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2. Kant and Critique: New Essays in Honor of W.H. Werkmeister
- Author
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R.M. Dancy and R.M. Dancy
- Subjects
- Knowledge, Theory of, Philosophy, Science—Philosophy, History, Ethics, Aesthetics
- Abstract
On 5-6 April 1991, there was a conference on Kant at Florida State University; this volume collects the (revised versions ofthe) papers presented on that occasion. The occasion was, give or take a few months, the 90th birthday of Professor (Emeritus) William H. Werkmeister. Werkie (as all his friends call hirn) hirnself gave the final paper at this conference. Hence the inclusion of a paper by Werkie in a volume honoring hirn. Although he is primarily known for his expertise in the field of Kantian philosophy, Werkie's published scholarship has spanned a wide range of subjects for more than fifty years: his first book, A Philosophy of Science, appeared in 1940; today, among other endeavors, he is at work on a book on Heidegger, and there have been other books and more than a hundred papers in between. Readers interested in fuller biographical information about Werkie should consult the first three papers in the 1 Festschrift celebrating his eightieth hirthday in 1981. Since then, Werkie's activities have continued without much letup. He no longer teaches regularly, hut he gives frequent colloquia in the Philosophy Department here, participates in conferences on Kant around the world, and continues to puhlish, particularly on Kant and Nicolai Hartmann. Wayne McEvilly,'The Teacher Remembered'; Charles H.
- Published
- 2013
3. Recent Themes in the Philosophy of Science : Scientific Realism and Commonsense
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S. Clarke, T.D. Lyons, S. Clarke, and T.D. Lyons
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Ontology, Metaphysics
- Abstract
Australia and New Zealand boast an active community of scholars working in the field of history, philosophy and social studies of science. Australasian Studies in History and Philosophy of Science aims to provide a distinctive publication outlet for their work. Each volume comprises a group of thematically-connected essays edited by scholars based in Australia or New Zealand with special expertise in that particular area. In each volume, a majority ofthe contributors are from Australia or New Zealand. Contributions from elsewhere are by no means ruled out, however, and are actively encouraged wherever appropriate to the balance of the volume in question. Earlier volumes in the series have been welcomed for significantly advancing the discussion of the topics they have dealt with. I believe that the present volume will be greeted equally enthusiastically by readers in many parts of the world. R. W. Home General Editor Australasian Studies in History And Philosophy of Science viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The majority of the papers in this collection had their origin in the 2001 Australasian Association for History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science annual conference, held at the University of Melbourne, where streams of papers on the themes of scientific realism and commonsense were organised.
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- 2013
4. The Law of Causality and Its Limits
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Philipp Frank, Robert S. Cohen, Philipp Frank, and Robert S. Cohen
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Physics—Philosophy, Knowledge, Theory of
- Abstract
The Law of Causality and its Limits was the principal philosophical work of the physicist turned philosopher, Philipp Frank. Born in Vienna on March 20, 1884, Frank died in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 21, 1966. He received his doctorate in 1907 at the University of Vienna in theoretical physics, having studied under Ludwig Boltzmann; his sub sequent research in physics and mathematics was represented by more than 60 scientific papers. Moreover his great success as teacher and expositor was recognized throughout the scientific world with publication of his collaborative Die Differentialgleichungen der Mechanik und Physik, with Richard von Mises, in 1925-27. Frank was responsible for the second volume, on physics, and especially noted for his authoritative article on classical Hamiltonian mechanics and optics. Among his earliest papers were those, beginning in 1908, devoted to special relativity, which together with general relativity and physical cosmology occupied him throughout his life. Already in 1907, Frank published his seminal paper'Kausalgesetz und Erfahrung'('Experience and the Law of Causality'), much later collected with a splendid selection of his essays on philosophy of science, in English (1941c and 1949g, in our Bibliography). Joining the first'Vienna Circle'in the first decade of the 20th century, with Hans Hahn, mathematician, and Otto Neurath, sociologist and economist, and deeply influenced by studies of Ernst Mach's critical conceptual histories of science and by the striking challenge of Poincare and Duhem, Frank continued his epistemological investigations.
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- 2012
5. Science Education and Culture : The Contribution of History and Philosophy of Science
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Fabio Bevilacqua, Enrico Giannetto, Michael Matthews, Fabio Bevilacqua, Enrico Giannetto, and Michael Matthews
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- Science—Study and teaching, History, Science—Philosophy, Education—Philosophy
- Abstract
This anthology contains selected papers from the'Science as Culture'conference held at Lake Como, and Pavia University Italy, 15-19 September 1999. The conference, attended by about 220 individuals from thirty countries, was a joint venture of the International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Group (its fifth conference) and the History of Physics and Physics Teaching Division of the European Physical Society (its eighth conference). The magnificient Villa Olmo, on the lakeshore, provided a memorable location for the presentors of the 160 papers and the audience that discussed them. The conference was part of local celebrations of the bicentenary of Alessandro Volta's creation of the battery in 1799. Volta was born in Como in 1745, and for forty years from 1778 he was professor of experimental physics at Pavia University. The conference was fortunate to have had the generous financial support of the Italian government's Volta Bicentenary Fund, Lombardy region, Pavia University, Italian Research Council, and Kluwer Academic Publishers. The papers included here, have or will be, published in the journal Science & Education, the inaugural volume (1992) of which was a landmark in the history of science education publication, because it was the first journal in the field devoted to contributions from historical, philosophical and sociological scholarship. Clearly these'foundational'disciplines inform numerous theoretical, curricular and pedagogical debates in science education. Contemporary Concerns The reseach promoted by the International and European Groups, and by the journal, is central to science education programmes in most areas of the world.
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- 2012
6. Wittgenstein in Florida : Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Florida State University, 7–8 August 1989
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Jaakko Hintikka and Jaakko Hintikka
- Subjects
- Metaphysics, History, Science—Philosophy
- Abstract
Most of the papers appearing in volume 87 numbers, 1-2 are based on papers presented at the Colloquium on the Philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein held at the Department of Philosophy at Florida State University on 7-8 April 1989. We owe warm thanks to Florida State University for generously supporting this colloquium. The English translation of the chapter entitled'Philosophie', from Wittgenstein's typescript number 213 (von Wright), appears here with permission of Wittgenstein's literary heirs, without affecting existing copyrights. The original German version of this chapter was edited by Heikki Nyman and appeared in Revue Internationale de Philosophie 43 (1989), pp. 175-203. Jaakko Hintikka's article (87, No.2) first appeared in a shorter form in The Times Literary Supplement No. 4565 (28 September to 4 October 1990, p. 1030). The present version appears with the permis sion of The Times Literary Supplement, which is gratefully acknowl edged. Our thanks are due to all the participants of the colloquium and the contributors to these special numbers.
