The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science (Routledge Philosophy Companions)

This indispensable reference source and guide to the major themes, debates, problems and topics in philosophy of science contains fifty-five specially commissioned entries by a leading team of international contributors. Organized into four parts it covers: historical and philosophical context debates concepts the individual sciences. The Companion covers everything students of philosophy of science need to know - from empiricism, explanation and experiment to causation, observation, prediction and more - and contains many helpful features including: a section on the individual sciences, including chapters on the philosophy of biology, chemistry, physics and psychology, further reading and cross-referencing at the end of each chapter. BOOK COVER......Page 1 TITLE......Page 4 COPYRIGHT......Page 5 CONTENTS......Page 6 ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 10 CONTRIBUTORS......Page 12 INTRODUCTION......Page 20 PART I: HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL CONTEXT......Page 30 1 THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF SCIENCE AFTER QUINE......Page 32 2 THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE......Page 44 3 METAPHYSICS......Page 55 4 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE......Page 65 5 THE ROLE OF LOGIC IN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE......Page 76 6 CRITICAL RATIONALISM......Page 87 7 THE HISTORICAL TURN IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE......Page 96 8 LOGICAL EMPIRICISM......Page 107 9 PRAGMATISM AND SCIENCE......Page 120 PART II: DEBATES......Page 130 10 BAYESIANISM......Page 132 11 CONFIRMATION......Page 144 12 EMPIRICISM......Page 158 13 ESSENTIALISM AND NATURAL KINDS......Page 168 14 ETHICS OF SCIENCE......Page 178 15 EXPERIMENT......Page 188 16 EXPLANATION......Page 200 17 THE FEMINIST APPROACH TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE......Page 211 18 INFERENCE TO THE BEST EXPLANATION......Page 222 19 LAWS OF NATURE......Page 232 20 NATURALISM......Page 242 21 REALISM/ANTI-REALISM......Page 253 22 RELATIVISM ABOUT SCIENCE......Page 265 23 SCIENTIFIC METHOD......Page 277 24 SOCIAL STUDIES OF SCIENCE......Page 288 25 THE STRUCTURE OF THEORIES......Page 298 26 THEORY-CHANGE IN SCIENCE......Page 310 27 UNDERDETERMINATION......Page 321 28 VALUES IN SCIENCE......Page 331 PART III: CONCEPTS......Page 344 29 CAUSATION......Page 346 30 DETERMINISM......Page 356 31 EVIDENCE......Page 366 32 FUNCTION......Page 378 33 IDEALIZATION......Page 387 34 MEASUREMENT......Page 396 35 MECHANISMS......Page 405 36 MODELS......Page 414 37 OBSERVATION......Page 425 38 PREDICTION......Page 434 39 PROBABILITY......Page 443 40 REDUCTION......Page 454 41 REPRESENTATION IN SCIENCE......Page 464 42 SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY......Page 471 43 SPACE AND TIME......Page 481 44 SYMMETRY......Page 497 45 TRUTHLIKENESS......Page 507 46 UNIFICATION......Page 518 47 THE VIRTUES OF A GOOD THEORY......Page 527 Part IV: INDIVIDUAL SCIENCES......Page 538 48 BIOLOGY......Page 540 49 CHEMISTRY......Page 549 50 COGNITIVE SCIENCE......Page 560 51 ECONOMICS......Page 572 52 MATHEMATICS......Page 584 53 PHYSICS......Page 596 54 PSYCHOLOGY......Page 610 55 SOCIAL SCIENCES......Page 623 INDEX......Page 634

This indispensable reference source and guide to the major themes, debates, problems and topics in philosophy of science contains fifty-five specially commissioned entries by a leading team of international contributors. Organized into four parts it covers:

• historical and philosophical context


• debates


• concepts


• the individual sciences.

The Companion covers everything students of philosophy of science need to know - from empiricism, explanation and experiment to causation, observation, prediction and more - and contains many helpful features including: a section on the individual sciences, including chapters on the philosophy of biology, chemistry, physics and psychology, further reading and cross-referencing at the end of each chapter.

