Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of

This popular reader has been vastly updated with ten stimulating new selections on the natural and the social sciences: feminism; postmodernism, relativism, and science; confirmation, acceptance, and theory; explanatory unification; and science and values. Retaining the best essays from the previous editions, the editors have added important new pieces to maintain this influential text's relevance.

Preface to the Third Edition

9

(2)

Preface to the Revised Edition

11

(2)

Preface to the First Edition

13

(2)

Acknowledgments

15

(4)

Introduction: What Is Philosophy of Science?

19

(10)

PART 1. SCIENCE AND PSEUDOSCIENCE

29

(76)

Introduction

29

(9)

1. Science: Conjectures and Refutations

38

(10)

Sir Karl Popper

2. What Is Science?

48

(6)

John Ziman

3. How to Defend Society against Science

54

(12)

Paul Feyerabend

4. Why Astrology Is a Pseudoscience

66

(10)

Paul R. Thagard

5. Believing Where We Cannot Prove

76

(23)

Philip Kitcher

Case Study for Part 1

99

(1)

Study Questions for Part 1

100

(1)

Selected Bibliography

101

(4)

PART 2. THE NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

105

(92)

Introduction

105

(5)

6. Interpretation and the Sciences of Man

110

(18)

Charles Taylor

7. The Natural and the Human Sciences

128

(7)

Thomas S. Kuhn

8. Are the Social Sciences Really Inferior?

135

(19)

Fritz Machlup

9. If Economics Isn't Science, What Is It?

154

(17)

Alexander Rosenberg

10. What Would an Adequate Philosophy of Social Science Look Like?

171

(19)

Brian Fay

J. Donald Moon

Case Study for Part 2

190

(1)

Study Questions for Part 2

191

(1)

Selected Bibliography

192

(5)

PART 3. EXPLANATION AND LAW

197

(112)

Introduction

197

(9)

11. Studies in the Logic of Explanation

206

(19)

Carl G. Hempel

12. Laws and Conditional Statements

225

(8)

Karel Lambert

Gordon Britten

13. The Truth Doesn't Explain Much

233

(8)

Nancy Cartwright

14. Scientific Explanation: How We Got from There to Here

241

(23)

Wesley Salmon

15. The Pragmatics of Explanation

264

(14)

Bas C. van Fraassen

16. Explanatory Unification

278

(24)

Philip Kitcher

Case Study for Part 3

302

(1)

Study Questions for Part 3

302

(2)

Selected Bibliography

304

(5)

PART 4. THEORY AND OBSERVATION

309

(88)

Introduction

309

(7)

17. The Nature of Theories

316

(17)

Rudolf Carnap

18. What Theories Are Not

333

(6)

Hilary Putnam

19. Observation

339

(13)

N. R. Hanson

20. Science and the Physical World

352

(6)

W. T. Stace

21. Do Sub-Microscopic Entities Exist?

358

(5)

Stephen Toulmin

22. The Ontological Status of Theoretical Entities

363

(11)

Grover Maxwell

23. Is There a Significant Observational-Theoretical Distinction?

374

(17)

Carl A. Matheson

A. David Kline

Case Study for Part 4

391

(1)

Study Questions for Part 4

391

(1)

Selected Bibliography

392

(5)

PART 5. CONFIRMATION AND ACCEPTANCE

397

(84)

Introduction

397

(7)

24. Hypothesis

404

(11)

W. V. Quine

J. S. Ullian

25. Justifying Scientific Theories

415

(20)

Ronald Giere

26. Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice

435

(16)

Thomas S. Kuhn

27. Scientific Rationality: Analytic vs. Pragmatic Perspectives

451

(14)

Carl G. Hempel

28. The Variety of Reasons for the Acceptance of Scientific Theories

465

(11)

Philipp G. Frank

Case Study for Part 5

476

(1)

Study Questions for Part 5

476

(1)

Selected Bibliography

477

(4)

PART 6. SCIENCE AND VALUES

481

(88)

Introduction

481

(11)

29. The Scientist Qua Scientist Makes Value Judgments

492

(7)

Richard Rudner

30. Science and Human Values

499

(16)

Carl G. Hempel

31. Values in Science

515

(24)

Ernan McMullin

32. From Weber to Habermas

539

(11)

Robert Hollinger

33. The Feminist Question in the Philosophy of Science

550

(15)

Ronald Giere

Case Study for Part 6

565

(1)

Study Questions for Part 6

565

(1)

Selected Bibliography

566

(3)

APPENDIX Advice for Instructors

569

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Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials