ENGLISH

A Philosopher Looks at Science

By Nancy Cartwright

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2022
ISBN
1009201883, 9781009201889
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (1832647 bytes)
Pages
233\234
Time added
2022-09-13 12:03:57

Description

What is science and what can it do? Nancy Cartwright here takes issue with three common images of science: that it amounts to the combination of theory and experiment; that all science is basically reducible to physics; and that science and the natural world which it pictures are deterministic. The author's innovative and thoughtful book draws on examples from the physical, life, and social sciences alike, and focuses on all the products of science – not just experiments or theories – and how they work together. She reveals just what it is that makes science ultimately reliable, and how this reliability is nevertheless still compatible with a view of nature as more responsive to human change than we might think. Her book is a call for greater intellectual humility by and within scientific institutions. It will have strong appeal to anyone who thinks about science and how it is practised in society.

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