Structures in Science

Structures in Science
Author: Theo A.F. Kuipers
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401597391

Although there is an abundance of highly specialized monographs, learned collections and general introductions to the philosophy of science, only a few 25 years. synthetic monographs and advanced textbooks have appeared in the last The philosophy of science seems to have lost its self-confidence. The main reason for such a loss is that the traditional analytical, logical-empiricist approaches to the philosophy of science had to make a number of concessions, especially in response to the work of Popper, Kuhn and Lakatos. With Structures in Science I intend to present both a synthetic mono graph and an advanced textbook that accommodates and integrates the insight of these philosophers, in what I like to call a neo-classical approach. The resulting monograph elaborates several important topics from one or more perspectives, by distinguishing various kinds of research programs, and various ways of explaining and reducing laws and concepts, and by summarizing an integrated explication (presented in From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism, ICR) of the notions of confirmation, empirical progress and truth approximation.

Nature Loves To Hide: Quantum Physics And The Nature Of Reality, A Western Perspective (Revised Edition)

Nature Loves To Hide: Quantum Physics And The Nature Of Reality, A Western Perspective (Revised Edition)
Author: Shimon Malin
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2012-03-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814462888

It is naturally important for any of us to have a correct view of the universe we are in. Having realized that the Newtonian world-view is untenable, this book joins others that are searching for an alternative world-view. It is unique in using quantum physics to promote this search.One aim of the book is to present a lucid exposition of quantum mechanics in terms accessible to the general reader. Another aim is to show that realism (the belief that the outside world exists “from its own side” regardless of acts of consciousness) and locality (the belief that nothing moves faster than light) are invalid, and should be replaced by a new paradigm according to which the universe is alive. A third aim is to show that the thinking of quantum physicists evokes the philosophies of Plato and Plotinus.The revised edition will include a conversation between two fictional characters to elucidate the discussion of the meaning of wave functions.

Histories of Scientific Observation

Histories of Scientific Observation
Author: Lorraine Daston
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 473
Release: 2011-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 0226136787

Includes bibliographical referrences and index.

Feyerabend’s Formative Years. Volume 1. Feyerabend and Popper

Feyerabend’s Formative Years. Volume 1. Feyerabend and Popper
Author: Matteo Collodel
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 537
Release: 2020-03-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3030009610

This book offers an inside look into the notoriously tumultuous, professional relationship of two great minds: Karl Popper and Paul Feyerabend. It collects their complete surviving correspondence (1948-1967) and contains previously unpublished papers by both. An introduction situates the correspondence in its historical context by recounting how they first came to meet and an extensive editorial apparatus provides a wealth of background information along with systematic mini-biographies of persons named. Taken together, the collection presents Popper and Feyerabend’s controversial ideas against the background of the postwar academic environment. It exposes key aspects of an evolving student-mentor relationship that eventually ended amidst increasing accusations of plagiarism. Throughout, readers will find in-depth discussions on a wide range of intriguing topics, including an ongoing debate over the foundations of quantum theory and Popper’s repeated attempts to design an experiment that would test different interpretations of quantum mechanics. The captivating exchange between Feyerabend and Popper offers a valuable resource that will appeal to scientists, laymen, and a wide range of scholars: especially philosophers, historians of science and philosophy and, more generally, intellectual historians.

Dark Energy

Dark Energy
Author: Luca Amendola
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 507
Release: 2010-06-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0521516005

Introducing the theoretical ideas, observational methods and results in dark energy, this textbook is a thorough introduction to dark energy for graduate courses.

Advanced Theory of Signal Detection

Advanced Theory of Signal Detection
Author: Iickho Song
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2013-03-09
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3662048590

This monograph contains a number of problems with signal detection theory, presenting a generalized observation model for signal detection problems. The model includes several interesting and common special cases, such as those describing additive noise, multiplicative noise and signal-dependent noise.

Scientific Representation

Scientific Representation
Author: James Nguyen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2022-09-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1009007343

This Element presents a philosophical exploration of the notion of scientific representation. It does so by focussing on an important class of scientific representations, namely scientific models. Models are important in the scientific process because scientists can study a model to discover features of reality. But what does it mean for something to represent something else? This is the question discussed in this Element. The authors begin by disentangling different aspects of the problem of representation and then discuss the dominant accounts in the philosophical literature: the resemblance view and inferentialism. They find them both wanting and submit that their own preferred option, the so-called DEKI account, not only eschews the problems that beset these conceptions, but further provides a comprehensive answer to the question of how scientific representation works. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.