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- 2012
7. After Popper, Kuhn and Feyerabend : Recent Issues in Theories of Scientific Method
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R. Nola, H. Sankey, R. Nola, and H. Sankey
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Knowledge, Theory of, History, Philosophy
- Abstract
Some think that issues to do with scientific method are last century's stale debate; Popper was an advocate of methodology, but Kuhn, Feyerabend, and others are alleged to have brought the debate about its status to an end. The papers in this volume show that issues in methodology are still very much alive. Some of the papers reinvestigate issues in the debate over methodology, while others set out new ways in which the debate has developed in the last decade. The book will be of interest to philosophers and scientists alike in the reassessment it provides of earlier debates about method and current directions of research.
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- 2012
8. Inconsistency in Science
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Joke Meheus and Joke Meheus
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Logic
- Abstract
For centuries, inconsistencies were seen as a hindrance to good reasoning, and their role in the sciences was ignored. In recent years, however, logicians as well as philosophers and historians have showed a growing interest in the matter. Central to this change were the advent of paraconsistent logics, the shift in attention from finished theories to construction processes, and the recognition that most scientific theories were at some point either internally inconsistent or incompatible with other accepted findings. The new interest gave rise to important questions. How is `logical anarchy'avoided? Is it ever rational to accept an inconsistent theory? In what sense, if any, can inconsistent theories be considered as true? The present collection of papers is the first to deal with this kind of questions. It contains case studies as well as philosophical analyses, and presents an excellent overview of the different approaches in the domain.
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- 2013
9. Mixture and Chemical Combination : And Related Essays
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Pierre Duhem and Pierre Duhem
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- Science—Philosophy, Chemistry, History
- Abstract
Much of Duhem's work as a professional scientist was closely related to the newly emerging discipline of physical chemistry. The book and associated papers translated here revolve around his concomitant philosophical and historical interests in chemistry-topics largely uncovered by Duhem's writings hitherto available in English. He understood contemporary concerns of chemists to be a development of the ancient dispute over the nature of mixture. Having developed his historical account from distinctions drawn from the atomists and Aristotelians of antiquity, he places his own views of chemical combination squarely within the Aristotelian tradition. Apart from illuminating Duhem's own work, it is of interest to see how the ancient dispute can be related to modern science by someone competent to make such comparisons. The book is lucid and logically stringent without assuming any particular mathematical prerequisites, and provides a masterly statement of an important line of nineteenth century thought which is of interest in its own right as well as providing insight into Duhem's broader philosophical views.
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- 2013
10. John Von Neumann and the Foundations of Quantum Physics
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Miklós Rédei, Michael Stöltzner, Miklós Rédei, and Michael Stöltzner
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Elementary particles (Physics), Quantum field theory, Quantum physics, Physics—Philosophy, Mathematical physics, History
- Abstract
John von Neumann (1903-1957) was undoubtedly one of the scientific geniuses of the 20th century. The main fields to which he contributed include various disciplines of pure and applied mathematics, mathematical and theoretical physics, logic, theoretical computer science, and computer architecture. Von Neumann was also actively involved in politics and science management and he had a major impact on US government decisions during, and especially after, the Second World War. There exist several popular books on his personality and various collections focusing on his achievements in mathematics, computer science, and economy. Strangely enough, to date no detailed appraisal of his seminal contributions to the mathematical foundations of quantum physics has appeared. Von Neumann's theory of measurement and his critique of hidden variables became the touchstone of most debates in the foundations of quantum mechanics. Today, his name also figures most prominently in the mathematically rigorous branches of contemporary quantum mechanics of large systems and quantum field theory. And finally - as one of his last lectures, published in this volume for the first time, shows - he considered the relation of quantum logic and quantum mechanical probability as his most important problem for the second half of the twentieth century. The present volume embraces both historical and systematic analyses of his methodology of mathematical physics, and of the various aspects of his work in the foundations of quantum physics, such as theory of measurement, quantum logic, and quantum mechanical entropy. The volume is rounded off by previously unpublished letters and lectures documenting von Neumann's thinking about quantum theory after his 1932 Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. The general part of the Yearbook contains papers emerging from the Institute's annual lecture series and reviews of important publications of philosophy of science and its history.
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- 2013
11. Moritz Schlick
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B.F. McGuinness and B.F. McGuinness
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History
- Abstract
The idea for this issue arose during a gathering of scholars to com memorate the hundredth anniversary of Moritz Schlick (1882-1936), the philosopher from Germany whose influence gave Austria its most characteristic philosophical voice between the two world wars. He was cut off, tragically, in his prime and while he escaped the exile that awaited most of those who thought like him, he was unable (sadly for philosophy) to continue to steer their thoughts in his own direction and he even lost some of the credit for work already done. Thus it seemed to some of his former pupils and to others more remote from him in the tra dition that a small collection of papers throwing light on his especial con tribution and on the extent to which it is still active or still needed today was a requirement of justice no less than of piety. Tscha Hung, a mem ber of the Vienna Circle and since director of the Institute for Western Philosophy at Peking University, was the chief mover here. Also among the contributors, Ludovico Geymonat (Professor at Milan) was a visitor to the Circle and a friend of Schlick. Henrich Melzer and Joseph Schlichter were Viennese pupils of Schlick's. The former died in the war of 1939-45, the latter is still prominent in the cultural and educational life of Israel.
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- 2012
12. Experimental Inquiries : Historical, Philosophical and Social Studies of Experimentation in Science
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H.E. Le Grand and H.E. Le Grand
- Subjects
- History, Science—Philosophy
- Abstract
The institutionalization of History and Philosophy of Science as a distinct field of scholarly endeavour began comparatively early -- though not always under that name -- in the Australasian region. An initial lecturing appointment was made at the University of Melbourne imme diately after the Second World War, in 1946, and other appointments followed as the subject underwent an expansion during the 1950s and 1960s similar to that which took place in other parts of the world. Today there are major Departments at the University of Melbourne, the University of New South Wales and the University of Wollongong, and smaller groups active in many other parts of Australia and in New Zealand.'Australasian Studies in History and Philosophy of Science'aims to provide a distinctive publication outlet for Australian and New Zealand scholars working in the general area of history, philosophy and social studies of science. Each volume comprises a group of essays on a connected theme, edited by an Australian or a New Zealander with special expertise in that particular area. Papers address general issues, however, rather than local ones; parochial topics are avoided. Further more, though in each volume a majority of the contributors is from Australia or New Zealand, contributions from elsewhere are by no means ruled out. Quite the reverse, in fact -- they are actively encour aged wherever appropriate to the balance of the volume in question.
