-
57Synthese Vol 149 No. 3 Metaphysics in ScienceSynthese. 2006.This volume contains essays by five British philosophers and one Swedish philosopher working in metaphysics and in particular metaphysics as it relates to the philosophy of science. These philosophers are the core of a tight network of European philosophers of science and metaphysicians and their essays have evolved as a result of workshops in Lund, Edinburgh, and Athens.
-
54Scientific revolutions and inference to the best explanationDanish Yearbook of Philosophy 34 (1): 25--42. 1999.
-
52Arguing about science (edited book)Routledge. 2013.Arguing About Science is an outstanding, engaging introduction to the essential topics in philosophy of science, edited by two leading experts in the field. This exciting and innovative anthology contains a selection of classic and contemporary readings that examine a broad range of issues, from classic problems such as scientific reasoning; causation; and scientific realism, to more recent topics such as science and race; forensic science; and the scientific status of medicine. The editors brin…Read more
-
48Three conservative KuhnsSocial Epistemology 17 (2 & 3). 2003.This Article does not have an abstract
-
44The philosophy of history of science of Thomas KuhnDiscusiones Filosóficas 13 (21). 2012.Int his article, I argue that Kuhn was a historicist in two respects. First, he was a conservative in Mannheim’s sense—tradition is important for understanding scientific change, and the evaluation of a scientific idea is relative to historical context. Secondly, Kuhn embraced determinism—there is a pattern to scientific change, akin to laws of scientific development. I show that Kuhn’s determinism requires that he is an internalist about the causes of scientific change; Kuhn’s internal- ism con…Read more
-
42Book reviews (review)This book is part of the Fundamentals in Philosophy series, edited by John Shand, offering introductions to core areas of philosophy which are “not mere bland expositions, and as such are original pieces of philosophy in their own right”. Alexander Bird’s book meets this remit admirably. In my review I shall concentrate on the philosophical argument of the work and set aside its merits as a student text though they compare well with rivals currently on offer.
-
41Scientific Realism and Three Problems for Inference to the Best ExplanationIn Wenceslao J. Gonzalez (ed.), New Approaches to Scientific Realism, De Gruyter. pp. 48-67. 2020.
-
40The ultimate argument against Armstrong's contingent necessitation view of lawsAnalysis 65 (2): 147-155. 2005.
-
39Review of Craig Dilworth: The Metaphysics of Science (review)The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 48 (2). 1997.
-
35Can Scientific Practices Put Norms Back into Nature? (review)Metascience 13 (1): 106-108. 2004.Review of Joseph Rouse, How Scientific Practises Matter. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003
-
33Antidotes all the way down?Theoria 19 (3): 259-269. 2010.This paper explores the question: can fundamental dispositions suffer from finks and antidotes? I use my response to shed light on the question: can the fundamental laws of physics be ceteris paribus laws?
-
31Inference to the Only ExplanationPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 74 (2): 424-432. 2007.
-
31On whether some laws are necessaryAnalysis 62 (3): 257-270. 2002.In Bird 2001 I argued that a law that might seem to many to be contingent is in fact necessary. In short the argument is this. Given the existence of salt and water, Coulomb’s law of electrostatic attraction is sufficient to make the former dissolve in the latter. So any possible world in which salt failed to dissolve in water would be one in which Coulomb’s law is false. However, it is also the case that the existence of salt depends on Coulomb’s law. If Coulomb’s law is false then …Read more
-
3110 Kuhn, Naturalism, and the Social Study of ScienceIn Vasō Kintē & Theodore Arabatzis (eds.), Kuhn's The structure of scientific revolutions revisited, Routledge. pp. 205. 2012.
-
30
-
29Review of Susan Haack Defending Science -- Within Reason: Between Scientism and Cynicism (review)The Philosophical Review 115 (1): 131-133. 2003.Review of Susan Haack Defending Science -- Within Reason: Between Scientism and Cynicism
-
28Review of Stephen Mumford, David Armstrong (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2008 (5). 2008.
-
23Inference to the Only ExplanationPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 74 (2): 424-432. 2007.
-
22Thomas KuhnRoutledge. 2000.Thomas Kuhn transformed the philosophy of science. His seminal 1962 work "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" introduced the term 'paradigm shift' into the vernacular and remains a fundamental text in the study of the history and philosophy of science. This introduction to Kuhn's ideas covers the breadth of his philosophical work, situating "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" within Kuhn's wider thought and drawing attention to the development of his ideas over time. Kuhn's work is as…Read more
-
20Properties, Powers and Structures: Issues in the Metaphysics of Realism (edited book)Routledge. 2013.While the phrase "metaphysics of science" has been used from time to time, it has only recently begun to denote a specific research area where metaphysics meets philosophy of science—and the sciences themselves. The essays in this volume demonstrate that metaphysics of science is an innovative field of research in its own right. The principle areas covered are: The modal metaphysics of properties: What is the essential nature of natural properties? Are all properties essentially categorical? Are…Read more
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology |
Metaphysics |
General Philosophy of Science |
Areas of Interest
Epistemology |
Metaphysics |
Natural Sciences |
General Philosophy of Science |
PhilPapers Editorships
Natural Kinds |