Savannah Schroll Guz - Library Journal

Psillos (Scientific Realism) and Curd (Principles of Reasoning) have amassed essays by 58 internationally dispersed integrative science and philosophy scholars. Divided into four parts, the book's multipage essays discuss historical and philosophical contexts, explain debates surrounding various isms, unpack broad philoscientific concepts like causation, and survey individual areas that employ scientific approaches, including economics and mathematics. While filled with allusions and field-specific language not accessible to uninitiated readers, the essays illuminate more abstruse philosophical tracts and make carefully measured connections between the higher realms of science and the actual world. Highly recommended for history of science and philosophy collections.

Humanities BOOK COVER 1 TITLE 4 COPYRIGHT 5 CONTENTS 6 ILLUSTRATIONS 10 CONTRIBUTORS 12 INTRODUCTION 20 PART I: HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL CONTEXT 30 1 THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF SCIENCE AFTER QUINE 32 2 THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 44 3 METAPHYSICS 55 4 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE 65 5 THE ROLE OF LOGIC IN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 76 6 CRITICAL RATIONALISM 87 7 THE HISTORICAL TURN IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 96 8 LOGICAL EMPIRICISM 107 9 PRAGMATISM AND SCIENCE 120 PART II: DEBATES 130 10 BAYESIANISM 132 11 CONFIRMATION 144 12 EMPIRICISM 158 13 ESSENTIALISM AND NATURAL KINDS 168 14 ETHICS OF SCIENCE 178 15 EXPERIMENT 188 16 EXPLANATION 200 17 THE FEMINIST APPROACH TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 211 18 INFERENCE TO THE BEST EXPLANATION 222 19 LAWS OF NATURE 232 20 NATURALISM 242 21 REALISM/ANTI-REALISM 253 22 RELATIVISM ABOUT SCIENCE 265 23 SCIENTIFIC METHOD 277 24 SOCIAL STUDIES OF SCIENCE 288 25 THE STRUCTURE OF THEORIES 298 26 THEORY-CHANGE IN SCIENCE 310 27 UNDERDETERMINATION 321 28 VALUES IN SCIENCE 331 PART III: CONCEPTS 344 29 CAUSATION 346 30 DETERMINISM 356 31 EVIDENCE 366 32 FUNCTION 378 33 IDEALIZATION 387 34 MEASUREMENT 396 35 MECHANISMS 405 36 MODELS 414 37 OBSERVATION 425 38 PREDICTION 434 39 PROBABILITY 443 40 REDUCTION 454 41 REPRESENTATION IN SCIENCE 464 42 SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY 471 43 SPACE AND TIME 481 44 SYMMETRY 497 45 TRUTHLIKENESS 507 46 UNIFICATION 518 47 THE VIRTUES OF A GOOD THEORY 527 Part IV: INDIVIDUAL SCIENCES 538 48 BIOLOGY 540 49 CHEMISTRY 549 50 COGNITIVE SCIENCE 560 51 ECONOMICS 572 52 MATHEMATICS 584 53 PHYSICS 596 54 PSYCHOLOGY 610 55 SOCIAL SCIENCES 623 INDEX 634 This indispensable reference source and guide to the major themes, debates, problems and topics in philosophy of science contains fifty-five specially commissioned entries by a leading team of international contributors. Organized into four parts it covers: * historical and philosophical context * debates * concepts * the individual sciences. The __Companion__ covers everything students of philosophy of science need to know - from empiricism, explanation and experiment to causation, observation, prediction and more - and contains many helpful features including: a section on the individual sciences, including chapters on the philosophy of biology, chemistry, physics and psychology, further reading and cross-referencing at the end of each chapter. This indispensable reference source and guide to the major themes, debates, problems and topics in philosophy of science contains fifty-six specially commissioned entries by a leading team of international contributors covering: Historical and Philosophic