- 264 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
About this book
What are the features of a good scientific theory? Samuel Schindler's book revisits this classical question in the philosophy of science and develops new answers to it. Theoretical virtues matter not only for choosing theories 'to work with', but also for what we are justified in believing: only if the theories we possess are good ones (qua virtues) can we be confident that our theories' claims about nature are actually correct. Recent debates have focussed rather narrowly on a theory's capacity to predict new phenomena successfully, but Schindler argues that the justification for this focus is thin. He discusses several other theory properties such as testability, accuracy, and consistency, and highlights the importance of simplicity and coherence. Using detailed historical case studies and careful philosophical analysis, Schindler challenges the received view of theoretical virtues and advances arguments for the view that science uncovers reality through theory.
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Information
Topic
PhilosophySubtopic
Philosophy & Ethics in ScienceTable of contents
- Cover
- Half-title page
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Theoretical Virtues, Truth and the Argument from Simplicity
- Chapter 2 Pessimism, Base Rates and the No-Virtue-Coincidence Argument
- Chapter 3 Novel Success and Predictivism
- Chapter 4 Theoretical Fertility without Novel Success
- Chapter 5 Ad Hoc Hypotheses and the Argument from Coherence
- Chapter 6 Virtues as Confidence Boosters and the Argument from Choice
- Chapter 7 Philosophy of Science by Historical Means
- Conclusion
- Epilogue: The Demarcation Problem
- Bibliography
- Index
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Yes, you can access Theoretical Virtues in Science by Samuel Schindler in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Philosophy & Ethics in Science. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.