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- 2012
13. Decolonizing Science and Modernity in South Asia : Questioning Concepts, Constructing Histories
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Sahara Ahmed, Suvobrata Sarkar, Sahara Ahmed, and Suvobrata Sarkar
- Subjects
- Science—History, Social history, Imperialism, Science—Philosophy
- Abstract
This book offers a unique perspective on the colonial roots of modern science, technology, and medicine (STM) in South Asia. The book questions the deconstruction of imperial visions and definitions of science and modernity in South Asia. It presents an in-depth analysis of the contested relationship between science, modernity, and colonialism. It explores how new research can contribute to the diversification of perspectives in the history and sociology of modern South Asian studies. The chapters in the book delve into various aspects of STM in South Asia. It covers diverse topics, including the social, cultural, and pedagogic context of early modern Bengal, the popularization of science in colonial Punjab, the Hindi science periodical Vigyan, and the emergence of the Indian science community. The book also examines the intersection of indigenous medical practices, ayurveda, Unani, and medical revivalism and highlights peripheral creativity in science. The contributors engage with the existing historiography to raise new questions concerning the global circulations of scientific knowledge from the perspective of South Asia and the regional appropriation of the same. It connects the history of science and modernity with South Asia's socio-economic and cultural background. It offers valuable insights into the decolonization of STM. It greatly interests scholars and students of modern South Asian history, sociology, social anthropology, and Science, Technology and Society Studies (STS).
- Published
- 2024
14. The Richness of the History of Mathematics : A Tribute to Jeremy Gray
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Karine Chemla, José Ferreirós, Lizhen Ji, Erhard Scholz, Chang Wang, Karine Chemla, José Ferreirós, Lizhen Ji, Erhard Scholz, and Chang Wang
- Subjects
- Mathematics, History, Science—Philosophy
- Abstract
This book, a tribute to historian of mathematics Jeremy Gray, offers an overview of the history of mathematics and its inseparable connection to philosophy and other disciplines. Many different approaches to the study of the history of mathematics have been developed. Understanding this diversity is central to learning about these fields, but very few books deal with their richness and concrete suggestions for the “what, why and how” of these domains of inquiry. The editors and authors approach the basic question of what the history of mathematics is by means of concrete examples. For the “how” question, basic methodological issues are addressed, from the different perspectives of mathematicians and historians. Containing essays by leading scholars, this book provides a multitude of perspectives on mathematics, its role in culture and development, and connections with other sciences, making it an important resource for students and academics in the history and philosophy of mathematics.
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- 2023
15. Handbook of the History of General Topology
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C.E. Aull, R. Lowen, C.E. Aull, and R. Lowen
- Subjects
- Topology, Mathematics, History, Science—Philosophy
- Published
- 2013
16. Physics, Philosophy, and the Scientific Community : Essays in the Philosophy and History of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics In Honor of Robert S. Cohen
- Author
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K. Gavroglu, John Stachel, Marx W. Wartofsky, K. Gavroglu, John Stachel, and Marx W. Wartofsky
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Physics, Astronomy, History, Knowledge, Theory of, Physics—Philosophy, Mathematics
- Abstract
In three volumes, a distinguished group of scholars from a variety of disciplines in the natural and social sciences, the humanities and the arts contribute essays in honor of Robert S. Cohen, on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The range of the essays, as well as their originality, and their critical and historical depth, pay tribute to the extraordinary scope of Professor Cohen's intellectual interests, as a scientist-philosopher and a humanist, and also to his engagement in the world of social and political practice. The essays presented in Physics, Philosophy, and the Scientific Community (Volume I of Essays in Honor of Robert S. Cohen) focus on philosophical and historical issues in contemporary physics: on the origins and conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics, on the reception and understanding of Bohr's and Einstein's work, on the emergence of quantum electrodynamics, and on some of the sharp philosophical and scientific issues that arise in current scientific practice (e.g. in superconductivity research). In addition, several essays deal with critical issues within the philosophy of science, both historical and contemporary: e.g. with Cartesian notions of mechanism in the philosophy of biology; with the language and logic of science - e.g. with new insights concerning the issue of a `physicalistic'language in the arguments of Neurath, Carnap and Wittgenstein; with the notion of `elementary logic'; and with rational and non-rational elements in the history of science. Two original contributions to the history of mathematics and some studies in the comparative sociology of science round off this outstanding collection.
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- 2013
17. Heinrich Hertz: Classical Physicist, Modern Philosopher
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D. Baird, R.I. Hughes, A. Nordmann, D. Baird, R.I. Hughes, and A. Nordmann
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Physics—Philosophy
- Abstract
The sub-title of this symposium is accurate and, in a curious way, promises more than it states: Classical Physicist, Modem Philosopher. Heinrich Hertz, as the con summate experimentalist of 19th century technique and as brilliant clarifying critic of physical theory of his time, achieved one of the fulfilments but at the same time opened one of the transition points of classical physics. Thus, in his'popular'lecture'On the Relations Between Light and Electricity'at Heidelberg in the Fall of 1889, Hertz identified the ether as henceforth the most fundamental problem of physics, as the conceptual mystery but also the key to understanding mass, electric ity, and gravity. Of Hertz's demonstration of electric waves, Helmholtz told the Physical Society of Berlin:'Gentlemen! I have to communicate to you today the most important physical discovery of the century.'Hertz, philosophizing in his direct, lucid, pithy style, once wrote'We have to imagine'. Perhaps this is metaphysics on the horizon? In the early pages of his Principles of Mechanics, we read A doubt which makes an impression on our mind cannot be removed by calling it metaphysical: every thoughtful mind as such has needs which scientific men are accustomed to denote as metaphysical. (PM23) And at another place, concerning the terms'force'and'electricity'and the alleged mystery of their natures, Hertz wrote: We have an obscure feeling of this and want to have things cleared up.
