Introduction to the Philosophy of Science - Tapa dura

This introduction to the philosophy of science covers all the main topics in the area, as well as introducing the student to the moral and social reality of science. The author discusses the growth of knowledge of science, the status of scientific theories and their relationship to observational data, the extent to which scientific theories rest on unprovable paradigms, and the nature of scientific explanations. In later chapters the text considers probability, scientific reductionism, the relationship between science and technology and the relationship between scientific and other values. The author addresses the subject in a concise, jargon-free style so that the book should be of interest and concern to scientists as well as philosophers.