Understand philosophy of science by Thompson, Mel, 1946- instant download

Understand philosophy of science by Thompson, Mel, 1946- instant download

ix, 211 pages ; 20 cm, Join the quest for truth. Understand what science means, how it came about, and why it matters. A modern understanding of the world is unthinkable without science, but what exactly is it? What does it mean to say that something is scientific? How are its results justified? From the genetic basis of life, to the structures of the universe and the atom, TEACH YOURSELF PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE explores how the key ideas that shape our world have been developed, Includes bibliographical references (pages 204-206) and index, Originally published in 2001, Introduction to the philosophy of science -- Philosophers and scientists -- The role of the philosophy of science -- The history of science -- Early Greek thinkers -- The medieval world-view -- The rise of modern science -- Nineteenth-century developments -- Relativity and thermodynamics -- The impact of quantum mechanics -- Genetics -- The digital revolution -- Reasoning and evidence -- Observation and objectivity -- Induction -- A mathematical universe -- Experiments -- Hypothesis and confirmation -- Abductive reasoning -- What counts as science? -- Scientific theories and progress -- Background -- Falsification -- Certainty or quest? -- Paradigms and 'normal science' -- Progress -- The status of scientific theories -- Realism, language and reductionism -- Reality and observation -- Language -- Reductionism and its implications -- Relativism, instrumentalism and relevance -- Theory-laden observations -- Instrumentalism -- Relevance -- Science and authority -- Predictability and determinism -- Probability -- Chaos and complexity -- The philosophy of biology -- Natural selection -- Causes and purposes -- The genetic basis of life -- Some implications of genetics -- Cosmology -- Dimentions and structures -- Towards a theory of everything -- The human perspective -- Science and humankind -- The human machine -- Human origins and evolution -- The status of social and psychological theories -- Cognitive…