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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 501 EAN: 9780226300634 ISBN: 0226300633 Label: University Of Chicago Press Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 272 Publication Date: August 01, 2003 Publisher: University Of Chicago Press Studio: University Of Chicago Press Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: How does science work? Does it tell us what the world is "really" like? What makes it different from other ways of understanding the universe? In Theory and Reality, Peter Godfrey-Smith addresses these questions by taking the reader on a grand tour of one hundred years of debate about science. The result is a completely accessible introduction to the main themes of the philosophy of science. Intended for undergraduates and general readers with no prior background in philosophy, Theory and Reality covers logical positivism; the problems of induction and confirmation; Karl Popper's theory of science; Thomas Kuhn and "scientific revolutions"; the views of Imre Lakatos, Larry Laudan, and Paul Feyerabend; and challenges to the field from sociology of science, feminism, and science studies. The book then looks in more detail at some specific problems and theories, including scientific realism, the theory-ladeness of observation, scientific explanation, and Bayesianism. Finally, Godfrey-Smith defends a form of philosophical naturalism as the best way to solve the main problems in the field. Throughout the text he points out connections between philosophical debates and wider discussions about science in recent decades, such as the infamous "science wars." Examples and asides engage the beginning student; a glossary of terms explains key concepts; and suggestions for further reading are included at the end of each chapter. However, this is a textbook that doesn't feel like a textbook because it captures the historical drama of changes in how science has been conceived over the last one hundred years. Like no other text in this field, Theory and Reality combines a survey of recent history of the philosophy of science with current key debates in language that any beginning scholar or critical reader can follow. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - An ApologyUltimately, the only people who know exactly what science is are the scientists themselves. In reading this book it becomes apparent that the philosophy of science isn't so much science itself (for example, note that coursework in the philosophy of science is not nor has it ever been a common requirement for a Ph.D. in science), it is rather an apology for science. The word progress is a term that is routinely used by cultural/political apologists (liberals mainly) and certainly not ... Read More Rating:  - Great explanations of Popper and Kuhn!This book offers a great explanation of many aspects related to theory and philosophy of science. Explains Popper and Kuhn in readable and understandable terms. I agree with a previous reviewer who stated that this book, "... explains Popper better than Popper." I am considering making it required reading in my theory building course. Great book and great price! Rating:  - Clear, informative, accessibleI teach philosophy of science to both undergraduates and graduate students, and this book could serve as an excellent introduction to the topic for either audience, though for certain reasons it is better suited to the undergraduate audience than the graduate audience. The principal virtue of the book is its narrative form: it is basically a history of the philosophy of science in the 20th century (with some background information regarding the 18th and 19th centuries) told in a straightforward and ... Read More Rating: - An (almost) excellent introduction to Philosophy of ScienceThis is by far the most convincing Introduction to Philosophy of Science that I've come across so far. As most previous reviewers agree, it is both deep and accessible, it makes a serious (not merely 'pro forma') attempt at being balanced and giving non-standard science studies a fair run for its money (unlike other books I have reviewed in the past). What's more, it even conveys a sense of the history of the debates that have shaped philosophy of science, while at the same time making the historical ... Read More Rating: - What Is ScienceFor an introduction to the philosophy of science, and all its different schools of thought and its most influential thinkers, you probably can't do much better than this book. Godfrey-Smith's writing and presentation are mostly clear and accessible to the interested layperson, and he ably introduces dense concepts without the wooden and pedantic prose that ruins so many modern philosophical tracts. However, readability is still an issue here, with a very apparent pattern. Each chapter is very readable ... Read More 
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