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Philosophy of Science an Overview Contents Philosophy of science An overview Contents 1 Main article 1 1.1 Philosophy of science ......................................... 1 1.1.1 Introduction .......................................... 1 1.1.2 History ............................................ 4 1.1.3 Current approaches ...................................... 5 1.1.4 Other topics .......................................... 8 1.1.5 Philosophy of particular sciences ............................... 8 1.1.6 See also ............................................ 11 1.1.7 References .......................................... 11 1.1.8 Cited texts ........................................... 15 1.1.9 Further reading ........................................ 15 1.1.10 External links ......................................... 15 2 Nature of scientific concepts and statements 16 2.1 Demarcation problem ......................................... 16 2.1.1 Ancient Greek science .................................... 16 2.1.2 Logical positivism ....................................... 16 2.1.3 Falsifiability .......................................... 16 2.1.4 Postpositivism ......................................... 17 2.1.5 Feyerabend and Lakatos ................................... 17 2.1.6 Thagard ............................................ 17 2.1.7 Some historians’ perspectives ................................. 18 2.1.8 Laudan ............................................ 18 2.1.9 See also ............................................ 18 2.1.10 References .......................................... 18 2.2 Scientific realism ........................................... 19 2.2.1 Main features ......................................... 19 2.2.2 History ............................................ 20 2.2.3 Arguments for and against .................................. 20 2.2.4 See also ............................................ 21 2.2.5 Footnotes ........................................... 21 2.2.6 Further reading ........................................ 21 2.2.7 External links ......................................... 22 i ii CONTENTS 2.3 Models of scientific inquiry ...................................... 22 2.3.1 Accounts of scientific inquiry ................................. 22 2.3.2 Choice of a theory ...................................... 23 2.3.3 Aspects of scientific inquiry .................................. 24 2.3.4 See also ............................................ 25 2.3.5 Sources ............................................ 25 2.3.6 Further reading ........................................ 26 2.3.7 External links ......................................... 26 3 Philosophy of particular sciences 27 3.1 Philosophy of physics ......................................... 27 3.1.1 Purpose of physics ...................................... 27 3.1.2 Philosophy of space and time ................................. 27 3.1.3 Philosophy of quantum mechanics .............................. 29 3.1.4 History of the philosophy of physics ............................. 30 3.1.5 See also ............................................ 31 3.1.6 References .......................................... 31 3.1.7 Further reading ........................................ 32 3.1.8 External links ......................................... 32 3.2 Philosophy of biology ......................................... 33 3.2.1 Overview ........................................... 33 3.2.2 Reductionism, holism, and vitalism .............................. 33 3.2.3 An autonomous philosophy of biology ............................ 34 3.2.4 Other perspectives ...................................... 35 3.2.5 Scientific discovery process .................................. 35 3.2.6 See also ............................................ 35 3.2.7 References .......................................... 36 3.2.8 Bibliography ......................................... 37 3.2.9 External links ......................................... 41 3.3 Philosophy of mathematics ...................................... 41 3.3.1 Recurrent themes ....................................... 42 3.3.2 History ............................................ 42 3.3.3 Major themes ......................................... 43 3.3.4 Contemporary schools of thought ............................... 43 3.3.5 Arguments .......................................... 51 3.3.6 Aesthetics ........................................... 52 3.3.7 See also ............................................ 52 3.3.8 Notes ............................................. 52 3.3.9 Further reading ........................................ 53 3.3.10 External links ......................................... 55 3.4 Philosophy of chemistry ........................................ 56 3.4.1 Foundations of chemistry ................................... 56 CONTENTS iii 3.4.2 Philosophers of chemistry .................................. 56 3.4.3 Further reading ........................................ 56 3.4.4 See also ............................................ 57 3.4.5 References .......................................... 57 3.4.6 External links ......................................... 57 3.5 Philosophy of economics ....................................... 57 3.5.1 Scope ............................................. 57 3.5.2 Figures cited in the scholarly literature ............................ 59 3.5.3 Related disciplines ...................................... 59 3.5.4 Degrees ............................................ 59 3.5.5 Notes ............................................. 59 3.5.6 References .......................................... 60 3.5.7 Journals ............................................ 60 3.5.8 External links ......................................... 60 3.6 Philosophy of psychology ....................................... 61 3.6.1 See also ............................................ 61 3.6.2 References .......................................... 61 3.6.3 Further reading ........................................ 62 3.6.4 External links ......................................... 62 4 Social accountability 63 4.1 Epistemological anarchism ...................................... 63 4.1.1 Rationale ........................................... 63 4.1.2 Other proponents ....................................... 64 4.1.3 See also ............................................ 64 4.1.4 References .......................................... 64 4.1.5 External links ......................................... 65 5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses 66 5.1 Text .................................................. 66 5.2 Images ................................................. 68 5.3 Content license ............................................ 70 Chapter 1 Main article 1.1 Philosophy of science minority of philosophers, and Paul Feyerabend (1924– 1994) in particular, argue that there is no such thing as the "scientific method", so all approaches to science should This article is about the concept. For the journal, see be allowed, including explicitly supernatural ones. An- Philosophy of Science (journal). other approach to thinking about science involves study- ing how knowledge is created from a sociological per- Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy con- spective, an approach represented by scholars like David cerned with the foundations, methods, and implications Bloor and Barry Barnes. Finally, a tradition in continental of science. The central questions of this study concern philosophy approaches science from the perspective of a what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theo- rigorous analysis of human experience. ries, and the ultimate purpose of science. This discipline Philosophies of the particular sciences range from ques- overlaps with metaphysics, ontology, and epistemology, tions about the nature of time raised by Einstein’s general for example, when it explores the relationship between relativity, to the implications of economics for public pol- science and truth. icy. A central theme is whether one scientific discipline There is no consensus among philosophers about many can be reduced to the terms of another. That is, can of the central problems concerned with the philosophy chemistry be reduced to physics, or can sociology be re- of science, including whether science can reveal the truth duced to individual psychology? The general questions of about unobservable things and whether scientific reason- philosophy of science also arise with greater specificity ing can be justified at all. In addition to these general in some particular sciences. For instance, the question questions about science as a whole, philosophers of sci- of the validity of scientific reasoning is seen in a differ- ence consider problems that apply to particular sciences ent guise in the foundations of statistics. The question of (such as biology or physics). Some philosophers of sci- what counts as science and what should be excluded arises ence also use contemporary results in science to reach as a life-or-death matter in the philosophy of medicine. conclusions about philosophy itself. Additionally, the philosophies of biology, of psychology, and of the social sciences explore whether the scientific While philosophical thought pertaining to science dates studies of human nature can achieve objectivity or are back at least to the time of Aristotle, philosophy of sci- inevitably shaped by values and by social relations. ence emerged as a distinct discipline only in the mid- dle of the 20th century in the wake of the logical
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