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- 2013
18. Fact, Faith and Fiction in the Development of Science : The Gifford Lectures Given in the University of St Andrews 1976
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R. Hooykaas and R. Hooykaas
- Subjects
- History, Science—Philosophy, Geology, Chemistry, Astronomy—Observations
- Abstract
In this posthumous book, the late Professor R. Hooykaas (1906-1994) conveys a lifetime of historical thought about modes of scientific advance over the centuries. In what variety of ways has the human mind, with all its subjectivity and its capacity for self-deception, but also its piercing gifts of discovery, managed to come to terms with `the whimsical tricks of nature'? Central to this erudite, penetrating, and widely ranging study is Hooykaas's distinction between facts (given by nature yet entirely subject to our mode of interpreting them), faith (broad conceptions like the idea of order, of simplicity, or of harmony), and fictions in the sense of those daring intellectual tools, such as theories and hypotheses and models, which reflect the scientist's creative imagination. Case studies drawn from the history of all branches of science (including chemistry and the earth sciences) and from Antiquity to the present day, serve to widen and to deepen the understanding of every reader (whether a historian of science or not) with a desire to learn more about the realities of the scientific pursuit.
- Published
- 2013
19. The Sciences in the European Periphery During the Enlightenment
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K. Gavroglu and K. Gavroglu
- Subjects
- History, Science—Philosophy, Philosophy, Modern, Physics—Philosophy
- Abstract
The articles in this volume of ARCHIMEDES examine particular cases of `reception'in ways that emphasize pressing historiographical and methodological issues. Such issues arise in any consideration of the transmission and appropriation of scientific concepts and practices that originated in the several `centers'of European learning, subsequently to appear (often in considerably altered guise) in regions at the European periphery. They discuss the transfer of new scientific ideas, the mechanisms of their introduction, and the processes of their appropriation at the periphery. The themes that frame the discussions of the complex relationship between the origination of ideas and their reception include the ways in which the ideas of the Scientific Revolution were introduced, the particularities of their expression in each place, the specific forms of resistance encountered by these new ideas, the extent to which such expression and resistance displays national characteristics, the procedures through which new ways of dealing with nature were made legitimate, and the commonalities and differences between the methods developed by scholars for handling scientific issues.
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- 2013
20. Between Leibniz, Newton, and Kant : Philosophy and Science in the Eighteenth Century
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Wolfgang Lefèvre and Wolfgang Lefèvre
- Subjects
- Philosophy, Modern, History, Science—Philosophy
- Abstract
It is a truism that philosophy and the sciences were closely linked in the age of Leibniz, Newton, and Kant; but a more precise determination of the structure and dynamics of this linkage is required. The subject matter of this volume is the interactions among the developments in philosophy and the transformations that the different branches of sciences, Baconian as well as classical, underwent during this period. Among the topics addressed are the transformations of metaphysics as a discipline, the emergence of analytical mechanics and its consequences for founding physics on metaphysics, the diverging avenues of 18th-century Newtonianism, the body-mind problem as dealt with by philosophers and physicians, and philosophical principles of classification in the life sciences. As an appendix, a critical edition and first translation into English of Newton's scholia from David Gregory's Estate on the Propositions IV through IX Book III of his Principia is added.
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- 2013
21. Schopenhauer’s Broken World-View : Colours and Ethics Between Kant and Goethe
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P.F. Lauxtermann and P.F. Lauxtermann
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Philosophy, Modern, Ontology, Knowledge, Theory of
- Abstract
Schopenhauer's philosophy, at first sight so beautifully rounded, upon analysis reveals itself as the secret arena of two conflicting world-views. The present analysis considers the conflict by confronting Schopenhauer as a `disciple-of-sorts of Kant'with Schopenhauer as `Goethe's one-time collaborator on the theory of colour'. Here the two meet over profound issues which the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century has ineluctably put before us: what is the right level at which to apprehend nature; what is the proper foundation for a consistent ethics; how (if at all) to arrive at a unified conception of a world broken by modern science? In this deeply-delving, lucidly written, humane and erudite study, the history of philosophical currents is blended with history of science, with history of ideas generally, and (to elucidate relevant portions of Schopenhauer's biography and intellectual and social environment) with German history too. The analysis, while benefiting from the scholarly literature, is grounded primarily in original research among the collected works of Schopenhauer, Kant and Goethe, considered in all their philosophical, scientific, and literary variety.
- Published
- 2013
22. The Historical Development of Energetics
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Georg Helm and Georg Helm
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Physics—Philosophy
- Abstract
Although produced in controversy, this book is not a controversial work. The calming effects of the years that have passed since the tumultuous days in Lubeck are enough to guarantee that these pages will accurately trace the coming and going of opinions, the battle for the truth and the recognition of error. In only a few passages, especially in Part Six, will one be able to tell from the tone of the book that it comes out of this struggle. For these I ask the indulgence of my reader, since they contain explanations the extent of which probably does not correspond either to the difficulty of the questions treated or to their influence. But in such passages the extent of treatment could not - as was otherwise the case - be made to depend solely on a judgment as to the value and significance of the investigations presented. There considerations of defense, more than concern for symmetry, had to determine the structure.
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- 2013
23. E.A. Burtt, Historian and Philosopher : A Study of the Author of The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science
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D. Villemaire and D. Villemaire
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Metaphysics
- Abstract
Burtt's book, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science, is something of a puzzle within the context of twentieth-century intellectual history, especially American intellectual history. Burtt's pioneering study of the scientific revolution has proved to prophetic in its rejection of both scientism and positivism. Published in 1924, Burtt's book continues to be read in educated circles and remains both the rose and the thorn on university reading lists, raising skeptical questions about science methods and science knowledge just as it did seventy-five years ago. This book examines Burtt's public, academic and personal life. From his politics of conscience after World War I on through the Cold War Burtt is shown to be a man of unparalleled integrity, whose relentless search for philosophic understanding drove his more quixotic philosophical quests and steered his personal life, including its tragic dimension, toward simple virtue. The many who have been affected by The Metaphysical Foundations will be especially interested in this new perspective on the life and thought of its author. Those who have not read Burtt's books might be inspired to study this unusual American thinker.
- Published
- 2013
24. Descartes’s Mathematical Thought
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C. Sasaki and C. Sasaki
- Subjects
- Mathematics, History, Philosophy—History, Science—Philosophy
- Abstract
Covering both the history of mathematics and of philosophy, Descartes's Mathematical Thought reconstructs the intellectual career of Descartes most comprehensively and originally in a global perspective including the history of early modern China and Japan. Especially, it shows what the concept of'mathesis universalis'meant before and during the period of Descartes and how it influenced the young Descartes. In fact, it was the most fundamental mathematical discipline during the seventeenth century, and for Descartes a key notion which may have led to his novel mathematics of algebraic analysis.
