ABSTRACT

An up-to-date, clear but rigorous introduction to the philosophy of science offering an indispensable grounding in the philosophical understanding of science and its problems. The book pays full heed to the neglected but vital conceptual issues such as the nature of scientific laws, while balancing and linking this with a full coverage of epistemological problems such as our knowledge of such laws.

chapter |14 pages

Introduction: The nature of Science

part |2 pages

Part I Representation

chapter 1|24 pages

Laws of Nature

chapter 2|22 pages

Explanation

chapter 3|17 pages

Natural Kinds

chapter 4|27 pages

Realism

part |2 pages

Part II Reason

chapter 5|14 pages

Inductive Scepticism

chapter 6|18 pages

Probability and Scientific Inference

chapter 7|15 pages

Inductive Knowledge

chapter 8|35 pages

Method and Progress