Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science

by KLEMKE, E. D.HOLLINGER, ROBERT

• ISBN13: 9781573922401
• ISBN10: 1573922404
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1998-11-01
• Publisher: Prometheus Books

Summary

This popular reader has been vastly updated with ten stimulating new selections on the natural and the social sciences: feminism; postmodernism, relativism, and science; confirmation, acceptance, and theory; explanatory unification; and science and values. Retaining the best essays from the previous editions, the editors have added important new pieces to maintain this influential text's relevance.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition	9	(2)
Preface to the Revised Edition	11	(2)
Preface to the First Edition	13	(2)
Acknowledgments	15	(4)
Introduction: What Is Philosophy of Science?	19	(10)
PART 1. SCIENCE AND PSEUDOSCIENCE	29	(76)
Introduction	29	(9)
1. Science: Conjectures and Refutations	38	(10)
Sir Karl Popper
2. What Is Science?	48	(6)
John Ziman
3. How to Defend Society against Science	54	(12)
Paul Feyerabend
4. Why Astrology Is a Pseudoscience	66	(10)
Paul R. Thagard
5. Believing Where We Cannot Prove	76	(23)
Philip Kitcher
Case Study for Part 1	99	(1)
Study Questions for Part 1	100	(1)
Selected Bibliography	101	(4)
PART 2. THE NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES	105	(92)
Introduction	105	(5)
6. Interpretation and the Sciences of Man	110	(18)
Charles Taylor
7. The Natural and the Human Sciences	128	(7)
Thomas S. Kuhn
8. Are the Social Sciences Really Inferior?	135	(19)
Fritz Machlup
9. If Economics Isn't Science, What Is It?	154	(17)
Alexander Rosenberg
10. What Would an Adequate Philosophy of Social Science Look Like?	171	(19)
Brian Fay
J. Donald Moon
Case Study for Part 2	190	(1)
Study Questions for Part 2	191	(1)
Selected Bibliography	192	(5)
PART 3. EXPLANATION AND LAW	197	(112)
Introduction	197	(9)
11. Studies in the Logic of Explanation	206	(19)
Carl G. Hempel
12. Laws and Conditional Statements	225	(8)
Karel Lambert
Gordon Britten
13. The Truth Doesn't Explain Much	233	(8)
Nancy Cartwright
14. Scientific Explanation: How We Got from There to Here	241	(23)
Wesley Salmon
15. The Pragmatics of Explanation	264	(14)
Bas C. van Fraassen
16. Explanatory Unification	278	(24)
Philip Kitcher
Case Study for Part 3	302	(1)
Study Questions for Part 3	302	(2)
Selected Bibliography	304	(5)
PART 4. THEORY AND OBSERVATION	309	(88)
Introduction	309	(7)
17. The Nature of Theories	316	(17)
Rudolf Carnap
18. What Theories Are Not	333	(6)
Hilary Putnam
19. Observation	339	(13)
N. R. Hanson
20. Science and the Physical World	352	(6)
W. T. Stace
21. Do Sub-Microscopic Entities Exist?	358	(5)
Stephen Toulmin
22. The Ontological Status of Theoretical Entities	363	(11)
Grover Maxwell
23. Is There a Significant Observational-Theoretical Distinction?	374	(17)
Carl A. Matheson
A. David Kline
Case Study for Part 4	391	(1)
Study Questions for Part 4	391	(1)
Selected Bibliography	392	(5)
PART 5. CONFIRMATION AND ACCEPTANCE	397	(84)
Introduction	397	(7)
24. Hypothesis	404	(11)
W. V. Quine
J. S. Ullian
25. Justifying Scientific Theories	415	(20)
Ronald Giere
26. Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice	435	(16)
Thomas S. Kuhn
27. Scientific Rationality: Analytic vs. Pragmatic Perspectives	451	(14)
Carl G. Hempel
28. The Variety of Reasons for the Acceptance of Scientific Theories	465	(11)
Philipp G. Frank
Case Study for Part 5	476	(1)
Study Questions for Part 5	476	(1)
Selected Bibliography	477	(4)
PART 6. SCIENCE AND VALUES	481	(88)
Introduction	481	(11)
29. The Scientist Qua Scientist Makes Value Judgments	492	(7)
Richard Rudner
30. Science and Human Values	499	(16)
Carl G. Hempel
31. Values in Science	515	(24)
Ernan McMullin
32. From Weber to Habermas	539	(11)
Robert Hollinger
33. The Feminist Question in the Philosophy of Science	550	(15)
Ronald Giere
Case Study for Part 6	565	(1)
Study Questions for Part 6	565	(1)
Selected Bibliography	566	(3)
APPENDIX Advice for Instructors	569