- Published
- 2013
25. Leibniz: Representation, Continuity and the Spatiotemporal
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D.A. Anapolitanos and D.A. Anapolitanos
- Subjects
- History, Science—Philosophy, Philosophy of mind, Knowledge, Theory of
- Abstract
Anapolitanos critically examines and evaluates three basic characteristics of the Leibnizian metaphysical system: Leibniz's version of representation; the principle of continuity; and space, time, and the phenomenally spatio-temporal. Chapter I discusses representation, especially as it refers to the connection between the real and the phenomenal levels of Leibniz's system. Chapter II examines the principle of continuity, including continuity as a general feature of every level of Leibniz's metaphysics. The position adopted is that the problem of the composition of the continuum played a central role on the development of Leibniz's non-spatial and non-temporal monadic metaphysics. The machinery developed is then used to offer a new interpretation of Leibniz'metaphysics of space and time. The notion of indirect representation is used to construct appropriate models that clarify the nature of the correspondence between the real and the phenomenal levels in the case of the relations `spatially between'and `temporally between', as well as in the cases of spatial and temporal density. Finally, Leibniz's solution to the problem of the continuum is discussed, arguing that it is not entirely satisfactory. A non-anachronistic alternative is proposed, compatible with Leibniz's metaphysics of substance.
- Published
- 2013
26. Handbook of the History of General Topology
- Author
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C.E. Aull, R. Lowen, C.E. Aull, and R. Lowen
- Subjects
- Topology, Mathematics, History, Science—Philosophy
- Published
- 2013
27. Handbook of the History of General Topology
- Author
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C.E. Aull, R. Lowen, C.E. Aull, and R. Lowen
- Subjects
- Topology, Mathematics, History, Science—Philosophy
- Published
- 2013
28. Hermeneutics and Science
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Márta Fehér, O. Kiss, L. Ropolyi, Márta Fehér, O. Kiss, and L. Ropolyi
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Philosophy, Modern, Phenomenology, History
- Abstract
Hermeneutics was elaborated as a specific art of understanding in humanities. The discovered paradigmatic, historical characteristics of scientific knowledge, and the role of rhetoric, interpretation and contextuality enabled us to use similar arguments in natural sciences too. In this way a new research field, the hermeneutics of science emerged based upon the works of Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, Heidegger and Gadamer. A dialogue between philosophers and scientists begins in this volume on hermeneutic approaches to physics, biology, ethology, mathematics and cognitive science. Scientific principles, methodologies, discourse, language, and metaphors are analyzed, as well as the role of the lay public and the legitimation of science. Different hermeneutical-phenomenological approaches to perception, experiments, methods, discovery and justification and the genesis of science are presented. Hermeneutics shed a new light on the incommensurability of paradigms, the possibility of translation and the historical understanding of science.
- Published
- 2013
29. In the Shadow of Descartes : Essays in the Philosophy of Mind
- Author
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G.H. Von Wright and G.H. Von Wright
- Subjects
- Philosophy of mind, Cognitive psychology, History, Science—Philosophy, Personality, Difference (Psychology)
- Abstract
Descartes made a sharp distinction between matter and mind. But he also thought that the two interact with one another. Is such interaction possible, however, without either a materialist reduction of mind to matter or an idealist (phenomenalist) reduction of matter to mind? These questions overshadow the Western tradition in metaphysics from the time of Descartes to present times. The book makes an effort to stay clear of reductivist views of the two Cartesian substances. It defends a dualistic psycho-physical parallel theory which reconciles freedom of action with determinism in nature. Basic problems in perception theory are also discussed, with special emphasis on hearing and sound. Because of the intrinsic interest of the subject and the author's non-technical presentation of it, the book should appeal to all readers with a serious interest in philosophy and psychology.
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- 2013
30. Scientific Philosophy: Origins and Development
- Author
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F. Stadler and F. Stadler
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Language and languages—Philosophy
- Abstract
Scientific Philosophy: Origins and Development is the first Yearbook of the Vienna Circle Institute, which was founded in October 1991. The book contains original contributions to an international symposium which was the first public event to be organised by the Institute: `Vienna--Berlin--Prague: The Rise of Scientific Philosophy: The Centenaries of Rudolf Carnap, Hans Reichenbach and Edgar Zilsel.'The first section of the book - `Scientific Philosophy - Origins and Developments'reveals the extent of scientific communication in the inter-War years between these great metropolitan centres, as well as presenting systematic investigations into the relevance of the heritage of the Vienna Circle to contemporary research and philosophy. This section offers a new paradigm for scientific philosophy, one which contrasts with the historiographical received view of logical empiricism. Support for this re-evaluation is offered in the second section, which contains, for the first time in English translation, Gustav Bergmann's recollections of the Vienna Circle, and an historical study of political economist Wilhelm Neurath, Otto Neurath's father. The third section gives a report on current computer-based research which documents the relevance of Otto Neurath's `Vienna method of pictorial statistics', or `Isotypes'. A review section describes new publications on Neurath and the Vienna Circle, as well anthologies relevant to Viennese philosophy and its history, setting them in their wider cultural and political perspective. Finally, a description is given of the Vienna Circle Institute and its activities since its foundation, as well as of its plans for the future.
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- 2013
31. What Was Mechanical About Mechanics : The Concept of Force Between Metaphysics and Mechanics From Newton to Lagrange
- Author
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J.C. Boudri and J.C. Boudri
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Physics—Philosophy, Mechanics, History
- Abstract
The Age of Reason is left the Dark Ages of the history of mechanics. Clifford A. Truesdell) 1. 1 THE INVISIBLE TRUTH OF CLASSICAL PHYSICS There are some questions that physics since the days of Newton simply cannot an swer. Perhaps the most important of these can be categorized as'questions of eth ics', and'questions of ultimate meaning'. The question of humanity's place in the cosmos and in nature is pre-eminently a philosophical and religious one, and physics seems to have little to contribute to answering it. Although physics claims to have made very fundamental discoveries about the cosmos and nature, its concern is with the coherence and order of material phenomena rather than with questions of mean ing. Now and then thinkers such as Stephen Hawking or Fritjof Capra emerge, who appear to claim that a total world-view can be derived from physics. Generally, however, such authors do not actually make any great effort to make good on their claim to completeness: their answers to questions of meaning often pale in compari 2 son with their answers to conventional questions in physics. Moreover, to the extent that they do attempt to answer questions of meaning, it is easy to show that they 3 draw on assumptions from outside physics.
