The Significance of the Hypothetical in the Natural Sciences

by Heidelberger, Michael

• ISBN13: 9783110206944
• ISBN10: 3110206943
• eBook ISBN(s): 9783110210620
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-12-30
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• More Book Details

Summary

How was the hypothetical character of theories of experiencethought about throughout the history of science? The essays cover periods from the middle ages to the 19th and 20th centuries. It is fascinating to see how natural scientists and philosophers were increasingly forced to realize that a natural science without hypotheses is not possible.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Hypothesis in Early Modern Science	p. 7
Experience and Hypotheses: Opinions within Locke's Realm	p. 39
Hypotheses in 19th Century British Philosophy of Science: Herschel, Whewell, Mill	p. 59
From Axioms to Conventions and Hypotheses: The Foundations of Mechanics and the Roots of Carl Neumann's “Principles of the Galilean-Newtonian Theory”	p. 77
Contingent Laws of Nature in Émile Boutroux	p. 99
Pluralism and the Hypothetical in Heinrich Hertz's Philosophy of Science	p. 145
Hypotheses and Conventions in Poincaré	p. 169
Hypothesis and Convention in Poincaré's Defense of Galilei Spacetime	p. 193
Vaihinger and Poincaré: An Original Pragmatism?	p. 221
Werner Heisenberg's Position on a Hypothetical Conception of Science	p. 251
“Instrumentalism“ and “Realism” as Categories in the History of Astronomy: Duhem vs. Popper, Maimonides vs. Gersonides	p. 269
Hypotheticity and Realism—Duhem, Popper and Scientific Realism	p. 295
The Hypothesis of Reality and the Reality of Hypotheses	p. 313
Hypothetical Metaphysics of Nature	p. 341
Contributors	p. 365
Index	p. 371
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