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9780812696035

Why Science Needs Metaphysics A Plea for Structural Realism

by
  • ISBN13:

    9780812696035

  • ISBN10:

    0812696034

  • Format: Paperback
  • Copyright: 2007-06-28
  • Publisher: Open Court

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Summary

As notions of postmodernism and deconstruction have become exceedingly fashionable in recent times, scholars have attempted to remake epistemology as a subjectivist enterprise. Why Science Needs Metaphysics deplores this state of affairs and attempts to correct it by reviving rational metaphysics as well as some of the sound ideas of the Vienna circle. (A rational metaphysics maintains that the world around us is real, and has a specific nature independent of our thoughts or feelings.) In arguing for a rational metaphysics, Zahar corrects and extends Karl Popper's approach to epistemological problems and develops Lakatos's Methodology of Scientific Research Programs into his own methodology. The book ends with two short case studies, one on the development of atomic theory, and the other on Einstein's philosophy of science. Both illustrate that realist metaphysics are crucial to the work of our greatest scientists.

Author Biography

Elie Zahar is Reader Emeritus in Logic and Scientific Method at the London School of Economics and Research Scholar at Wolfson College, Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Introductionp. vii
How Respectable Is Metaphysics?p. 1
The Problem of Inductionp. 5
Protocol or Basic Statements?p. 29
Falsifiability and Parameter-Adjustmentp. 79
Falsifiability, Duhem-Quine and the Status of Geometryp. 89
The Methodology of Scientific Research Programs (MSRP)p. 125
Structural Scientific Realism (SSR)p. 167
Atomism and Structural Realismp. 207
Einstein or the Essential Unity of Science and Philosophyp. 223
General Considerations Concerning the Need for Finitely Axiomatizing Mathematicsp. 251
The System [Sigma]p. 254
Einstein's Anti-inductivismp. 260
Induction and the Uniformity of Naturep. 264
Comments on ([Characters not reproducible]H, K, [Delta])J(H, K, [Delta])p. 271
Poincare's Theoremp. 272
Bibliographyp. 275
Indexp. 283
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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