Philosophy of science Books
Cambridge University Press The Emergence of Probability
Book SynopsisHistorical records show that there was no real concept of probability in Europe before the mid-seventeenth century, although the use of dice and other randomizing objects was commonplace. First published in 1975, this edition includes an introduction that contextualizes his book in light of developing philosophical trends.Trade Review"A fascinating in-depth study of the philosophical aspects of the concept of probability during its founding days." Andreas Karlsson, Uppsala University"[Hacking's] knowledge of the pertinent literature is considerable and the vigorous style of writing makes for enjoyable reading. Hacking states that his book was not written as history: be that as it may, but anyone who is interested in the history of probability and statistics, either as a philosopher or as a statistician, will find much here to think about." A.I. Dale, Mathematical ReviewsTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. An absent family of ideas; 2. Duality; 3. Opinion; 4. Evidence; 5. Signs; 6. The first calculations; 7. The Roannez circle; 8. The great decision; 9. The art of thinking; 10. Probability and the law; 11. Expectation; 12. Political arithmetic; 13. Annuities; 14. Equipossibility; 15. Inductive logic; 16. The art of conjecturing; 17. The first limit theorem; 18. Design; 19. Induction.
£76.94
Cambridge University Press A History of Natural Philosophy
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£57.95
Cambridge University Press Group Rationality in Scientific Research
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£51.30
Cambridge University Press The Quest for a Universal Theory of Life
Book SynopsisExplores the nature, origin, and extent of life in the universe from both scientific and philosophical perspectives, focusing particularly on the challenge of formulating a universal theory of life in relation to the search for extraterrestrial life. It is a valuable resource for those studying astrobiology and the origins of life.Trade Review'What is life? What universal principles apply to any biosphere? Our efforts to answer these deep questions are stymied because of our biased, Earth-bound perspective with only one kind of (known) life. In a book rich with original ideas and lucid insights, science philosopher Carol E. Cleland considers life from the perspective of what we don't know - the limitations, hidden biases, sloppy definitions, and false assumptions that may lead us astray. From 'shadow biospheres' on Earth, to artificial life in the lab, to alien lifeforms in distant galaxies, Cleland expands our minds and leads us to rethink what we thought we knew.' Robert Hazen, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington'Searching for life elsewhere in our solar system or beyond is at the forefront of science today, due to recent discoveries about terrestrial life, planetary environments, and planets around other stars. We can't extrapolate from our single example of life on Earth, which all share common biochemistry and are descended from a common ancestor, as to what the characteristics of life elsewhere in the universe might be. Given these uncertainties, how can we identify something as alive? What does it mean to be living? What is life? Carol E. Cleland takes a philosophy of science approach to what constitutes life, integrating it with biology in a planetary context. She has made a valuable contribution to our understanding of the nature of life and of how to search for it, both on Earth and elsewhere.' Bruce Jakosky, University Of Colorado'An essential read for anyone interested in the nature of life and its origins. Cleland's philosophical outlook means that she approaches the subject from a fresh perspective, framing important questions rarely discussed by scientists: what does it mean to try to define life, water, or anything else? How likely is it that life will be found on other planets or satellites, such as Titan, with conditions very different from those on Earth? Can we be sure that life as we know it is the only sort of life possible? Moreover, can we be sure that life very different from the life we know doesn't already exist unrecognized on Earth itself? This book discusses these points in a provocative way that forces readers to examine some of their cherished beliefs that they thought were self-evident.' Athel Cornish-Bowden, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France'This book focuses on the search for a universal theory of life and portrays viewpoints of both the philosopher and the scientist. This makes the book unique, providing at times astonishing insights.' Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Basic and Applied Ecology'Cleland … encourages readers to think more broadly about the definition of life, avoiding the 'neo-Aristotelian' narrowness of current investigations. This work is indeed scholarly, with over 20 pages of references, and interdisciplinary … three different approaches are philosophically presented to enable readers to conceptualize searching for 'life as we don't know it'.' T. Barker, ChoiceTable of ContentsAcknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The enduring legacy of Aristotle: the battle over life as self-organization or (genetic-based) reproduction; 2. Why life cannot be defined; 3. What is a scientific theory; 4. How scientific theories develop; 5. Challenges for a universal theory of life; 6. Rethinking the traditional paradigm for life: lessons from the world of microbes; 7. Artificial life: could ALife solve the N=1 problem?; 8. Searching for extraterrestrial life without a definition or universal theory of life; 9. A shadow biosphere: alien microbes on Earth?; Conclusion; References; Index.
