Overview

A new approach to Whitehead's philosophy of science, relating his mature metaphysical system to contemporary discussions in the philosophy of science.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ann L. Plamondon
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.417kg
ISBN:  

9780873953870

ISBN 10:   0873953878
Pages:   174
Publication Date:   30 June 1979
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

"Abbreviations Introduction Part One. The Development of Whitehead's Thought Chapter I. Geometry Section 1. The thesis of the first period Section 2. The thesis of the second period Section 3. The thesis of the third period Section 4. The implications of Whitehead's metaphysics for the ontological status of geometrical entities Chapter II. Number Section 5. The thesis of the first period Section 6. The implications of Whitehead's metaphysics for the ontological status of number Part Two. Foundational Concepts for the Philosophy of Organism Chapter III. Organism and Environment Section 7. Organic mechanism Section 8. Organism Section 9. Environment Chapter IV. The Order of Nature Section 10. The problem of societies Section 11. A model for understanding societies Section 12. The order of nature Chapter V. Foundational Concepts and Evolution Section 13. The incoherence of materialism Section 14. The coherence of organism Part Three. Metaphysics and a Logic of Science Chapter VI. Contemporary Schools of Thought in the Philosophy of Science in the English-speaking World Section 15. Formalism and historical relativism Chapter VII. Laws Section 16. Laws are true statements of universal(conditional) form Section 17. Laws are formal statements (neither true nor false) in accordance with which we draw inferences about phenomena Section 18. Laws are statements about dominant orders of general environments Chapter VIII. Induction Section 19. The logic of science as deductive logic Section 20. Theory-ladenness and induction Section 21. ""Valid inductive inference"" Section 22. Environment and the justification of ""valid inductive inference"" Chapter IX. Explanation Section 23. The orthodox empiricist models of explanation Section 24. Explanation as an activity of scientists Section 25. Organism and explanation-metaphysical and scientific Section 26. Metaphor, analogy, and explanation Section 27. Environment, metaphor, and explanation Chapter X. Conceptual Change Section 28. Explanation and conceptual change Section 29. Paradigms, meaning variance, and scientific revolutions Section 30. The organic categories for the structure of scientific revolutions Section 31. Revolutionary conceptual change Section 32. Metaphor and conceptual change Section 33. Theory choice: realism vs. instrumentalism Chapter XI. Reduction Section 34. Theoretical reduction Section 35. Paradigms and reduction Section 36. The unity of nature: mechanism vs. organicism Section 37. The unity of nature: teleological explanation Notes"

Reviews

An interestingly different perspective on basic current issues. - CHOICE This essay throws new light on Alfred North Whitehead's philosophy of science and on its contemporary relevance ... The research is comprehensive and contemporary ... The book could conceivably be used as a text in a course on the philosophy of science. - Book Reviews

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