An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science

302 Pages·2014·2.552 MB·English

by  Kent W. Staley

AnIntroduction tothePhilosophyofScience
Thisbookguidesreadersbygradualstepsthroughthecentralconceptsand
debatesinthephilosophyofscience.Usingconcreteexamplesfromthe
historyofscience,KentW.Staleyshowshowseeminglyabstract
philosophicalissuesarerelevanttoimportantaspectsofscientificpractice.
Structuredintwoparts,thebookfirsttacklesthecentralconceptsofthe
philosophyofscience,suchastheproblemofinduction,falsificationism,
andunderdetermination,andimportantfiguresandmovements,suchas
thelogicalempiricists,ThomasKuhn,andPaulFeyerabend.Thesecondpart
turnstocontemporarydebatesinthephilosophyofscience,suchas
scientificrealism,explanation,theroleofvaluesinscience,thedifferent
viewsofscientificinference,andprobability.Thisbroadyetdetailed
overviewwillgivereadersastronggroundingwhilstalsoproviding
opportunitiesforfurtherexploration.Itwillbeofparticularinterestto
studentsofphilosophy,thephilosophyofscience,andscience.
kent w. staleyisAssociateProfessorofPhilosophyatSaintLouis
University,Missouri.HispublicationsincludeTheEvidencefortheTopQuark:
ObjectivityandBiasinCollaborativeExperimentation(Cambridge,2004).

An Introduction to the Philosophy
of Science
KENT W. STALEY
SaintLouisUniversity,Missouri
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
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www.cambridge.org
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(cid:2)c KentW.Staley2014
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Firstpublished2014
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Staley,KentW.(KentWade),1963–author.
Anintroductiontothephilosophyofscience/KentW.Staley.
pages cm
ISBN978-0-521-11249-9(Hardback)–ISBN978-0-521-12999-2(Paperback)
1. Science–Philosophy. I. Title.
Q175.S7352014
501–dc23 2014014318
ISBN978-0-521-11249-9Hardback
ISBN978-0-521-12999-2Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracy
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accurateorappropriate.
ToPeterAchinsteinandthelatePaulC.L.Tang,who
introducedmetophilosophyofscience.

Contents
Listoffigures pageix
Listoftables x
Preface:philosophyofscienceforphilosophers,scientists,
andeveryoneelse xi
Acknowledgments xvi
Listofabbreviations xvii
PartI BackgroundandBasicConcepts 1
1 Someproblemsofinduction 3
2 Falsificationism:sciencewithoutinduction? 15
3 Underdetermination 26
4 Logicalempiricismandscientifictheories 39
5 Kuhn:scientificrevolutionsasparadigmchanges 55
6 Lakatos:scientificresearchprograms 71
7 Feyerabend:epistemologicalanarchism 85
PartII OngoingInvestigations 103
8 Reasoningwithprobability:Bayesianism 105
9 Reasoningwithprobability:frequentism 135
10 Realismandanti-realism 167
vii
viii Contents
11 Explanation 199
12 Valuesinscience 229
References 258
Index 276