Feyerabend’s Epistemological Anarchism

Feyerabend’s Epistemological Anarchism
Author: Mansoor Niaz
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2020-01-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030368599

This book argues that the traditional image of Feyerabend is erroneous and that, contrary to common belief, he was a great admirer of science. It shows how Feyerabend presented a vision of science that represented how science really works. Besides giving a theoretical framework based on Feyerabend ́s philosophy of science, the book offers criteria that can help readers to evaluate and understand research reported in important international science education journals, with respect to Feyerabend’s epistemological anarchism. The book includes an evaluation of general chemistry and physics textbooks. Most science curricula and textbooks provide the following advice to students: Do not allow theories in contradiction with observations, and all scientific theories must be formulated inductively based on experimental facts. Feyerabend questioned this widely prevalent premise of science education in most parts of the world, and in contrast gave the following advice: Scientists can accept a hypothesis despite experimental evidence to the contrary and scientific theories are not always consistent with all the experimental data. No wonder Feyerabend became a controversial philosopher and was considered to be against rationalism and anti-science. Recent research in philosophy of science, however, has shown that most of Feyerabend ́s philosophical ideas are in agreement with recent trends in the 21st century. Of the 120 articles from science education journals, evaluated in this book only 9% recognized that Feyerabend was presenting a plurality of perspectives based on how science really works. Furthermore, it has been shown that Feyerabend could even be considered as a perspectival realist. Among other aspects, Feyerabend emphasized that in order to look for breakthroughs in science one does not have to be complacent about the truth of the theories but rather has to look for opportunities to “break rules” or “violate categories.” Mansoor Niaz carefully analyses references to Feyerabend in the literature and displays the importance of Feyerabend’s philosophy in analyzing, historical episodes. Niaz shows through this remarkable book a deep understanding to the essence of science. - Calvin Kalman, Concordia University, Canada In this book Mansoor Niaz explores the antecedents, context and features of Feyerabend’s work and offers a more-nuanced understanding, then reviews and considers its reception in the science education and philosophy of science literature. This is a valuable contribution to scholarship about Feyerabend, with the potential to inform further research as well as science education practice.- David Geelan, Griffith University, Australia

Chemistry in Context - Laboratory Manual

Chemistry in Context - Laboratory Manual
Author: Graham Hill
Publisher: Nelson Thornes
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2001
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780174483076

The labatory manual and study guide supports your teaching with a broad range of practicals, emphasising saftey and risk assessment. It is an essential companion to Chemistry in Context and can also be used alongside other Advanced Chemistry books. It offers practicals wwith detailed instructions, for openended investigations and opportunities for assessed practical work in the four skill areas of planning, implementing, analysing and evaluating.

Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry

Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry
Author: Jeffrey Kovac
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 415
Release: 2012-01-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0199921075

Nobel laureate Roald Hoffmann's contributions to chemistry are well known. Less well known, however, is that over a career that spans nearly fifty years, Hoffmann has thought and written extensively about a wide variety of other topics, such as chemistry's relationship to philosophy, literature, and the arts, including the nature of chemical reasoning, the role of symbolism and writing in science, and the relationship between art and craft and science. In Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry, Jeffrey Kovac and Michael Weisberg bring together twenty-eight of Hoffmann's most important essays. Gathered here are Hoffmann's most philosophically significant and interesting essays and lectures, many of which are not widely accessible. In essays such as "Why Buy That Theory," "Nearly Circular Reasoning," "How Should Chemists Think," "The Metaphor, Unchained," "Art in Science," and "Molecular Beauty," we find the mature reflections of one of America's leading scientists. Organized under the general headings of Chemical Reasoning and Explanation, Writing and Communicating, Art and Science, Education, and Ethics, these stimulating essays provide invaluable insight into the teaching and practice of science.

Particles and Waves

Particles and Waves
Author: Peter Achinstein
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 346
Release: 1991
Genre: Physics
ISBN: 019506755X

This volume brings together six published and two new essays by the noted philosopher of science, Peter Achinstein. It represents the culmination of his examination of methodological issues that arise in nineteenth-century physics. He focuses on the philosophical problem of how, if at all, it is possible to confirm scientific hypotheses that postulate 'unobservables' such as light waves, molecules, and electrons. This question is one that not only was of great interest to nineteenth-century physicists and methodologists, but continues to occupy philosophers of science up to the present day. The essays in this volume deal with this vexing problem as it arose in actual scientific practice in three nineteenth-century episodes: the debate between particle and wave theorists of light, Maxwell's kinetic theory of gases, and J.J. Thomson's discovery of the electron. Achinstein shows that the most important issue raised by these three cases concerns the legitimacy of introducing hypotheses that invoke "unobservables". If science is to be empirical, can such hypotheses be employed? How, if at all, is it possible to confirm them?; Achinstein here assesses the philosophical validity of nineteenth-century and modern answers to these questions and presents and defends his own solutions