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- 2013
32. The Growth of Mathematical Knowledge
- Author
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Emily Grosholz, Herbert Breger, Emily Grosholz, and Herbert Breger
- Subjects
- Logic, Mathematics, History, Mathematical logic, Science—Philosophy
- Abstract
Mathematics has stood as a bridge between the Humanities and the Sciences since the days of classical antiquity. For Plato, mathematics was evidence of Being in the midst of Becoming, garden variety evidence apparent even to small children and the unphilosophical, and therefore of the highest educational significance. In the great central similes of The Republic it is the touchstone ofintelligibility for discourse, and in the Timaeus it provides in an oddly literal sense the framework of nature, insuring the intelligibility ofthe material world. For Descartes, mathematical ideas had a clarity and distinctness akin to the idea of God, as the fifth of the Meditations makes especially clear. Cartesian mathematicals are constructions as well as objects envisioned by the soul; in the Principles, the work ofthe physicist who provides a quantified account ofthe machines of nature hovers between description and constitution. For Kant, mathematics reveals the possibility of universal and necessary knowledge that is neither the logical unpacking ofconcepts nor the record of perceptual experience. In the Critique ofPure Reason, mathematics is one of the transcendental instruments the human mind uses to apprehend nature, and by apprehending to construct it under the universal and necessary lawsofNewtonian mechanics.
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- 2013
33. Ernst Mach's Vienna 1895-1930 : Or Phenomenalism As Philosophy of Science
- Author
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J.T. Blackmore, R. Itagaki, S. Tanaka, J.T. Blackmore, R. Itagaki, and S. Tanaka
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Knowledge, Theory of, History, Physics—Philosophy, Philosophy, Ancient
- Abstract
Section Guide 1. Prolegomena 2. Biographical Sketch 3. Epistemology 4. Textbook Ontology 1. PROLEGOMENA While both philosophers and historians almost always love truth and the search for truth, and both often carry out extensive research, there can be noticeable differences when historians write about the history of philosophy and when philosophers write about it. Philosophers often look at the past with categories and interests taken from the present or at the least from the recent past, but many historians, especially those who love research for its own sake, will try to look at the past from a perspective either from that period or from even earlier. Both camps look for roots, but view them with different lenses and presupposi tions. This prolegomena has been added to prepare some philosophers for what will hopefully only be the mildest of shocks, for seeing the history of philosophy in a way which does not treat what is recent or latest as best, but which loves the context of ideas for its own sake, a context which can be very foreign to contemporary likes and dislikes. To be sure, we historians can deceive ourselves as easily as philosophers, but we tend to do so about different things.
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- 2013
34. Structures and Norms in Science : Volume Two of the Tenth International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, Florence, August 1995
- Author
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Maria Luisa Dalla Chiara, Kees Doets, Daniele Mundici, Johan van Benthem, Maria Luisa Dalla Chiara, Kees Doets, Daniele Mundici, and Johan van Benthem
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Language and languages—Philosophy, Ethics, History
- Abstract
This book gives a state-of-the-art survey of current research in logic and philosophy of science, as viewed by invited speakers selected by the most prestigious international organization in the field. In particular, it gives a coherent picture of foundational research into the various sciences, both natural and social. In addition, it has special interest items such as symposia on interfaces between logic and methodology, semantics and semiotics, as well as updates on the current state of the field in Eastern Europe and the Far East.
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- 2013
35. The Skeptical Tradition Around 1800 : Skepticism in Philosophy, Science, and Society
- Author
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J. van der Zande, R.H. Popkin, J. van der Zande, and R.H. Popkin
- Subjects
- Culture—Study and teaching, Philosophy, History, Philosophy, Modern, Political science—Philosophy, Science—Philosophy
- Abstract
In the early 1980s the late Charles B. Schmitt and I discussed the fact that so much new research and new interpretations were taking place concerning various areas of modem skepticism that we, as pioneers, ought to organize a conference where these new findings and outlooks could be presented and discussed. Charles and I had both visited the great library at Wolfenbiittel, and were most happy when the Herzog August Bibliothek agreed to host the first conference on the history of skepticism, in 1984 (published as Skepticism from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, ed. R. H. Popkin and Charles B. Schmitt [Wiesbaden, 1987, Wolfenbiitteler For schungen, vol. 35]) Charles and I projected a series of later conferences, the first of which would deal with skepticism and irreligion in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Unfortunately, however, Charles died suddenly in 1986, while lecturing in Padua. Subsequent to his death Constance Blackwell, his companion of many years, established the Foundation for Intellectual History to support research and publica tion on topics in the history of ideas that continued Schmitt's interests. One of the first ventures was to arrange and fund the already planned conference on skepticism and irreligion in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. After many difficulties and problems, the conference was sponsored and funded by the Foundation for Intel lectual History, one of its first public activities. It was held at the lovely facilities of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in Wassenaar in 1990.
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- 2013
36. The Human Being in Action : The Irreducible Element in Man Part II Investigations at the Intersection of Philosophy and Psychiatry
- Author
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Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka and Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Phenomenology
- Published
- 2013
37. Maimonides and the Sciences
- Author
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Robert S. Cohen, H. Levine, Robert S. Cohen, and H. Levine
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Knowledge, Theory of, History
- Abstract
In this book, 11 leading scholars contribute to the understanding of the scientific and philosophical works of Moses Maimonides (1135-1204), the most luminous Jewish intellectual since Talmudic times. Deeply learned in mathematics, astronomy, astrology (which he strongly rejected), logic, philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and jurisprudence, and himself a practising physician, Maimonides flourished within the high Arabic culture of the 12th century, where he had momentous influence upon subsequent Jewish beliefs and behavior, upon ethical demands, and upon ritual traditions. For him, mastery of the sciences was indispensable in the process of religious fulfilment.
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- 2013
38. History of Philosophy of Science : New Trends and Perspectives
- Author
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M. Heidelberger, F. Stadler, M. Heidelberger, and F. Stadler
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Philosophy—History, Philosophy, Modern
- Abstract
This volume includes in its special part recent contributions to the philosophy of science from a historical point of view and of the highest topicality: the range of the topics is covering all fields in the philosophy of the science provided by authors from Europe, America and around the world focussing on ancient, modern and contemporary periods in the development of the science philosophy. It represents a distinguished selection of the'Third Biennial Meeting of the History of Philosophy of Science Working Group'in Vienna (HOPOS 2000), which was jointly organised by Vienna Circle Institute at the University of Vienna. The audience of this proceedings is the scientific community and students at graduate level as well as postdocs in this interdisciplinary field of research.The general part contains as usual a report/document section with special highlights - contributions on American philosophers (by Gerald Holton) and on Wittgenstein (David Stern) - as well as review articles and review related new publications and short documentation of Vienna Circle Institute's activities.
