Philosophy of Science in the Twentieth Century

This book traces the development during the 20th century of four central themes in the philosophy of science. The themes, chosen for their importance are expounded in a way which does not presuppose any previous knowledge of philosophy or science. The book thus constitutes an excellent introduction to the philosophy of science.

Part I: Inductivism and its Critics:. 1. Some Historical Background: Inductivism, Russell and the Cambridge School, the Vienna Circle and Popper. 2. Popper's Critique of Inductivism. 3. Duhem's Critique of Inductivism. Part II: Conventionalism and the Duhem-Quine Thesis:. 4. Poincare's Conventionalism of 1902. 5. The Duhem Thesis and the Quine Thesis. Part III: The Nature of Observation:. 6. Observation Statements: (a) the Views of Carnap, Neurath, Popper and Duhem. 7. Observation Statements: (b) Some Psychological Findings. Part IV: The Demarcation between Science and Metaphysics:. 8. Is Metaphysics Meaningless? Wittgenstein, the Vienna Circle and Popper's Critique. 9. Metaphysics in relation to Science: the Views of Popper, Duhem and Quine. 10. Falsification in the light of the Duhem-Quine Thesis.