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Zusatztext a significant contribution to what philosophers of science can learn from the methodologies of Newton and Maxwell. Informationen zum Autor Peter Achinstein is Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for History and Philosophy of Science, and Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein University Professor at Yeshiva University. He is the author of six books in the philosophy of science, including Particles and Waves, which received the Lakatos Award in 1993. A festschrift in his honor, Philosophy of Science Matters: The Philosophy of Peter Achinstein was published by Oxford University Press in 2011. Klappentext In this book, Peter Achinstein proposes and defends several objective concepts of evidence. He then explores the question of whether a scientific method, such as that represented in the four Rules for the Study of Natural Philosophy that Isaac Newton invoked in proving his law of gravity, can be employed in demonstrating how the proposed definitions of evidence are to be applied to real scientific cases. "It is clear and, in places, almost conversational. It would be accessible to general readers or undergraduates. Scholars with an interest in Achinstein's work will find it valuable.... It is pleasant reading, and I commend it to anyone who is curious about the lessons that might be drawn from Newton and Maxwell or about the strategic conception of method that Achinstein sketches."--P.D. Magnus, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Zusammenfassung What is meant by scientific evidence, and how can a definition of this concept be applied in the sciences to determine whether observed facts constitute evidence that a given theory is true?In this book, Peter Achinstein proposes and defends several objective concepts of evidence. He then explores the question of whether a scientific method, such as that represented in the four "Rules for the Study of Natural Philosophy" that Isaac Newton invoked in proving his law of gravity, can be employed in demonstrating how the proposed definitions of evidence are to be applied to real scientific cases. In answering this question, he offers a new interpretation of Newton's controversial rules. Contrary to what many methodologists assume, whether the rules, so interpreted, can be used to determine whether observed phenomena provide evidence for a theory is an empirical question, not an a priori one. Finally, in order to deal with numerous cases in which evidence is insufficient to establish a theory, or where no theory is even available, Achinstein describes and defends three scientific methods proposed by the 19th century theoretical physicist James Clerk Maxwell, in the course of developing his electrical and molecular theories. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface Chapter 1: A Problem about Evidence Chapter 2: Newton's Rules Chapter 3: Newtonian Extensions, a Rival, Justifying Induction, and Evidence Chapter 4: What to Do If You Cannot Establish a Theory: Maxwell's Three Methods ...
