Publisher's Synopsis
This work outlines, in an introductory chapter, philosophical attitudes to science from the 18th century to Karl Popper. The book's chapters then follow these arguments - the problem of postivism and Popper's response, reliabilism, sociobiology and naturalism. Pappineau concludes that while some scientific theories should be viewed as hypotheses which are unlikely to be more than approximately true, others can be regarded as sensibly established. It is only philisophers who are blinded by Popper who fail to make the natural distinction between speculation and established fact.