- Published
- 2013
39. Scientific Credibility and Technical Standards in 19th and Early 20th Century Germany and Britain : In 19th and Early 20th Century Germany and Britain
- Author
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Jed Z. Buchwald and Jed Z. Buchwald
- Subjects
- History, Science—Philosophy, Business, Management science, Physics—Philosophy
- Abstract
The articles in this first volume of ARCHIMEDES explicitly and intentionally cross boundaries between science and technology, and they also illuminate one another. The first three contributions concern optics and industry in 19th century Germany; the fourth concerns electric standards in Germany during the same period; the last essay in the volume examines a curious development in the early history of wireless signalling that took place in England, and that has much to say about the establishment and enforcement of standard methods in a rapidly-developing technology that emerged out of a scientific effect. Historical work over the last few decades has shown that technology cannot be characterized simply, or even usually, as applied science. The beliefs, the devices, and the natural objects that are created or discovered by scientists, often play altogether minor roles in the construction of technologies. Taking this realization as a given, the essays in Scientific Credibility and Technical Standards effectively argue that we must now seek to go beyond it; we must also begin to think carefully about the role that science actually did play when it was explicitly deployed by technologists.
- Published
- 2012
40. Hans Reichenbach : Selected Writings 1909–1953 Volume Two
- Author
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M. Reichenbach, Robert S. Cohen, M. Reichenbach, and Robert S. Cohen
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Philosophy and social sciences, History
- Published
- 2012
41. The Roots of Things : Topics in Quantum Mechanics
- Author
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Alan A. Grometstein and Alan A. Grometstein
- Subjects
- Mathematics, Elementary particles (Physics), Quantum field theory, Mathematical physics, History, Science—Philosophy
- Abstract
Grometstein explains modern physics with enthusiasm, wit and insight. As he presents the usual milestones in the history of modern physics, his central focus is the historical debate regarding the nature of light: is it a particle or is it a wave? This book will be read by generations of students in physical science who seek a well written discussion of these important issues. Grometstein includes material which is quite recent, thus making the present volume particularly useful.
- Published
- 2012
42. The Cultural Context of Medieval Learning : Proceedings of the First International Colloquium on Philosophy, Science, and Theology in the Middle Ages — September 1973
- Author
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J.E. Murdoch, E.D. Sylla, J.E. Murdoch, and E.D. Sylla
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History
- Abstract
Proceedings of the First International Colloquium on Philosophy, Science, and Technology in the Middle Ages - September 1973
- Published
- 2012
43. Beyond Reason : Essays on the Philosophy of Paul Feyerabend
- Author
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Gonzalo Munévar and Gonzalo Munévar
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Education—Philosophy, Logic
- Abstract
Some philosophers think that Paul Feyerabend is a clown, a great many others think that he is one of the most exciting philosophers of science of this century. For me the truth does not lie somewhere in between, for I am decidedly of the second opinion, an opinion that is becoming general around the world as this century comes to an end and history begins to cast its appraising eye upon the intellectual harvest of our era. A good example of this opinion may be found in the admiration for Feyerabend's philosophy of science expressed by Grover Maxwell in his contribution to this volume. Maxwell, recalling his own intellectual transformation, says also that it was Feyerabend who'confirmed my then incipient suspicions that most of the foundations of currently fashionable philosophy and even a great deal of the methodology to which many scientists pay enthusiastic lip service are based on simple mistake- assumptions whose absurdity becomes obvious once attention is directed at them'. And lest the reader thinks, as many still do, that however sharp Feyerabend's attacks upon the philosophical establishment may have been, he does not offer a positive philosophy (a complain made by C.A. Hooker and some of the other contributors), Paul Churchland argues otherwise.
- Published
- 2012
44. The Physicists’ View of Nature, Part 1 : From Newton to Einstein
- Author
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Amit Goswami and Amit Goswami
- Subjects
- Physics, Astronomy, Physics—Philosophy, History, Science—Philosophy, Mechanics
- Abstract
This book is designed as a textbook for students who need to fulfil their science requirements. Part I explores classical physics from its beginnings with Descartes, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, to the relativity theories of Einstein. Special emphasis is given to the development of the objective, materialist, and deterministic worldview of classical physics. The influence of Newtonian physics on other fields of science and on society is emphasized. Finally, some of the problems with the worldview of classical physics are discussed and a preview of quantum physics is given.
- Published
- 2012
45. Hans Reichenbach: Logical Empiricist
- Author
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M.H. Salmon and M.H. Salmon
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History
- Abstract
Logical empiricism - not to be confused with logical positivism (see pp. 40-44) - is a movement which has left an indelible mark on twentieth century philosophy; Hans Reichenbach (1891-1953) was one of its found ers and one of its most productive advocates. His sudden and untimely death in 1953 halted his work when he was at the height of his intellectual powers; nevertheless, he bequeathed to us a handsome philosophical inheritance. At the present time, twenty-five years later, we can survey our heritage and see to what extent we have been enriched. The present collection of essays constitutes an effort to do just that - to exhibit the scope and unity of Reichenbach's philosophy, and its relevance to current philosophical issues. There is no Nobel Prize in philosophy - the closest analogue is a volume in The Library of Living Philosophers, an honor which, like the Nobel Prize, cannot be awarded posthumously. Among'scientific philosophers,'Rudolf Carnap, Albert Einstein, Karl Popper, and Bertrand Russell have been so honored. Had Reichenbach lived longer, he would have shared the honor with Carnap, for at the time of his death a volume on Logical Empiricism, treating the works of Carnap and Reichenbach, was in its early stages of preparation. In the volume which emerged, Carnap wrote,'In 1953, when Reichenbach's creative activity was suddenly ended by his premature death, our movement lost one of its most active leaders.
