A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Science

• Concise, fully updated new edition; evaluation of the latest developments in the philosophy of science
• A clear exposition on the differing views and arguments from a wide array of philosophers and scientists
• Historical approach helps readers with little previous knowledge to view key theories and concepts within their historical perspective.
• NEW TO THIS EDITION: expanded coverage of recent developments in Philosophy of Science, including philosophy of biology, normative naturalism, theory appraisal, experimental practice, theories of explanation, and scientific realism

Readership: An introductory text for those studying the philosophy of science

John Losee, Professor of Philosophy, Lafayette College

"well known and widely used textbook ... As in the earlier editions the same writing style and format for organizing the material are preserved. As a result the book rigidly stays at the level of presenting only carefully condensed factual presentations in serial order of the individual authors involved, and scrupulously avoids any critical evaluations or comparisons of the philosophies of science sketched out for the reader." - Richard J. Blackwell, Saint Louis University, Physis, Vol. XXI (1994)

Introduction
1: Aristotle's Philosophy of Science
2: The Pythagorean Orientation
3: The Ideal of Deductive Systemization
4: Atomism and the Concept of Underlying Mechanism
5: Affirmation and Development of Aristotle's Method in the Medieval Period
6: The Debate over Saving the Appearances
7: The Seventeenth-Century Attack on Aristotelian Philosophy
8: Newton's Axiomatic Method
9: Analysis of the Implications of the New Science for a Theory of Scientific Method
10: Inductivism v the Hypothetico-Deductive View of Science
11: Mathematical Positivism and Conventionlism
12: Logical Reconstructivist Philosophy of Science
13: Orthodoxy under Attack
14: Theories of Scientific Progress
15: Explanation, Causation, and Unification
16: Confirmation and Evidential Support
17: The Justification of Evaluative Standards
18: The Debate over Scientific Realism
19: Descriptive Philosophies of Science
Bibliography
Index