Overview

One of the most creative philosophers of the 20th century, Rudolf Carnap presented a series of science lectures at the University of California in 1958. The present volume is an outgrowth of that seminar, which dealt with the philosophical foundations of physics. Edited by Martin Gardner from transcripts of Carnap's classroom lectures and discussions, the book remains one of the clearest and soundest introductions to the philosophy of science.Specially designed to appeal to a wide range of readers, An Introduction to thePhilosophy of Science offers accessible coverage of such topics as laws and probability, measurement and quantitative language, the structure of space, causality and determinism, theoretical laws and concepts and much more. Stimulating and thought-provoking, the text will be of interest to philosophers, scientists and anyone interested in logical analysis of the concepts, statements and theories of science. Its clear and readable style help make it """"the best book available for the intelligent reader who wants to gain some insight into the nature of contemporary philosophy of science"""" - Choice. Foreword to the Basic Books Paperback Edition, 1974 (Gardner); Preface (Carnap); Foreword to the Dover Edition (Gardner). 35 black-and-white illustrations. Bibliography.

Full Product Details

Author:   Rudolf Carnap ,  Martin Gardner
Publisher:   Dover Publications Inc.
Imprint:   Dover Publications Inc.
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 13.60cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 21.50cm
Weight:   0.349kg
ISBN:  

9780486283180

ISBN 10:   0486283186
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   28 March 2003
Audience:   Adult education ,  College/higher education ,  Further / Higher Education ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   No Longer Our Product
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

Foreword to the Dover Edition Foreword to the Basic Books paperback edition Preface ""PART I Laws, Explanation, and Probability"" 1 The Value of Laws: Explanation and Prediction 2 Induction and Statistical Probability 3 Induction and Logical Probability 4 The Experimental Method PART II Measurement and Quantitative Language 5 Three Kinds of Concepts in Science 6 The Measurement of Quantitative Concepts 7 Extensive Magnitudes 8 Time 9 Length 10 Derived Magnitudes and the Quantitative Language 11 Merits of the Quantitative Method 12 The Magic View of Language PART III The Structure of Space 13 Euclid's Parallel Postulate 14 Non-Euclidean Geometrics 15 Poincare versus Einstein 16 Space in Relativity Theory 17 Advantages of Non-Euclidean Physical Geometry 18 Kant's Synthetic A Priori PART IV Causality and Determinism 19 Causality 20 Does Causality Imply Necessity? 21 The Logic of Causal Modalities 22 Determinism and Free Will PART V Theoretical Laws and Theoretical Concepts 23 Theories and Nonobservables 24 Correspondence Rules 25 How New Empirical Laws Are Derived from Theoretical Laws 26 The Ramsey Sentence 27 Analyticity in an Observation Language 28 Analyticity in a Theoretical Language PART VI Beyond Determinism 29 Statistical Laws 30 Indeterminism in Quantum Physics Bibliography Index

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