Representing and Intervening
Introductory Topics in the Philosophy of Natural Science
- Author: Ian Hacking
- Date Published: August 2013
- availability: This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
- format: Adobe eBook Reader
- isbn: 9781107266063
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This 1983 book is a lively and clearly written introduction to the philosophy of natural science, organized around the central theme of scientific realism. It has two parts. 'Representing' deals with the different philosophical accounts of scientific objectivity and the reality of scientific entities. The views of Kuhn, Feyerabend, Lakatos, Putnam, van Fraassen, and others, are all considered. 'Intervening' presents the first sustained treatment of experimental science for many years and uses it to give a new direction to debates about realism. Hacking illustrates how experimentation often has a life independent of theory. He argues that although the philosophical problems of scientific realism can not be resolved when put in terms of theory alone, a sound philosophy of experiment provides compelling grounds for a realistic attitude. A great many scientific examples are described in both parts of the book, which also includes lucid expositions of recent high energy physics and a remarkable chapter on the microscope in cell biology.
Reviews & endorsements
'In summary, Hacking's book is an extremely valuable contribution … I urge you all to read it and to use it in your courses on the philosophy of science.' British Journal of the Philosophy of Science
See more reviews' … its refreshingly provocative style and broad sweep will excite readers much more than the usual woodenly written introductions.' The Times Literary Supplement
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×Product details
- Date Published: August 2013
- format: Adobe eBook Reader
- isbn: 9781107266063
- availability: This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
Analytical table of contents
Preface
Introduction: rationality
Part I. Representing:
1. What is scientific realism?
2. Building and causing
3. Positivism
4. Pragmatism
5. Incommensurability
6. Reference
7. Internal realism
8. A surrogate for truth
Part II. Intervening:
9. Experiment
10. Observation
11. Microscopes
12. Speculation, calculation, models, approximations
13. The creation of phenomena
14. Measurement
15. Baconian topics
16. Experimentation and scientific realism
Further reading
Index.
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