Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction

309 Pages·2020·3.99 MB·english

by  Alexander Rosenberg

Philosophy of Science
Any serious student attempting to better understand the nature, methods, and justifica-
tion 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/
antirealism debate.
• Improved continuity between chapters.
• Revised and updated Study Questions and annotated Suggested Readings at the end
of each chapter.
• Updated Bibliography.
For a list of relevant online primary sources, please visit:  www.routledge.com/
9781138331518.
Alex Rosenberg is R. Taylor Cole Professor and Chair in the Philosophy Department
at Duke University. He is also co-d irector of Duke’s Center for Philosophy of Biology.
Rosenberg has held fellowships from the National Science Foundation, the American
Council of Learned Societies, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. In 1993,
Rosenberg received the Lakatos Award in the philosophy of science.
Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science
at Boston University. He is the author of Respecting Truth (2015); Post- Truth (2018); and
The Scientific Attitude (2019).
Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy
Series editor: Paul K. Moser, Loyola University of Chicago
This innovative, well- structured series is for students who have already done an
introductory course in philosophy. Each book introduces a core general sub-
ject in contemporary philosophy and offers students an accessible but substan-
tial transition from introductory to higher-l evel college work in that subject.
The series is accessible to non- specialists and each book clearly motivates and
expounds the problems and positions introduced. An orientating chapter briefly
introduces its topic and reminds readers of any crucial material they need to
have retained from a typical introductory course. Considerable attention is given
to explaining the central philosophical problems of a subject and the main com-
peting solutions and arguments for those solutions. The primary aim is to edu-
cate students in the main problems, positions and arguments of contemporary
philosophy rather than to convince students of a single position.
Recently Published Volumes:
Virtue Ethics
Liezl van Zyl
Philosophy of Language
3rd Edition
William G. Lycan
Philosophy of Mind
4th Edition
John Heil
Philosophy of Science
4th Edition
Alex Rosenberg and Lee McIntyre
For a full list of published Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy, please
visit www.routledge.com/ Routledge- Contemporary- Introductions- to- Philosophy/
book- series/ SE0111.
Praise for Previous Editions 
“Sets the industry standard. This book is essential reading for any serious stu-
dent 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 recom-
mendation for courses with students who are academically well prepared and
motivated.”
W. Russ Payne in Teaching Philosophy

Philosophy of Science
A Contemporary Introduction
Fourth Edition
Alex Rosenberg and Lee McIntyre
Fourth edition published 2020
by Routledge
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First edition published by Routledge 2000
Third edition published by Routledge 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Rosenberg, Alexander, 1946– author. | McIntyre, Lee C., author.
Title: Philosophy of science : a contemporary introduction /
Alex Rosenberg and Lee McIntyre.
Description: Fourth edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2019028291 (print) | LCCN 2019028292 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781138331488 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138331518 (paperback) |
ISBN 9780429447266 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Science–Philosophy.
Classification: LCC Q175 .R5475 2020 (print) | LCC Q175 (ebook) | DDC 501–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028291
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028292
ISBN: 978- 1- 138- 33148- 8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 138- 33151- 8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 429- 44726- 6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Newgen Publishing UK
Visit the eResources: www.routledge.com/ 9781138331518
Contents
Preface to the Fourth Edition xiii
1 The Relationship between Philosophy and Science 1
This chapter is devoted to explaining and motivating topics central to the
philosophy of science and the book’s approach to these topics. The
chapter concludes with an overview of what lies ahead.
Overview 1
What Is Philosophy? 2
Philosophy and the Emergence of the Sciences 3
Science and the Divisions of Philosophy 5
What If There Are No Questions Left Over when Science Is Finished? 6
A Short History of Philosophy as the Philosophy of Science 8
Summary 18
Study Questions 18
Suggested Readings 19
2 Why Is Philosophy of Science Important? 20
The differences between scientific questions and philosophical questions
about science are explored. Science is an epistemic phenomenon with
deep implications for philosophy, but philosophy can also help us to
explore the epistemic and cultural aspects of science.
Overview 20
Scientific Questions and Questions about Science 20
Modern Science Has Implications for Philosophy 23
The Cultural Significance of Science 29
Why Is Science the Only Feature of Western Culture
Universally Adopted? 31
Summary 33
Study Questions 34
Suggested Readings 34
viii Contents
3 Scientific Explanation 36
Explanation is the backbone of science. This chapter explores whether the
discovery of scientific laws is essential for this, or whether there are
other (better) ways of understanding scientific explanation.
Overview 36
Defining Scientific Explanation 37
The Role of Laws in Scientific Explanation 39
The Covering Law Model 41
Problems for the Covering Law Model 44
A Competing Conception of Scientific Explanation 49
Summary 53
Study Questions 54
Suggested Readings 54
4 Why Do Laws Explain? 56
If laws are an essential feature of scientific explanation, what are they? This
chapter explores the strengths and weaknesses of various accounts,
involving the notions of necessity and counterfactual conditionals.
Overview 56
What Is a Law of Nature? 57
Counterfactual Support as a Symptom of the Necessity of Laws 58
Counterfactuals and Causation 60
Coming to Grips with Nomic Necessity 61
Denying the Obvious? 68
Summary 71
Study Questions 72
Suggested Readings 72
5 Causation, Inexact Laws, and Statistical Probabilities 74
The question of how to come to terms with the notion of causation is
central to this chapter. Can a probabilistic/ statistical account help
us to understand how it might be that there could be scientific laws
based on something less than certainty?
Overview 74
Causes as Explainers 75
Ceteris Paribus Laws 80
Statistical Laws and Probabilistic Causes 82
Explanation as Unification 86
Summary 87
Study Questions 88
Suggested Readings 88
Contents ix
6 Laws and Explanations in Biology and the “Special Sciences” 90
Scientific inquiry in biology and the social sciences presents a special
challenge to the idea that explanations must involve laws. What
aspects of explanation are necessary in the “special sciences”?
Overview 90
Dissatisfaction with Causal Explanations 91
Proprietary Laws in the “Special Sciences” 93
Functional Laws and Biological Explanations 95
Explaining Purposes or Explaining Them Away? 99
From Intelligibility to Necessity 100
Summary 103
Study Questions 104
Suggested Readings 105
7 The Structure of Scientific Theories 106
The role of theories is a central topic in the philosophy of science.
What are theories and how do they work? The example of
Newtonian theory is explored here, and considered within Hempel’s
hypothetico- deductive model.
Overview 106
How Do Theories Work? The Example of Newtonian Mechanics 107
Theories as Explainers: The Hypothetico- Deductive Model 112
The Philosophical Significance of Newtonian Mechanics and Theories 118
Summary 123
Study Questions 123
Suggested Readings 124
8 Epistemic and Metaphysical Issues about Scientific Theories 125
The reduction of higher- level theories to more basic ones is a vexing
issue for explanation. Can scientific explanations be given only
in foundational terms? But what does this foundation consist of?
This chapter also explores the problem of the ontological status of
theoretical entities and its implications for the “realism/antirealism”
debate in the philosophy of science.
Overview 125
Reduction, Replacement, and the Progress of Science 126
The Problem of Theoretical Terms 133
Scientific Realism vs. Antirealism 140
Summary 147
Study Questions 148
Suggested Readings 149