Readings in the Philosophy of Science: From Positivism to Postmodernism

Readings in the Philosophy of Science: From Positivism to Postmodernism
Author: Theodore Schick
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1999-12-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780767402774

This anthology traces the development of thinking in the philosophy of science from logical positivism to the present. Subsequent articles often clarify or critique preceding ones. As a result, students get a sense of how philosophical theories develop in response to one another.

Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science

Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science
Author: E. D. Klemke
Publisher:
Total Pages: 598
Release: 1998
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN:

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.

Social Science

Social Science
Author: Gerard Delanty
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 180
Release: 1997
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780816631278

It is argued that the conception of social science emerging today is one that involves a synthesis of radical constructivism and critical realism. The crucial challenge facing social science is a question of its public role: growing reflexivity in society has implications for the social production of knowledge and is bringing into question the separation of expert systems from other forms of knowledge.

Postmodern Philosophy and the Scientific Turn

Postmodern Philosophy and the Scientific Turn
Author: Dorothea Olkowski
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2012-04-23
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0253001129

What can come of a scientific engagement with postmodern philosophy? Some scientists have claimed that the social sciences and humanities have nothing to contribute, except perhaps peripherally, to their research. Dorothea E. Olkowski shows that the historic link between science and philosophy, mathematics itself, plays a fundamental role in the development of the worldviews that drive both fields. Focusing on language, its expression of worldview and usage, she develops a phenomenological account of human thought and action to explicate the role of philosophy in the sciences. Olkowski proposes a model of phenomenology, both scientific and philosophical, that helps make sense of reality and composes an ethics for dealing with unpredictability in our world.

The History and Philosophy of Science: A Reader

The History and Philosophy of Science: A Reader
Author: Daniel McKaughan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 1105
Release: 2018-01-11
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1474232744

The History and Philosophy of Science: A Reader brings together seminal texts from antiquity to the end of the nineteenth century and makes them accessible in one volume for the first time. With readings from Aristotle, Aquinas, Copernicus, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Lavoisier, Linnaeus, Darwin, Faraday, and Maxwell, it analyses and discusses major classical, medieval and modern texts and figures from the natural sciences. Grouped by topic to clarify the development of methods and disciplines and the unification of theories, each section includes an introduction, suggestions for further reading and end-of-section discussion questions, allowing students to develop the skills needed to: § read, interpret, and critically engage with central problems and ideas from the history and philosophy of science § understand and evaluate scientific material found in a wide variety of professional and popular settings § appreciate the social and cultural context in which scientific ideas emerge § identify the roles that mathematics plays in scientific inquiry Featuring primary sources in all the core scientific fields - astronomy, physics, chemistry, and the life sciences - The History and Philosophy of Science: A Reader is ideal for students looking to better understand the origins of natural science and the questions asked throughout its history. By taking a thematic approach to introduce influential assumptions, methods and answers, this reader illustrates the implications of an impressive range of values and ideas across the history and philosophy of Western science.

The Philosophy of Social Science

The Philosophy of Social Science
Author: Garry Potter
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 490
Release: 2016-12-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317331842

Now in its second edition, this comprehensive textbook offers an exceptionally accessible yet in-depth introduction to the philosophy of social science. Students with no previous knowledge will find themselves taken on an engaging philosophical journey: the book’s unique dialogue format anticipates their most frequently asked questions and provides clear explanations of specialised terminology and essential contextualisation of contemporary debates. Encompassing both traditional and contemporary perspectives, the book explores the questions and debates raised by all the major theoretical positions in the philosophy of social science, including positivism, empiricism, rationalism, hermeneutics, feminist epistemology, postmodernism and critical realism. The first edition of this book had a Eurocentric bias, as does virtually all other textbooks covering this subject matter. This has been corrected in the second edition and includes a new chapter on the contributions of Islam to philosophy, natural science social science including sociology. The second edition also has a newly written chapter on pragmaticism and neo-pragmaticism, as well as strengthened coverage of hermeneutics, postmodernism and critical realism. The book‘s rich pedagogic support includes: point-by-point summaries introducing the scope of every chapter; discussion questions; further reading lists; and a glossary of key terminology. This excellent textbook is designed to provide every student with a clear understanding of important and complex issues. It is essential reading for all students of philosophy of social science, whether at undergraduate or Masters level and regardless of their disciplinary background.

Philosophy of Science for Nursing Practice

Philosophy of Science for Nursing Practice
Author: Michael D. Dahnke, PhD
Publisher: Springer Publishing Company
Total Pages: 447
Release: 2015-11-04
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0826129293

Written for DNP and PhD nursing programs, this text, based on a unique team-taught philosophy of science nursing courses, distills challenging content and delivers it in clear, highly accessible language for professors untrained in philosophy and their students. Authored by a nurse researcher/philosopher team who developed and taught this course for more than 7 years, the book provides a unique, integrated viewpoint that avoids esoteric and overly theoretical discussions and facilitates a clear connection between the philosophy of science and nursing science and practice. This second edition offers enhanced clarity and encompasses updates in philosophy of science interpretation, nursing practice and science, and a still-emerging practice epistemology. It is distinguished by its increased emphasis on DNP investigation that relies on a fundamental relationship with evidence-based practice, as well as the informational needs of the PhD student and the type of research the PhD graduate is expected to produce. The bulk of the text focuses on basic principles and concepts of the philosophy of science in regard to the education of both DNP and PhD nursing students. The book discusses the concept of nursing as a “practice discipline” within historical and sociological contexts, and addresses the importance of philosophy of science knowledge within a practice discipline. It examines the controversial question of how much philosophy of science a doctoral student actually needs. The text concludes with a brief introduction to nursing science knowledge content that is an essential “bridge” to the philosophy of science content and serves as a “next step” toward building a nursing epistemology. New to the Second Edition: Revised to enhance clarity of information Reflects contemporary trends in doctoral nursing education Updated Questions for Reflection offer scholarly discourse New appendix offers a sample semester-based syllabus based on the second edition Key Features: Provides concise, accessible information that makes clear connections to practical applications Written jointly by a philosopher and a nurse scholar who co-teach the course Facilitates student ability to see the real connection between philosophy and practice Increased focused content on how philosophy of science content is essential to understand evidence-based and practice-based evidence

Explaining Postmodernism

Explaining Postmodernism
Author: Stephen R. C. Hicks
Publisher: Scholargy Publishing, Inc.
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2004
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9781592476428

Theory and Reality

Theory and Reality
Author: Peter Godfrey-Smith
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2021-07-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 022677113X

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 more than a hundred years of debate about science. The result is a completely accessible introduction to the main themes of the philosophy of science. 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. 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 that any beginning scholar or critical reader can follow. The second edition is thoroughly updated and expanded by the author with a new chapter on truth, simplicity, and models in science.