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29This book consists of a collection of essays written between 1965 and 1981. Some have been published elsewhere; others appear here for the first time. Although dealing with different figures and different periods, they have a common theme: all are concerned with examining how the method of hy pothesis came to be the ruling orthodoxy in the philosophy of science and the quasi-official methodology of the scientific community. It might have been otherwise. Barely three centuries ago, hypothetico de…Read more
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126William Whewell on the Consilience of InductionsThe Monist 55 (3): 368-391. 1971.Most contributions to Whewell scholarship have tended to stress the idealistic, antiempirical temper of Whewell’s philosophy. Thus, the only two monograph-length studies on Whewell, Blanché’s Le Rationalisme de Whewell and Marcucci’s L’ ‘Idealismo’ Scientifico di William Whewell, are, as their titles suggest, concerned primarily with Whewell’s departures from classical British empiricism. Particularly in his famous dispute with Mill, it has proved tempting to parody Whewell’s position in the deb…Read more
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285Demystifying underdeterminationIn C. Wade Savage (ed.), Scientific Theories, University of Minnesota Press. pp. 267-97. 1990.
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30Two puzzles about science: Reflections on some crises in the philosophy and sociology of science (review)Minerva 20 (3-4): 253-268. 1982.
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1111Beyond Positivism and Relativism: Theory, Method, and EvidenceWestview Press. 1996.By targeting and critiquing these assumptions, he lays the groundwork for a post-positivist philosophy of science that does not provide aid and comfort to the enemies of reason. This book consists of thirteen essays.
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2Progress or rationalityIn David Papineau (ed.), The Philosophy of Science, Oxford University Press. pp. 194--214. 1996.
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1498A confutation of convergent realismPhilosophy of Science 48 (1): 19-49. 1981.This essay contains a partial exploration of some key concepts associated with the epistemology of realist philosophies of science. It shows that neither reference nor approximate truth will do the explanatory jobs that realists expect of them. Equally, several widely-held realist theses about the nature of inter-theoretic relations and scientific progress are scrutinized and found wanting. Finally, it is argued that the history of science, far from confirming scientific realism, decisively conf…Read more
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40Methodology's ProspectsPSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1986. 1986.For positivists and post-positivists alike, methodology had a decidedly suspect status. Positivists saw methodological rules as stipulative conventions, void of any empirical content. Post-positivists (especially naturalistic ones) see such rules as mere descriptions of how research is conducted, carrying no normative force. It is argued here that methodological rules are fundamentally empirical claims, but ones which have significant normative bite. Methodology is thus divorced both from founda…Read more
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Teorias do Método Científico de Platão a MachCadernos de História E Filosofia da Ciéncia 10 (2). 2000.Este artigo, originalmente publicado em History of Science, vol. 7 , pp. 1-63, contém talvez a mais completa bibliografia existente sobre as teorias do método, além de fornecer preciosas indicações para o seu uso e para o estudo da história da metodologia em geral. Agradecemos ao Professor Larry Laudan por ter preparado, especialmente para a tradução brasileira, um suplemento bibliográfico contendo muitos títulos novos. Embora o texto do ensaio original permaneça praticamente inalterado, algumas…Read more
Areas of Specialization
20th Century Philosophy |
General Philosophy of Science |
17th/18th Century Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Law |
General Philosophy of Science |