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With authoritative and original insights, Philosophy of Science: The Fundamentals explores some of the fundamental questions relating to metaphysics and the philosophy of science.
* Integrates metaphysics with the philosophy of science
* Provides a unique philosophical viewpoint
* Areas covered include classical particle mechanics, scientific physical modalities and the laws of nature, the scientific and manifest images, scientific explanations, and the nature of time
* Offers an accessible introduction to a challenging topic
List of contents
1. Introduction.
2. Newtonian mechanics as a working example.
3. Laws of nature.
4. Chance, dispositions, causation, and the "laws" of the special sciences.
5. Explanation.
6. Evidence and confirmation.
7. Representation and reduction.
8. Conclusion
About the author
Ned Hall is Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University. He works mainly on metaphysics and philosophy of science, with a special emphasis on philosophical problems associated with the foundations of quantum physics. His current interests in the philosophy of science center on the analysis of natural laws and their role within scientific theories. His other work has included investigations into the connections between probability theory and the logic of conditionals, the epistemology and metaphysics of objective probability, and the analysis of causation. He recently edited (with John Collins and L. A. Paul), Causation and Counterfactuals.
Summary
With authoritative and original insights, Philosophy of Science: The Fundamentals explores some of the fundamental questions relating to metaphysics and the philosophy of science.
* Integrates metaphysics with the philosophy of science
* Provides a unique philosophical viewpoint
* Areas covered include classical particle mechanics, scientific physical modalities and the laws of nature, the scientific and manifest images, scientific explanations, and the nature of time
* Offers an accessible introduction to a challenging topic
