Perception, Theory, and Commitment
The New Philosophy of Science
9780226076188
Perception, Theory, and Commitment
The New Philosophy of Science
With originality and clarity, Harold Brown outlines first the logical
empiricist tradition and then the more historical and process-oriented
approach he calls the “new philosophy of science.” Examining the two
together, he describes the very transition between them as an example
of the kind of change in historical tradition with which the new
philosophy of science concerns itself.
“I would recommend it to every historian of science and to every
philosopher of science. . . . I found it clear, readable, accurate,
cogent, insightful, perceptive, judicious, and full of original
ideas.”
—Maurice A. Finocchiaro, Isis
“The best and most original aspect of the book is its overall
conception.”
—Thomas S. Kuhn
Harold I. Brown is professor of philosophy at Northern Illinois
University.
empiricist tradition and then the more historical and process-oriented
approach he calls the “new philosophy of science.” Examining the two
together, he describes the very transition between them as an example
of the kind of change in historical tradition with which the new
philosophy of science concerns itself.
“I would recommend it to every historian of science and to every
philosopher of science. . . . I found it clear, readable, accurate,
cogent, insightful, perceptive, judicious, and full of original
ideas.”
—Maurice A. Finocchiaro, Isis
“The best and most original aspect of the book is its overall
conception.”
—Thomas S. Kuhn
Harold I. Brown is professor of philosophy at Northern Illinois
University.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part 1 - Logical Empiricist Philosophy of Science
1. The Origins of Logical Empiricism
Humean Empiricism
Logicism
Logical Positivism, the Vienna Circle
Logical Empiricism
2. Confirmation
The Paradoxes of Confirmation
Confirmation and Extensional Logic
Goodman’s Attack on Syntactical Analyses of Confirmation
3. Theoretical Terms
Explicit Definition
Reduction Sentences
Craig’s Theorem
Correspondence Rules
4. Explanation
Deductive Explanation
Statistical Explanation
Explanation and Truth
5. Falsification
Strict Falsificationism
Basic Statements
Conclusion: Toward a New Understanding
Part II - The New Image of Science
6. Perception and Theory
Significant Perception
Three Problems
7. Presuppositions
Normal Science
Paradigmatic Propositions
The Scientist’s World
8. Scientific Revolutions
The Copernican Revolution
Conceptual Change
Relativity
Scientific Revolutions
9. Discovery
The Context of Discovery and the Context of Justification
Dialectic
Scientific Discovery
Scientific Change
10. Toward a New Epistemology
Rationality
Scientific Knowledge and Scientific Truth
Objectivity
Descriptions and Norms
Presuppositions and Problems
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Part 1 - Logical Empiricist Philosophy of Science
1. The Origins of Logical Empiricism
Humean Empiricism
Logicism
Logical Positivism, the Vienna Circle
Logical Empiricism
2. Confirmation
The Paradoxes of Confirmation
Confirmation and Extensional Logic
Goodman’s Attack on Syntactical Analyses of Confirmation
3. Theoretical Terms
Explicit Definition
Reduction Sentences
Craig’s Theorem
Correspondence Rules
4. Explanation
Deductive Explanation
Statistical Explanation
Explanation and Truth
5. Falsification
Strict Falsificationism
Basic Statements
Conclusion: Toward a New Understanding
Part II - The New Image of Science
6. Perception and Theory
Significant Perception
Three Problems
7. Presuppositions
Normal Science
Paradigmatic Propositions
The Scientist’s World
8. Scientific Revolutions
The Copernican Revolution
Conceptual Change
Relativity
Scientific Revolutions
9. Discovery
The Context of Discovery and the Context of Justification
Dialectic
Scientific Discovery
Scientific Change
10. Toward a New Epistemology
Rationality
Scientific Knowledge and Scientific Truth
Objectivity
Descriptions and Norms
Presuppositions and Problems
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index