ABSTRACT

First published in 1963, this title considers the philosophical problems encountered when attempting to provide a clear and general explanation of scientific principles, and the basic confrontation between such principles and experience. Beginning with a detailed introduction that considers various approaches to the philosophy and theory of science, Israel Scheffler then divides his study into three key sections – Explanation, Significance and Confirmation – that explore how these complex issues involved have been dealt with in contemporary research. This title, by one of America’s leading philosophers, will provide a valuable analysis of the theory and problems surrounding the Philosophy of Science.

part |15 pages

Introduction Philosophy and the Theory of Science

chapter 1|4 pages

Approaches to the Philosophy of Science

chapter 2|7 pages

Arguments over a Theory of Science

chapter 3|2 pages

Approach to the Problems

part I|107 pages

Explanation

part II|98 pages

Significance

chapter 1|2 pages

Explanation and Criteria of Significance

chapter 5|4 pages

Criteria of Incomplete Verifiability

chapter 6|6 pages

Criteria of Translatability

chapter 7|2 pages

Inclusion in an Empiricist Language

chapter 9|2 pages

The Interpretation of Disposition Terms

chapter 10|9 pages

The Method of Reduction Sentences

chapter 11|1 pages

The Problem of Theoretical Terms

chapter 14|2 pages

Pragmatism

chapter 15|1 pages

Fictionalism and Its Varieties

chapter 16|1 pages

Instrumentalistic Fictionalism

chapter 18|1 pages

Eliminative Fictionalism

chapter 19|4 pages

Eliminative Fictionalism: Syntactical Form

chapter 20|10 pages

Eliminative Fictionalism: Craigian Form

chapter 21|20 pages

Eliminative Fictionalism: Ramseyan Form

part III|104 pages

Confirmation