ENGLISH

The Metaphysics of Science: An Account of Modern Science in Terms of Principles, Laws and Theories

By Wai-Kai Chen

Book information

Publisher
Springer
Year
2006
ISBN
9780849341991, 084934199X
Open Library ID
OL18278815M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (2038220 bytes)
Series
Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science
Edition
2nd
Pages
347\347
Topic
Jurisprudence Law
Time added
2010-02-18 13:16:04

Description

The Metaphysics of Science provides a clear, well-founded conception of modern science, according to which its core consists of particular metaphysical principles. On this view, both the empirical and the theoretical aspects of science are the result of the attempt to apply these metaphysical principles to reality. There is a flexibility in the application of the principles, however, so that, in their scientific guise, they may come to be reformed over time through scientific revolutions. This approach to modern science provides a unified conception of the enterprise, explaining such of its various aspects as the principle of induction, the nature of scientific knowledge and scientific reduction, the fundamental difference between the natural and social sciences, and the role of essentialism with respect to natural kinds. Furthermore, it provides a resolution of the long-standing debate between empiricism and realism. In this regard, and in others, the view of science advanced in this work is not only novel, but constitutes an alternative that is superior to both the empirical-analytic and the sociology of knowledge approaches that are prevalent today.

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