£63.64
Cambridge University Press A Metaphysics for Scientific Realism
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£85.50
Cambridge University Press What Science Offers the Humanities
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£79.93
Cambridge University Press Ethics and Science An Introduction Cambridge Applied Ethics
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£80.75
Cambridge University Press Physics and Philosophy Volume 4 Philosophical Papers
Book SynopsisThis collection of the writings of Paul Feyerabend is focused on his philosophy of quantum physics, the hotbed of the key issues of his most debated ideas. Written between 1948 and 1970, these writings come from his first and most productive period. These early works are important for two main reasons. First, they document Feyerabend's deep concern with the philosophical implications of quantum physics and its interpretations. These ideas were paid less attention in the following two decades. Second, the writings provide the crucial background for Feyerabend's critiques of Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn. Although rarely considered by scholars, Feyerabend's early work culminated in the first version of Against Method. These writings guided him on all the key issues of his most well-known and debated theses, such as the incommensurability thesis, the principles of proliferation and tenacity, and his particular version of relativism, and more specifically on quantum mechanics.Table of ContentsPart I. Papers and Book Chapters, 1948–70: 1. The concept of intelligibility in modern physics (1948); 2. Physics and ontology (1954); 3. Determinism and quantum mechanics (1954); 4. A remark about von Neumann's proof (1956); 5. Complementarity (1958); 6. Niels Bohr's interpretation of the quantum theory (1961); 7. Problems of microphysics (1962); 8. About conservative traits in the sciences and especially in quantum theory, and their elimination (1963); 9. Problems of microphysics (1964); 10. Peculiarity and change in physical knowledge (1965); 11. Dialectical materialism and the quantum theory (1966); 12. Remarks about the application of non-classical logics in quantum theory (1966); 13. On the possibility of a perpetuum mobile of the second kind (1966); 14. In defense of classical physics (1970); Part II. Reviews and Comments, 1957–67: 15. Review of Alfred Landé, Foundations of Quantum-Mechanics: A Study in Continuity and Symmetry (1957); 16. Discussions with Léon Rosenfeld and David Bohm (1957); 17. Review of John von Neumann, Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (1958); 18. Review of Hans Reichenbach, The Direction of Time (1959); 19. Professor Landé on the reduction of the wave packet (1960); 20. Comments on Grünbaum's 'Law and Convention in Physical Theory' (1960); 21. Comment on Hill's 'Quantum Physics and Relativity Theory' (1960); 22. Review of Norwood R. Hanson, The Concept of the Positron: A Philosophical Analysis (1964); 23. Review of Hans Reichenbach, Philosophic Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (1967); Part III. Encyclopaedia Entries, 1958–67: 24. Natural philosophy (1958); 25. Philosophical problems of quantum theory (1964); 26. Ludwig Boltzmann, 1844–1906 (1967); 27. Werner Heisenberg (1967); 28. Max Planck, 1858–1947 (1967); 29. Erwin Schrödinger, 1887–1961 (1967).
£99.75
Cambridge University Press Visions of Discovery New Light on Physics Cosmology and Consciousness
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£75.04
Cambridge University Press Einsteins Unification
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£118.75
Cambridge University Press Time Chance and Reduction Philosophical Aspects of Statistical Mechanics
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£118.75
Cambridge University Press Genetic Analysis A History of Genetic Thinking Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology
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£47.50
Cambridge University Press From Current Algebra to Quantum Chromodynamics
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£75.05
Cambridge University Press Uncertain Knowledge
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£46.54
Cambridge University Press Real Science
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£25.64
Cambridge University Press Philosophy of Quantum Information and Entanglement
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£117.19
Cambridge University Press Scientific Representation
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£17.00
Cambridge University Press The Metaphysics of Biology
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£17.00
Cambridge University Press Good Science
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£32.32
Cambridge University Press Structure and Function
Book SynopsisThis Element develops a novel account of structuralism and functionalism in terms of explanatory strategies. This reveals the possibility of integrating the two strategies; the explanatory successes of evolutionary-developmental biology essentially depend on such integration.Table of Contents1. Structure and Function; 2. Explanatory Strategies; 3. Understanding Evo-devo; 4. Integration without Subordination; 5. Gentle Polemics; References.
£17.00
Cambridge University Press Foundationalism
Book SynopsisFoundationalism is a view about the structure of knowledge and justification. The heart of the thesis is the claim that if there is any knowledge or justified belief at all, then there is a kind of knowledge and justified belief that does not require inference from something else known or justifiably believed. This Element begins by exploring abstract arguments for foundationalism and against proposed alternatives. It then explores disagreements among foundationalists about how to understand foundational knowledge and justified belief, what is plausibly included in the foundations, and what is required for legitimate inference from foundations to the rest of what we believe. The author argues for the conclusion that one can combine insights captured by different versions of foundationalism by making a distinction between ideal justification and justification that falls short of that ideal.Table of Contents1. The Structure of Knowledge and Justified Belief; 2. What Could Make A Belief Noninferentially Justified?; 3. What Belongs in the Foundations?; 4. Traditional Foundationalism and the Challenge of Skepticism; References.
£17.00
Cambridge University Press The ClassicalQuantum Correspondence
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£17.00
Cambridge University Press Kuhns Intellectual Path
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£23.74
Cambridge University Press ScienceEngaged Theology
Book SynopsisThis Element presents science-engaged theology that encourages theologians to collaborate with colleagues in other disciplines in a highly localised manner in order to make concrete claims with accountability and show how theological realities are entangled with the empirical world. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.Table of Contents1. Introduction: memento naturam; 2. Beyond the territories of science and religion; 3. Neither serf nor queen: theology's new boldness in the university; 4. Unity and pluralism in science; 5. The sciences among the sources of theology; 6. Conclusion: advice to those who would be science-engaged theologians; References.
