Inconsistency in Science

by Meheus, Joke

• ISBN13: 9781402006302
• ISBN10: 1402006306
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-05-01
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Pub

Summary

For centuries, inconsistencies were seen as a hindrance to good reasoning, and their role in the sciences was ignored. In recent years, however, logicians as well as philosophers and historians have showed a growing interest in the matter. Central to this change were the advent of paraconsistent logics, the shift in attention from finished theories to construction processes, and the recognition that most scientific theories were at some point either internally inconsistent or incompatible with other accepted findings. The new interest gave rise to important questions. How is 'logical anarchy' avoided? Is it ever rational to accept an inconsistent theory? In what sense, if any, can inconsistent theories be considered as true? The present collection of papers is the first to deal with this kind of questions. It contains case studies as well as philosophical analyses, and presents an excellent overview of the different approaches in the domain. The book will be of interest to philosophers and historians of science, and to philosophically-minded logicians and scientists.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
From Copernicus to Ptolemy: Inconsistency and Method	1	(34)
Thomas Nickles
Inconsistent Reasoning toward Consistent Theories	35	(8)
Arthur I. Miller
Inconsistencies in the History of Mathematics	43	(16)
Jean Paul Van Bendegem
Mathematical Change and Inconsistency	59	(22)
Otavio Bueno
Approximate Truth	81	(24)
Bryson Brown
Inconsistency in Science: A Partial Perspective	105	(14)
Newton da Costa
Steven French
Inconsistency and the Empirical Sciences	119	(10)
Graham Priest
In Defence of a Programme for Handling Inconsistencies	129	(22)
Diderik Batens
How to Reason Sensibly yet Naturally from Inconsistencies	151	(14)
Joke Meheus
Why the Logic of Explanation is Inconsistency-adaptive	165	(20)
Erik Weber
Kristof De Clercq
A Paradox in Newtonian Gravitation Theory II	185	(12)
John D. Norton
Inconsistency, Generic Modeling, and Conceptual Change in Science	197	(16)
Nancy J. Nersessian
Index	213