The Philosophy of Science

Front Cover
Richard Boyd, Philip Gasper, J. D. Trout
MIT Press, 1991 - 800 pages

Readings that chart the rise and decline of logical positivism and the emergence of a new consensus, emphasizing the relation between theoretical and applied questions.

The more than forty readings in this anthology cover the most important developments if the past six decades, charting the rise and decline of logical positivism and the gradual emergence of a new consensus concerning the major issues and theoretical options in the field. The editors have included articles on all the major special sciences and emphasize the relation between the more theoretical and applied questions.

Part One deals with basic theoretical issues: confirmation, semantics, and the interpretation of theories; causation and explanation; and reductionism and the unity of science. In Part Two, these relatively abstract themes are illustrated and examined further in light of issues in the various special sciences including physics, biology, psychology, and social science.

 

Contents

Chapter
20
Chapter 1
37
Chapter 2
57
Chapter 3
71
Chapter 4
85
Chapter 5
99
The Empirical Basis
112
Chapter 7
139
Section I
463
Chapter 26
485
Chapter 27
501
Chapter 28
517
Introductory Essay
545
Chapter 31
570
Chapter 32
589
Section III
605

Chapter 8
159
Chapter 10
187
Chapter 12
223
Chapter 13
247
Chapter 14
261
Chapter 15
279
Laws and Their Role in Scientific Explanation
299
Chapter 17
317
Chapter 19
349
The Reality of Causes in a World of Instrumental Laws
379
Chapter 21
393
Chapter 23
429
Chapter 24
443
Chapter 34
631
Chapter 35
651
Chapter 36
671
Chapter 37
687
Section IV
713
Chapter 39
733
Chapter 40
743
Chapter 41
763
Glossary
775
Bibliography
783
Index
789
Copyright

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About the author (1991)

Richard Boyd is Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University. Philip Gasper is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Middlebury College. John D. Trout teaches philosophy in Hoboken, New Jersey.

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