Philosophy of Science: The Key Thinkers

All the great philosophers from Plato and Aristotle to the present day have been philosophers of science. However this book concentrates on modern philosophy of science starting in the nineteenth century and offering coverage of all the leading thinkers in the field including Whewell Mill Reichenbach Carnap Popper Feyerabend Putnam van Fraassen Bloor Latour Hacking Cartwright and many more. Crucially the book demonstrates how the ideas and arguments of these key thinkers have contributed to our understanding of such central issues as experience and necessity conventionalism logical empiricism induction and falsification the sociology of science and realism. Ideal for undergraduate students the book lays the necessary foundations for a complete and thorough understanding of this fascinating subject.