For and Against Method

For and Against Method
Author: Imre Lakatos
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2010-05-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0226467031

The work that helped to determine Paul Feyerabend's fame and notoriety, Against Method, stemmed from Imre Lakatos's challenge: "In 1970 Imre cornered me at a party. 'Paul,' he said, 'you have such strange ideas. Why don't you write them down? I shall write a reply, we publish the whole thing and I promise you—we shall have a lot of fun.' " Although Lakatos died before he could write his reply, For and Against Method reconstructs his original counter-arguments from lectures and correspondence previously unpublished in English, allowing us to enjoy the "fun" two of this century's most eminent philosophers had, matching their wits and ideas on the subject of the scientific method. For and Against Method opens with an imaginary dialogue between Lakatos and Feyerabend, which Matteo Motterlini has constructed, based on their published works, to synthesize their positions and arguments. Part one presents the transcripts of the last lectures on method that Lakatos delivered. Part two, Feyerabend's response, consists of a previously published essay on anarchism, which began the attack on Lakatos's position that Feyerabend later continued in Against Method. The third and longest section consists of the correspondence Lakatos and Feyerabend exchanged on method and many other issues and ideas, as well as the events of their daily lives, between 1968 and Lakatos's death in 1974. The delight Lakatos and Feyerabend took in philosophical debate, and the relish with which they sparred, come to life again in For and Against Method, making it essential and lively reading for anyone interested in these two fascinating and controversial thinkers and their immense contributions to philosophy of science. "The writings in this volume are of considerable intellectual importance, and will be of great interest to anyone concerned with the development of the philosophical views of Lakatos and Feyerabend, or indeed with the development of philosophy of science in general during this crucial period."—Donald Gillies, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (on the Italian edition) "A stimulating exchange of letters between two philosophical entertainers."—Tariq Ali, The Independent Imre Lakatos (1922-1974) was professor of logic at the London School of Economics. He was the author of Proofs and Refutations and the two-volume Philosophical Papers. Paul Feyerabend (1924-1994) was educated in Europe and held numerous teaching posts throughout his career. Among his books are Against Method; Science in a Free Society; Farewell to Reason; and Killing Time: The Autobiography of Paul Feyerabend, the last published by the University of Chicago Press.

The Corpuscular Theory of Matter

The Corpuscular Theory of Matter
Author: Joseph John Thomson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 192
Release: 1907
Genre: Electrons
ISBN:

Work by the eminent physicist Thomson, discoverer of the electron, consisting of seven chapters which deal respectively with the origin and properties of corpuscles (subatomic particles), two different corpuscular theories of metallic conduction, and the number and arrangement of corpuscles in the atom.

Maths from Scratch for Biologists

Maths from Scratch for Biologists
Author: Alan J. Cann
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2013-04-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1118685709

Numerical ability is an essential skill for everyone studying the biological sciences but many students are frightened by the 'perceived' difficulty of mathematics, and are nervous about applying mathematical skills in their chosen field of study. Having taught introductory maths and statistics for many years, Alan Cann understands these challenges and just how invaluable an accessible, confidence building textbook could be to the fearful student. Unable to find a book pitched at the right level, that concentrated on why numerical skills are useful to biologists, he wrote his own. The result is Maths from Scratch for Biologists , a highly instructive, informal text that explains step by step how and why you need to tackle maths within the biological sciences. Features: * An accessible, jargon-busting approach to help readers master basic mathematical, statistical and data handling techniques in biology * Numerous end of chapter problems to reinforce key concepts and encourage students to test their newly acquired skills through practise * A handy, time-saving glossary * A supplementary website with numerous problems and self-test exercises

Easy Mathematics for Biologists

Easy Mathematics for Biologists
Author: Peter C. Foster
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2003-09-02
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0203304306

Because elementary mathematics is vital to be able to properly design biological experiments and interpret their results. As a student of the life sciences you will only make your life harder by ignoring mathematics entirely. Equally, you do not want to spend your time struggling with complex mathematics that you will never use. This book is the perfect answer to your problems. Inside, it explains the necessary mathematics in easy-to-follow steps, introducing the basics and showing you how to apply these to biological situations. Easy Mathematics for Biologists covers the basic mathematical ideas of fractions, decimals and percentages, through ratio and proportion, exponents and logarithms, to straight line graphs, graphs that are not straight lines, and their transformation. Direct application of each of these leads to a clear understanding of biological calculations such as those involving concentrations and dilutions, changing units, pH, and linear and non-linear rates of reaction. Each chapter contains worked examples, and is followed by numerous problems, both pure and applied, that can be worked through in your own time. Answers to these can be found at the back.