The Philosophy of Science

The aim of this series is to bring together important recent writings in major areas of philosophical inquiry, selected from a variety of sources, mostly periodicals, which may not be conveniently available to the university student or the general reader. The editor of each volume contributes an introductory essay on the items chosen and on the questions with which they deal. A selective bibliography is appended as a guide to further reading. The newest addition to the successful Oxford Readings in Philosophy series, The Philosophy of Science contains the most important contributions to the recent philosophical debate on the authority of scientific theory. The contributors ask whether we are justified in believing scientific theories and what attitude we should take to them if we are not. Although few philosophers seriously question the existence of everyday objects like trees and tables, many have real doubts about viruses, electrons, and gravitational waves. The last two decades have seen important new work in the philosophy of science, stimulated by sceptical attitudes towards scientific theories. Scientific realist have in turn countered with arguments of their own, resulting in a wide-ranging debate drawing from many different philosophical disciplines. The Philosophy of Science bridges the gap between both sides of the argument, including articles on different species of realism and anti-realism, the underdetermination of theory by evidence, the lessons of the history of science, naturalized epistemology of science, and Bayesian methodology.

ISBN 0198751656   Pages 346 ISBN13 9780198751656 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Oxford University Press   Weight (grammes) 384 Imprint Oxford University Press   Published in Oxford Format Paperback   Series title Oxford Readings in Philosophy Publication date 20 Jun 1996   Height (mm) 203 Non-book description vi, 339 p. ;   Width (mm) 135 Library of Congress Q175.P3375   Spine width (mm) 22 DEWEY 501   Academic level Tertiary education DEWEY edition DC20

		Introduction		1
I		The Natural Ontological Attitude by Arthur Fine		21
II		NOA's Ark - Fine for Realism by Alan Musgrave		45
III		Saving the Noumena by Lawrence Sklar		61
IV		To Save the Phenomena by Bas C. van Fraassen		82
V		Is the Best Good Enough? by Peter Lipton		93
VI		A Confutation of Convergent Realism by Larry Laudan		107
VII		Structural Realism: The Best of Both Worlds? by John Worrall		139
VIII		What Science Aims to Do by Brian Ellis		166
IX		Progress or Rationality? The Prospects for Normative Naturalism by Larry Laudan		194
X		Realism, Approximate Truth, and Philosophical Method by Richard Boyd		215
XI		Rationality and Objectivity in Science or Tom Kuhn Meets Tom Bayes by Wesley C. Salmon		256
XII		Why I am not a Bayesian by Clark Glymour		290
XIII		Fundamentalism vs the Patchwork of Laws by Nancy Cartwright		314
		Notes on the Contributors		327
		Annotated Bibliography		329
		Index of Names		337

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