Description
Book SynopsisAny serious student attempting to better understand the nature, methods, and justification of science will value Alex Rosenberg and Lee McIntyre's updated and substantially revised fourth edition of Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction. Weaving lucid explanations with clear analyses, the volume is a much- used, thematically oriented introduction to the field.
The fourth edition has been thoroughly rewritten based on instructor and student feedback, to improve readability and accessibility, without sacrificing depth. It retains, however, all of the logically structured, extensive coverage of earlier editions, which a review in the journal Teaching Philosophy called the industry standard and essential reading.
Key Features of the Fourth Edition:
- Revised and rewritten for readability based on feedback from student and instructor surveys.
- Updated text on the problem of underdetermination, social science, and the realism/a
Trade Review
"Sets the industry standard. This book is essential reading for any serious student of the philosophy of science. [...]Rosenberg provides a comprehensive, sophisticated presentation of the current state of the field, and yet it is clear enough to be accessible to students. Rosenberg’s text gets my highest recommendation for courses with students who are academically well prepared and motivated."
W. Russ Payne, in Teaching Philosophy
Table of Contents
1. The Relationship Between Philosophy and Science 2. Why is Philosophy of Science Important? 3. Scientific Explanation 4. Why Do Laws Explain? 5. Causation, Inexact Laws and Statistical Probabilities 6. Laws and Explanations in Biology and the "Special Sciences" 7. The Structure of Scientific Theories 8. Epistemic and Metaphysical Issues about Scientific Theories 9. Theory Construction vs. Model Building 10. Induction and Probability 11. Confirmation, Falsification, Underdetermination 12. Challenges from the History of Science 13. Naturalism in the Philosophy of Science 14. The Contested Character of Science 15. Science, Relativism and Objectivity
