worth of Hypotheses (Popper's Two Central Problems ; The Problem of Induction ; Demarcation ; Falsifiability ; Ad Hoc Hypotheses and Scientific Progress ; Degree of Falsifiability or Induction by Another Name? ; Verisimilitude)

Duhem's Continuity Thesis (Bibliographical Sketch ; Introduction to Duhem's Philosophy ; The Not So Dark Middle Ages ; Duhem's Critique of the Idea of a Crucial Experiment ; Pushing the Argument Further ; Precision ; Reduction, Unity and Progress)

Realism and the Advancement of Knowledge (Cognitive Progress in Science ; Superscientific Inference ; The Vicissitudes of Reference ; Underdetermination ; Taking Stock).

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Current Copyright Fee: GBP29.95 0.

ISBN:

9783030402150

3030402150

OCLC:

1175268542