Philosophy of Science The Link Between Science and Philosophy

by Frank, Philipp

• ISBN13: 9780486438979
• ISBN10: 048643897X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-26
• Publisher: Dover Publications

Summary

A noted mathematician and teacher traces the history of science from Aristotle to Einstein, illustrating philosophy's ongoing role in the scientific process, explaining technology's erosion of the rapport between the two fields, and offering suggestions for restoring their relationship. Suitable for undergraduate students and other readers. 36 figures. 1962 edition.

Table of Contents

Introduction. Of What Use Is the Philosophy of Science?	xi
The Rift Between Science and Philosophy	xi
The Missing Link Between Science and the Humanities	xii
Science as the Balance of Mind	xiii
Is the Scientist a ``Learned Ignoramus''?	xv
Technological and Philosophical Interest in Science	xvi
Obsolete Philosophies in the Writings of Scientists	xix
Information or ``Understanding''?	xxi
Footnotes for the Introduction	xxi
The Chain That Links Science With Philosophy	1	(20)
Facts and Concepts	1	(3)
Patterns of Description	4	(3)
Understanding by Analogy	7	(2)
Aristotle's Scheme of Natural Science	9	(1)
From ``Confused Aggregates'' to ``Intelligible Principles,''	10	(2)
``Science'' and ``Philosophy'' as Two Ends of One Chain	12	(3)
The ``Scientific'' and the ``Philosophical'' Criteria of Truth	15	(2)
The Practical Use of ``Philosophic Truth,''	17	(4)
The Rupture of the Chain	21	(27)
How the Rupture Occurred	21	(2)
Organismic and Mechanistic Philosophy	23	(2)
How Science in the Modern Sense Was Born	25	(3)
Science as a Fragment of Philosophy	28	(4)
How ``Science'' Can Become ``Philosophy,''	32	(4)
Speculative Science and Metaphysics	36	(2)
The Belief in Intelligible Principles	38	(3)
``Science Proper,''	41	(3)
Science, Common Sense, and Philosophy	44	(4)
Geometry: An Example of a Science	48	(42)
Geometry as the Ideal of Philosophy	48	(3)
``Intelligible Principles'' and ``Observable Facts'' in Geometry	51	(3)
Descartes, Mill, and Kant	54	(3)
``Axioms'' and ``Theorems''	57	(3)
The Euclidean Axiom of Parallels	60	(5)
Non-Euclidean Geometry	65	(4)
``Validity'' of Propositions in Geometry	69	(3)
``Formalization'' of the Axioms	72	(3)
Formalization of ``Congruence''	75	(4)
Operational Definitions in Geometry	79	(3)
The Twentieth-Century Conception of Geometry	82	(8)
The Laws of Motion	90	(32)
Before Galileo and Newton	90	(3)
The Ancient Laws of Motion Were ``Organismic''	93	(3)
The Universe as an Organism	96	(4)
The Copernican System and the ``Organismic'' Laws of Motion	100	(4)
Newton's Laws of Motion	104	(4)
The Operational Definition of ``Force''	108	(3)
The Operational Definition of ``Mass''	111	(5)
Remnants of Organismic Physics in Newtonian Mechanics	116	(6)
Motion, Light, and Relativity	122	(27)
Aristotle, St. Augustine, and Einstein	122	(2)
``Relativity'' in Newtonian Mechanics	124	(2)
Newton's Relativity and Optical Phenomena	126	(4)
The Electromagnetic World Picture	130	(3)
The Principles of Einstein's Theory	133	(3)
The ``Theory of Relativity'' Is a Physical Hypothesis	136	(4)
Relativity of Space and Time	140	(4)
The ``Disappearance'' and the ``Creation'' of Matter	144	(5)
Four-dimensional and Non-Euclidean Geometry	149	(14)
The Limitations of Euclidean Geometry	149	(2)
Relativity of Acceleration and Rotation	151	(4)
Curvature of Space	155	(3)
Is the World ``Really Four-Dimensional?''	158	(5)
Metaphysical Interpretations of Relativistic Physics	163	(26)
Metaphysical Interpretations of ``Inertia''	163	(6)
The ``Indestructibility of Matter'' as a Metaphysical Interpretation	169	(3)
Metaphysical ``Implications'' of the Theory of Relativity	172	(9)
In What Sense Does the Theory of Relativity Refute Materialism?	181	(5)
Is the Theory of Relativity Dogmatic?	186	(3)
Motion of Atomic Objects	189	(18)
Newton Was No Newtonian	189	(4)
The ``Crucial Experiment'' Versus the Corpuscular Theory of Light	193	(4)
A Second ``Crucial Experiment''	197	(3)
The Laws of Motion for Light Quanta	200	(3)
The Laws of Motion for Very Small Material Particles	203	(4)
The New Language of the Atomic World	207	(25)
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Relation	207	(5)
Bohr's Principle of Complementarity	212	(4)
``Position and Momentum of a Particle'' Has No Operational Meaning	216	(3)
Facts, Words, and Atoms	219	(4)
Phenomena and Interphenomena	223	(5)
The Variety of Formulations in Atomic Physics	228	(4)
Metaphysical Interpretations of the Atomic World	232	(28)
The ``Spiritual Element'' in Atomic Physics	232	(6)
Popular Interpretations of Atomic Physics	238	(4)
Science and Metaphysics in the Principle of ``Indeterminacy''	242	(7)
Physics and ``Free Will''	249	(11)
Causal Laws	260	(18)
The Meaning of ``Predetermination''	260	(3)
LaPlace, Newton, and the Omniscient Intelligence	263	(3)
The Mathematical Form of a Causal Law	266	(2)
Relevant and Irrelevant Variables	268	(3)
Causal Laws in Field Theory	271	(3)
``Gaps'' in Causal Laws	274	(4)
The Principle of Causality	278	(19)
Discussion of How to Formulate the General Principle of Causality	278	(4)
Causality as a Recurrence of Sequences	282	(4)
Causality as the Existence of Laws	286	(4)
Causal Law and Statistical Law	290	(7)
The Science of Science	297	(26)
The Place of Induction in Ancient and Modern Science	297	(4)
Induction, General Laws, and Single Facts	301	(3)
Induction by New Concepts	304	(7)
Concepts and Operational Definitions	311	(5)
Induction by Intuition and Induction by Enumeration	316	(7)
The Validation of Theories	323	(19)
Induction and Statistical Probability	323	(4)
Statistical and Logical Probability	327	(9)
Which Theory of Probability Is Valid?	336	(6)
Theories of High Generality	342	(19)
The Role of Causality in Twentieth-Century Science	342	(6)
The ``Scientific'' Criteria for the Acceptance of Theories	348	(6)
The Role of ``Extrascientific'' Reasons	354	(7)
Footnotes	361