-
21IntroductionPerspectives on Science 26 (4): 419-422. 2018.Feynman diagrams have fascinated physicists and philosophers since they were introduced to the world about 70 years ago. Clearly, they help in calculation; they have allowed nearly impossible problems to be solved with relative ease. This is agreed by all, but that is probably where the consensus ends. Are they pictures of physical processes? Are they just devices for keeping track of mathematical formulae, that do the real work? Are they some sort of mix of both?They are almost as famous as rep…Read more
-
7Smoke and Mirrors: How Science Reflects RealityBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 45 (4): 1059-1062. 1994.
-
99Philosophy of Mathematics: An Introduction to the World of Proofs and PicturesMind 113 (449): 154-157. 2004.
-
3Book reviews (review)International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 12 (2): 197-203. 1998.What is Mathematics, Really?. Reuben Hersh, 1997 New York, Oxford University Press xxiv+343, $CAN 51.95, $US 35.00, ISBN 0–19–511368–3 Philosophy of Mathematics: Structure and Ontology. Stewart Shapiro, 1997. Oxford, Oxford University Press x + 277, $CAN 73.95, ISBN 0–19–509452–2
-
34Patents and ProgressPerspectives on Science 24 (5): 505-528. 2016.An academic paper, like a good story, has a beginning, a middle, and an end. But they don’t have to be in that order. Instead of laying out reasonable assumptions, followed by a careful argument that arrives at a plausible finish, I will start with an implausible conclusion, then try to justify it. This order might diminish the theatrical effect, since there is no build up to a dramatic finale, but it gains in clarity of purpose. My conclusion is this: We should eliminate all patents and other f…Read more
-
3On the Plurality of WorldsDavid Lewis Oxford: Blackwell, 1986. Pp. 276. $58.00, $27.00 paper (review)Dialogue 26 (2): 399-401. 1987.
-
3Abstract ObjectsBob Hale Oxford: Blackwell, 1987. Pp. 282. $75.00 (review)Dialogue 27 (4): 729-732. 1988.
-
67Explaining, Seeing, and Understanding in Thought ExperimentsPerspectives on Science 22 (3): 357-376. 2014.Theories often run into paradoxes. Some of these are outright contradictions, sending the would-be champions of the theory back to the drawing board. Others are paradoxical in the sense of being bizarre and unexpected. The latter are sometimes mistakenly thought to be instances of the former. That is, they are thought to be more than merely weird; they are mistakenly thought to be self-refuting. Showing that they are not self-contradictory but merely a surprise is often a challenge. Notions of e…Read more
-
Scientific Knowledge: A Sociological Approach and Steven Shapin, The Scientific RevolutionInternational Studies in the Philosophy of Science 12 (1): 100. 1998.
-
Meera Nanda, Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in IndiaInternational Studies in the Philosophy of Science 18 105-108. 2004.
-
James Robert Brown: Thought experiments and platonism. Part twoCroatian Journal of Philosophy 7 (20): 125-268. 2007.
-
30The Reality of Formal CausesIn Gereon Wolters & Martin Carrier (eds.), Homo Sapiens Und Homo Faber, De Gruyter. 2005.Aristotle claimed there are four causes (and four corresponding types of explanation). The scientific revolution eliminated formal and final, leaving efficient and material. It is argued here that there is a role for formal causes in the sciences, especially in physics.
-
2The Community of Science®In Martin Carrier, Don Howard & Janet A. Kourany (eds.), The Challenge of the Social and the Pressure of Practice: Science and Values Revisited, University of Pittsburgh Press. 2008.
-
12Realism and the AnthropocentricsPSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1984 202-210. 1984.This paper examines the anthropocentric views of William Newton-Smith, Hilary Putnam, and Bas van Fraassen. It is argued in each case that the anthropocentric views in question are untenable and that the realist alternative is to be preferred
-
82Why Empiricism Won't WorkPSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1992 271-279. 1992.Thought experiments provide us with scientific understanding and theoretical advances which are sometimes quite significant, yet they do this without new empirical input, and possibly without any empirical input at all. How is this possible? The challenge to empiricism is to give an account which is compatible with the traditional empiricist principle that all knowledge is based on sensory experience. Thought experiments present an enormous challenge to empiricist views of knowledge; so much so …Read more
-
36On the Plurality of Worlds David Lewis Oxford: Blackwell, 1986. Pp. 276. $58.00, $27.00 paperDialogue 26 (2): 399-. 1987.
-
23Karl Popper Anthony O'Hear London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1980. Pp. 219. $30Dialogue 21 (3): 586-588. 1982.
-
46Vintage Popper: The Postscript, After Fifty YearsDialogue 23 (4): 677-682. 1984.Karl Popper is certainly one of the major philosophers of the century, and in working through the near thousand pages of his newly published Postscript one can see why. Only the big issues are dealt with; they are always treated with great clarity; and the conclusions are profound. In spite ofthis, however, these three volumes are ultimately disappointing, since they tell us little new about Popper's thinking.
-
18Popper and After: Four Modern Irrationalists David Stove Oxford: Pergamon, 1982. Pp. 116. $9.95 paper (review)Dialogue 24 (1): 177. 1985.
-
50Abstract Objects Bob Hale Oxford: Blackwell, 1987. Pp. 282. $75.00 (review)Dialogue 27 (4): 729-. 1988.
-
34
-
22The Rationality of ScienceDialogue 22 (2): 299-309. 1983.William Newton-Smith is a fine young Canadian philosopher of science who has spent the last decade in productive thought at Balliol, Oxford. His new work, The Rationality of Science, follows hot on the heels of his other book, The Structure of Time. And with them he establishes himself as a major force to be reckoned with in philosophical circles.
-
51Rationality and Relativism Martin Hollis and Steven Lukes, editors Oxford: Blackwell, 1982. Pp. 312. $34.25, cloth; $18.25, paper (review)Dialogue 22 (2): 369-371. 1983.
-
University of Toronto, St. George CampusDepartment of Philosophy
Institute for the History and Philosophy of ScienceRetired faculty
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Areas of Specialization
Science, Logic, and Mathematics |