Overview

Focusing on the philosophy of science, this study is divided into two books. Book I deals with traditional problems in the philosophy of science - logic, explanation, and epistemology. Book II presents various schools and systems of thought from the philosophy of science. Prominently featured are rationalism, empiricism, logical positivism and constructivism. The text offers both breadth and depth, but is written in a clear and accessible style, making it appropriate for philosophy of science courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Full Product Details

Author:   Edwin Hung
Publisher:   Cengage Learning, Inc
Imprint:   Wadsworth Publishing Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 23.20cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 18.80cm
Weight:   0.900kg
ISBN:  

9780534247508

ISBN 10:   0534247504
Pages:   512
Publication Date:   25 July 1996
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Preface. A Word to Instructors. A Word to Students. INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE? 0. A Tale of Two Theories: The Story of Light. BOOK I. TRUTH, EXPLANATION AND REALITY: THE CLASSICAL TRADITION AND ITS PROBLEMS. Part I. Basic Types of Reasoning in Science. Hypotheses. 2. Deductive Reasoning. 3. Inductive Reasoning. 4. Statistical and Probalistic Reasoning. Part II. The Search for Truth. 5. Empirical Discovery of Plausible Hypotheses. 6. Empirical Evaluation I: Indirect Tests and Auxiliary Hypotheses. 7. Empirical Evaluation II: Crucial Tests and AD HOC Revisions. 8. Theoretical Justification: Theories and Their Uses. 9. Conventionalism and the Duhem-Quine Thesis. Part III. The Quest for Explanation. 10. Covering-Law Thesis of Explanation. 11. Universal Laws of Nature. 12. Probalistic Explanation and Probalistic Causality. 13. Teleological Explanation, Mind, and Reductionism. 14. Other Theories of Explanation: the Contextual, the Casual, and the Unificatory. Part IV. The Pursuit of Reality. 15. The Classical View of Scientific Theories. 16. Realism Versus Instrumentalism. 17. Critiques of the Classical View. 18. Antirealism I: The Empiricist Challenge. Intermezzo: So, How Does Science Work? BOOK II. RATIONALISM, EMPIRICISM, POSITIVISM AND CONSTRUCTIVISM: EVOLVING VIEWS AND PERSPECTIVES. Part V. Rationalism and Empiricism. 19. Rationalism and Then Empiricism. 20. Problems of Empiricism IA: Hume's Problem. 21. Problems of Empiricism IB: Goodman's Paradox and Hempel's Paradox. 22. Problems of Empiricism II: Problem of Observation. Part VI. The Classical Dynasty. 23. Logical Positivism. 24. Popper's Falsificationism. Part VII. The Weltanschauung Revolution. 25.Introduction: Two Paradigm Theories. 26. Kuhn I: Normal Science and Revolutionary Science. 27. Kuhn II: Incommensurability and Relativism. Part VIII. Towards History, Sociology and Artificial Intelligence. 28. Lakatos: The Revisionist Popperian. 29. Laudan: The Eclectic Historicist. 30. History, Sociology, and Philosophy of Science. 31. Antirealism Ii: The Constructivist Rebellion. 32. Artificial Intelligience and the Philosophy of Science. Epilogue. Bibliography. Index.

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Author Information

Edwin Hung is a recently retired Reader of Philosophy at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. He studied philosophy at Oxford University, where he obtained his doctoral degree (D.Phil.). He has been an honorary fellow of Linacre College (Oxford), a research associate at the Boston University Center of Philosophy and History of Science, and a visiting scholar at Harvard University, MIT, and the Minnesota Center for the Philosophy of Science. He has written three books and is also published widely in the fields of philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of logic and philosophy of language.

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