- Published
- 2012
46. Reflexive Epistemology : The Philosophical Legacy of Otto Neurath
- Author
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D. Zolo and D. Zolo
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Philosophy and social sciences, Knowledge, Theory of
- Abstract
Professor Danilo Zolo has written an account of Otto Neurath's epistemology which deserves careful reading by all who have studied the development of 20th century philosophy of science. Here we see the philosophical Neurath in his mature states of mind, the vigorous critic, the scientific Utopian, the pragmatic realist, the sociologist of physics and of language, the unifier and encyclopedist, always the empiricist and always the conscience of the Vienna Circle. Zolo has caught the message of Neurath's ship-at-sea in the reflexivity of language, and he has sensibly explicated the persisting threat posed by consistent conventionalism. And then Zolo beautifully articulates of the'epistemological priority of sociology'. the provocative theme Was Neurath correct? Did he have his finger on the pulse of empiricism in the time of a genuine unity of the sciences? His friends and colleagues were unable to follow all the way with him, but Danilo Zolo has done so in this stimulating investigation of what he tellingly calls Otto Neurath's'philosophical legacy'. R.S.COHEN ix ABBREVIATIONS'Pseudo'= [Otto Neurath],'Pseudorationalismus der Falsifikation', Erkenntnis,5 (1935), pp. 353--65. Foundations = [Otto Neurath], Foundations of the Social Sciences, in International Encyclopedia of Unified Science, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1-51, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1944. ES = Otto Neurath, Empiricism and Sociology, ed. by M. Neurath and R.S. Cohen, Dordrecht and Boston: D. Reidel, 1973.
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- 2012
47. Issues and Images in the Philosophy of Science : Scientific and Philosophical Essays in Honour of Azarya Polikarov
- Author
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D. Ginev, Robert S. Cohen, D. Ginev, and Robert S. Cohen
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Phenomenology, History
- Abstract
Azarya Polikarov was born in Sofia on October 9, 1921. Through the many stages of politics, economy, and culture in Bulgaria, he maintained his rational humanity and scientific curiosity. He has been a splendid teacher and an accomplished critical philosopher exploring the conceptual and historical vicis situdes of physics in modern times and also the science policies that favor or threaten human life in these decades. Equally and easily at home both within the Eastern and Central European countries and within the Western world. Polikarov is known as a collaborating genial colleague, a working scholar. not at all a visiting academic tourist. He understands the philosophy of science from within, in all its developments, from the classical beginnings through the great ages of Galilean, Newtonian. Maxwellian science. to the times of the stunning discoveries and imaginative theories of his beloved Einstein and Bohr of the twentieth century. Moreover, his understanding has come along with a deep knowledge of the scientific topics in themselves. Looking at our Appendix listing his principal publications, we see that Polikarov's public research career, after years of science teaching and popular science writing, began in the fifties in Bulgarian, Russian and German journals.
- Published
- 2012
48. Can That Be Right? : Essays on Experiment, Evidence, and Science
- Author
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A. Franklin and A. Franklin
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Physics—Philosophy, History
- Abstract
In this collection of essays Allan Franklin defends the view that science provides us with knowledge about the world which is based on experimental evidence and on reasoned and critical discussion. In short, he argues that science is a reasonable enterprise. He begins with detailed studies of four episodes from the history of modern physics: (1) the early attempts to detect gravity waves, (2) how the physics community decided that a proposed new elementary particle, 17-keV neutrino, did not exist, (3) a sequence of experiments on K meson decay, and (4) the origins of the Fifth Force hypothesis, a proposed modification of Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. The case studies are then used to examine issues such as how discord between experimental results is resolved, calibration of an experimental apparatus and its legitimate use in validating an experimental result, and how experimental results provide reasonable grounds for belief in both the truth of physical theories and in the existence of the entities involved in those theories. This book is a challenge to the critics of science, both postmodern and constructivist, to provide convincing alternative explanations of the episodes and issues discussed. It should be of interest to philosophers, historians, and sociologists of science, and to scientists themselves.
- Published
- 2012
49. Japanese Studies in the Philosophy of Science
- Author
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F.G. Nagasaka and F.G. Nagasaka
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, History, Biology—Philosophy, Philosophy of mind, Knowledge, Theory of
- Abstract
The splendid achievements of Japanese mathematics and natural sciences during the second half of our 20th century have been a revival, a Renaissance, of the practical sciences developed along with the turn toward Western thinking in the late 19th century. The equally admirable results of Japanese philosophers (and historians) of science in our time followed upon a period less congenial to Western interests in the philosophical questions linked to modern science; and this reluctance to confront the epistemology, not even the humane significance, of the sciences went along with devotion to other Western trends. Thus, with the'new'Japan of the Meiji restoration of 1868, and the early introduction of Western philosophy in the subsequent decade by Nishi Amane, a period of intellectual attraction to utilitarian, positivist, evolutionary, even materialist outlooks was soon replaced by devotion to scholarly work on Kant and Hegel, on ethical and general philosophical idealism. These studies often could emulate the critical spirit (the philosopher Onishe Hajime, praised for his own critical independence, was known as the Japanese Kant) but the neo Kantian and neo-Hegelian developments were not much affected by either empirical sciences or theoretical speculations about Nature. The pre-eminent philosopher of Japan ofthe first half of our century was Nishida Kitaro, with a pioneering treatise A Study of the Good, who, with his leading student Tanabe Hajime, formed the'Kyoto School'of pre-war philosophy.
- Published
- 2012
50. Québec Studies in the Philosophy of Science : Part I: Logic, Mathematics, Physics and History of Science
- Author
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Mathieu Marion, Robert S. Cohen, Mathieu Marion, and Robert S. Cohen
- Subjects
- Science—Philosophy, Mathematical logic, History, Logic, Knowledge, Theory of
- Abstract
By North-American standards, philosophy is not new in Quebec: the first men tion of philosophy lectures given by a Jesuit in the College de Quebec (founded 1635) dates from 1665, and the oldest logic manuscript dates from 1679. In English-speaking universities such as McGill (founded 1829), philosophy began to be taught later, during the second half of the 19th century. The major influence on English-speaking philosophers was, at least initially, that of Scottish Empiricism. On the other hand, the strong influence of the Catholic Church on French-Canadian society meant that the staff of the facultes of the French-speaking universities consisted, until recently, almost entirely of Thomist philosophers. There was accordingly little or no work in modem Formal Logic and Philosophy of Science and precious few contacts between the philosophical communities. In the late forties, Hugues Leblanc was a young student wanting to learn Formal Logic. He could not find anyone in Quebec to teach him and he went to study at Harvard University under the supervision of W. V. Quine. His best friend Maurice L'Abbe had left, a year earlier, for Princeton to study with Alonzo Church. After receiving his Ph. D from Harvard in 1948, Leblanc started his profes sional career at Bryn Mawr College, where he stayed until 1967. He then went to Temple University, where he taught until his retirement in 1992, serving as Chair of the Department of Philosophy from 1973 until 1979.
- Published
- 2012
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