The Laboratory of the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences

by Brown; James Robert

• ISBN13: 9780415996532
• ISBN10: 0415996538
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2010-07-27
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

We've all heard of Newton's bucket, Einstein's elevator, and Schrodinger's cat - these are some of the best known examples of thought experiments in the natural sciences. But what function do these experiments perform? Are they really experiments at all? Can they help us gain a greater understanding of the natural world, or are they merely illustrations of one or another argument about the way things work? In this revised and updated new edition of his classic text, The Laboratory of the Mind, James Robert Brown continues to defend apriorism in the physical world, including a new chapter on the role of intuition in thought experiments, and new material on thought experiments in mathematics. With plenty of illustrations, and updated coverage of the debate between rational platonism and classic empiricism, this is a lively and edifying contribution to the field of philosophy of science.

Author Biography

James Robert Brown is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. vi
Preface (to the second edition)	p. ix
Illustrations from the laboratory of the mind	p. 1
The structure of thought experiments	p. 32
Counter thought experiments	p. 48
Mathematical thinking	p. 67
Seeing the laws of nature	p. 98
The development of inertial motion	p. 125
Einstein's brand of verificationism	p. 152
Quantum mechanics: a Platonic interpretation	p. 176
Afterword	p. 201
Notes	p. 205
Bibliography	p. 210
Index	p. 223
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