£17.00
Cambridge University Press An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
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£80.75
Cambridge University Press Facts Conventions and the Levels of Selection
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£47.50
Cambridge University Press The Causal Structure of Natural Selection
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£47.50
Cambridge University Press Kuhns The Structure of Scientific Revolutions at 60
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£80.75
Cambridge University Press Physics and Computation
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£17.00
Cambridge University Press Gauge Symmetries Symmetry Breaking and GaugeInvariant Approaches
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£17.00
Cambridge University Press Philosophy of Particle Physics
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£17.00
Cambridge University Press From Randomness and Entropy to the Arrow of Time
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£17.00
Cambridge University Press Charles Peirce and Modern Science
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£71.25
Cambridge University Press Karl Popper
Book SynopsisSir Karl Popper was a major thinker of the twentieth century, one who ? as Anthony O''Hear writes in his new Foreword ? ''has had a beneficent influence on those who have come under the spell of his thought and of the inimitable prose in which he articulates it''. It is now twenty-five years since Popper died, and thus seems ? after a quarter of a century ? an apposite moment to revaluate his impact, significance, and influence. The several chapters in this classic volume focus on many key elements of Popper''s thought and philosophy. They are by no means uncritical, but afford Popper the respect due to a philosopher who wrote always with a degree of clarity, precision, and directness rare in the academic world of his time, and ? as O''Hear puts it ? ''even rarer subsequently''. This important book constitutes an essential introduction to some of the most esteemed philosophical writing of our times.Table of ContentsIntroduction Anthony O' Hear; 1. Popper, science and rationality W. H. Newto-Smith; 2. Popper and reliabilism Peter Lipton; 3. The problem of the empirical basis E.G. Zahar; 4. 'Revolution in permanence': Popper on theory-change in science John Worrall; 5. Popper's contribution to the philosophy of probability Donald Gillies; 6. Propensities and indeterminism David Miller; 7. Popper on determinism Peter Clark; 8. Popper and the quantum theory Michael Redhead; 9. The uses of Karl Popper Gunter Wachtershauser; 10. Popper and Darwinism John Watkins; 11. Popper and the scepticism of evolutionary epistemology, or, what were human beings made for? Michael Smithurst; 12. Does Popper explain historical explanation? Kenneth Minogue; 13. The grounds for anti-historicism Graham Macdonald; 14. What use is Popper to a politician? Bryan Magee.
£20.54
Cambridge University Press Aristotle
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£71.25
Cambridge University Press Interpreting Quantum Mechanics
Book SynopsisThis text has a general, non-mathematical discussion of common misconceptions around quantum mechanics, followed by a detailed mathematical discussion of how quantum field theory affects Important philosophical problems. It will be a valuable resource for students and researchers interested in the foundations and philosophy of quantum mechanics.
£47.49
Cambridge University Press Units of Selection
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£17.00
Cambridge University Press Explanation in Biology
Book SynopsisThis Element examines philosophical accounts of scientific explanation, particularly those that apply to biology and the life sciences. Two main categories of scientific explanation are examined in detail ?causal explanations and non-causal explanations. The first section of this Element provides a brief history and some basics on philosophical accounts of scientific explanation. Section 2 covers causal explanation, first by discussing foundational topics in the area, such as defining causation, causal selection, and reductive explanation. This is followed by an examination of distinct types of causal explanation, including those that appeal to mechanisms pathways, and cascades. The third section covers non-causal, mathematical explanations, which have received significant attention in philosophy of biology and the life sciences. Three main types of non-causal, mathematical explanation are discussed: topological and constraint-based explanation, optimality and efficiency explanations, and minimal model explanations. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
£17.00
Cambridge University Press Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine
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£28.50
Cambridge University Press Opinion Pooling
Book Synopsis
£17.00
Cambridge University Press Nonphysicalist Theories of Consciousness
Book SynopsisThis Element will introduce the main non-physicalist theories of consciousness and explain the most important arguments for them, and consider how they each respond to the scientific and other arguments in support of physicalism. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.Table of ContentsIntroduction: 1. Consciousness and physicalism; 2. Dualism; 3. Subjective idealism and phenomenalism; 4. Dual-aspect monism (or panpsychism and panprotopsychism); Conclusion-with a word on mysterianism; References.
£17.00
Cambridge University Press Quantum Gravity in a Laboratory
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£17.00
Cambridge University Press Modal Naturalism
Book Synopsis
£17.00
Cambridge University Press The Logic of Entailment and its History
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£80.75
Cambridge University Press Structure and Function
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£47.49
Cambridge University Press Quantized Detector Networks
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£31.34
Cambridge University Press Quantized Detector Networks
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£95.00
Cambridge University Press Biopolitics and Animal Species in NineteenthCentury Literature and Science
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£80.75