{"product_id":"an-introduction-to-the-philosophy-of-science-9780745635392","title":"An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book is an excellent introduction to philosophy for students and provides researchers of scientific disciplines with an opportunity to reflect upon the value and impact of their work. It is also a stimulating read for anybody who is interested in the philosophical issues raised by the status of scientific knowledge in contemporary society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Without presupposing any prior knowledge of either philosophy or science, Lisa Bortolotti explains all the central issues clearly and adds some interesting twists of her own. This is an excellent first book for anybody who wants to understand the relation between scientific theorizing and reality.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDavid Papineau, \u003ci\u003eKing's College, London\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"What are scientists really trying to prove anyway? \u003ci\u003eAn Introduction to the Philosophy of Science\u003c\/i\u003e seeks to examine the very fundamental nature of science. In a way, it is the science of science. Filled with classical philosophical questions about science and how human ideas and thoughts concerning science have changed through the years, to the constant raging debates of today, \u003ci\u003eAn Introduction to the Philosophy of Science\u003c\/i\u003e provides as much insight into science as philosophy can bring. A riveting and educational read, highly recommended.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMidwest Book Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Lisa Bortolotti's \u003ci\u003eAn Introduction to the Philosophy of Science\u003c\/i\u003e is clearly written and structured and the many exercises interspersed in the text will be very useful for teachers and students wanting to test what has been learned. The chapter on ethics is a welcome addition to standard topics such as demarcation, confirmation and realism.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eJames Ladyman, \u003ci\u003eUniversity of Bristol\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: WHAT IS SCIENCE?. \u003cp\u003eChapter one: DEMARCATION.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.1. Science and Non-science.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.1.1. Analytic and synthetic statements.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.1.2. The ‘elimination’ of ethics.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.1.3. Metaphysics as poetry.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.2. Science and Pseudoscience.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.2.1. Is astrology falsifiable?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.2.2. Context-dependent factors in demarcation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.2.3. “Anything goes”.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.3. Natural and Social Sciences.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.3.1. Laws and experiments in the social sciences.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4. What is Scientific Research?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4.1. Procedural questions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4.2. Functional questions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4.3. Delimiting research.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.5. Good and Bad Science.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreview of future attractions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIssues to think about.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther resources.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter two: REASONING.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.1. Ways of Reasoning.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.1.1. Justification and truth.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.1.2. Deductive arguments.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.1.3. Non-deductive arguments.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.1.4. Reasoning in scientific practice.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.2. The Scientific Method: Induction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.2.1. Innovations in the rise of modern science.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.2.2. Thought experiments.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.3. The Problem of Induction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.3.1. Can we dissolve the problem of induction?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.3.2. Attempting a solution to the problem of induction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreview of future attractions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIssues to think about.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther resources.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter three: KNOWLEDGE.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1. What is a Theory?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1.1. Conceptions of scientific theories.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1.2. The hidden complexity of observation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.2. Theory Confirmation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.2.1. The paradox of the ravens.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.2.2. Alternative accounts of confirmation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.2.3. The new riddle of induction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.2.4. Attempted solutions to Goodman’s riddle.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIs there something wrong with ‘grue’?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLawlikeness.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.3. Models of Explanation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.3.1. Hempel’s models of explanation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.3.2. Relevance, symmetry and causal relations.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.3.3. A pragmatic approach to explanation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreview of future attractions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIssues to think about.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther resources.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter four: LANGUAGE AND REALITY.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.1. Meaning, Reference and Natural Kinds.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.1.1. How terms get their meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.1.2. Twin-Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.1.3. Intuitions about natural kinds.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.2. Implications of Descriptivism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.2.1. Meaning incommensurability.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.2.2. Partial reference and imperfect translations.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.3. Realism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.3.1. Realism in the philosophy of science.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.3.2. Arguments against realism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Pessimistic Meta-Induction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnderdetermination.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuhem-Quine Thesis.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.4. The Realism Debate.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.4.1. Alternatives to realism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInstrumentalism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructive empiricism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNOA: Realism is just metaphysical foot-stamping.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.4.2. Defending realism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStructural realism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInternal realism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreview of future attractions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIssues to think about.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther resources.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter five: RATIONALITY.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1. Revolutions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1.1. Kuhnian revolutions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1.2. The Rationalists.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.2. Paradigm Shifts.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.2.1. The “discovery” of oxygen.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.2.2. The Chemical Revolution as an illustration of Kuhn’s theory.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3. Beyond Revolutions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3.1. Research programs.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3.2. Styles of reasoning.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3.3. Theory choice.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreview of future attractions:.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIssues to think about:.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther resources.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter six: ETHICS.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.1. Instrumentalization.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.2. Ethical Constraints on Research Objectives.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.2.1. Two notions of disability.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.2.2. Objections to enhancement.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.2.3. Do we have a moral obligation to enhance?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.3. Ethical Constraints on Research Methods.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.3.1. Methodological deception in psychology.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.3.2. Objections to methodological deception.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.3.3. Benefits of methodological deception.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.3.4. Deception outside psychology.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.4. Ethical Constraints on Scientific Research.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIssues to think about.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther resources.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion: SCIENCE AS AN ACTIVITY.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGlossary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThematic Bibliography.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGeneral Readings on Philosophy of (the) Science(s).\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Science, Pseudoscience and Bad Science.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Natural vs. Social Sciences.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Induction and Inductivism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Thought Experiments.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the Nature of Scientific Theories and Models.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Confirmation and Probability.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Theory and Observation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Explanation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Laws.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Meaning, Reference, and Natural Kinds.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn ‘Species’.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn ‘Jade’.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Incommensurability.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Realism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Underdetermination and the Pessimistic Meta-Induction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Revolutions and Progress.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Science and Society and Research Ethics.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Enhancement, Disability and the Ethics of Genetic Engineering.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the Ethics of Scientific Research involving Animals.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Deception in Psychological Research\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Polity Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49930717135191,"sku":"9780745635392","price":21.84,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780745635392.jpg?v=1738627159","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/an-introduction-to-the-philosophy-of-science-9780745635392","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}