Historical and Philosophical Dimensions of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science

Historical and Philosophical Dimensions of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science

Author: Robert E. Butts

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-09

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 940171780X

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The Fifth International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science was held at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, 27 August to 2 September 1975. The Congress was held under the auspices of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science, Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, and was sponsored by the National Research Council of Canada and the University of Western Ontario. As those associated closely with the work of the Division over the years know well, the work undertaken by its members varies greatly and spans a number of fields not always obviously related. In addition, the volume of work done by first rate scholars and scientists in the various fields of the Division has risen enormously. For these and related reasons it seemed to the editors chosen by the Divisional officers that the usual format of publishing the proceedings of the Congress be abandoned in favour of a somewhat more flexible, and hopefully acceptable, method of pre sentation. Accordingly, the work of the invited participants to the Congress has been divided into four volumes appearing in the University of Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science. The volumes are entitled, Logic, Foundations of Mathematics and Computability Theory, Foun dational Problems in the Special Sciences, Basic Problems in Methodol ogy and Linguistics, and Historical and Philosophical Dimensions of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science.


Highlights of Astronomy

Highlights of Astronomy

Author: E.A. Müller

Publisher: Springer

Published: 1977-09-30

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 9789027708328

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It has become a tradition in the Union to publish the Invited Discourses and the Proceedings of the Joint Discussions held at a Gene ral Assembly in a separate volume entitled HIGHLIGHTS OF ASTRONOMY. This is the fourth volume of its kind and it contains some of the scientific highlights of the Grenoble General Assembly. In order to reduce its size it was decided to publish its content in two separate parts. The part (I) contains the full texts of the In vited Discourses given by Prof. J.-C. Pecker and by Dr. C. Sagan, and an abstract of Dr. P. Morrison's paper, thus complying with his wish to forego publication of the full text of his Discourse. Furthermore it collects the proceedings of three Joint Discussions and one Joint Meeting all of which are related essentially to observations from space, to external galaxies and to cosmology. Part (TI) contains the proceedings of the four Joint Discussions and one Joint Meeting related essentially to stars and the structure of our Galaxy. Clearly Volume 4 (parts I and TI) of the Highlights reflects only a part of the scientific activities which took place at the Grenoble General Assembly. Many more important papers and discussions were held during Commission meetings and joint meetings. They may be found in the Commissions' reports published in the Transactions Vol. XVI B, 1977.


Conceptual Change and the Philosophy of Science

Conceptual Change and the Philosophy of Science

Author: David J. Stump

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-05-15

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1317495381

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In this book, David Stump traces alternative conceptions of the a priori in the philosophy of science and defends a unique position in the current debates over conceptual change and the constitutive elements in science. Stump emphasizes the unique epistemological status of the constitutive elements of scientific theories, constitutive elements being the necessary preconditions that must be assumed in order to conduct a particular scientific inquiry. These constitutive elements, such as logic, mathematics, and even some fundamental laws of nature, were once taken to be a priori knowledge but can change, thus leading to a dynamic or relative a priori. Stump critically examines developments in thinking about constitutive elements in science as a priori knowledge, from Kant’s fixed and absolute a priori to Quine’s holistic empiricism. By examining the relationship between conceptual change and the epistemological status of constitutive elements in science, Stump puts forward an argument that scientific revolutions can be explained and relativism can be avoided without resorting to universals or absolutes.


Foundational Problems in the Special Sciences

Foundational Problems in the Special Sciences

Author: Robert E. Butts

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 419

ISBN-13: 9401011419

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The Fifth International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science was held at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, 27 August to 2 September 1975. The Congress was held under the auspices of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science, Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, and was sponsored by the National Research Council of Canada and the University of Western Ontario. As those associated closely with the work of the Division over the years know weIl, the work undertaken by its members varies greatly and spans a number of fields not always obviously related. In addition, the volume of work done by first rate scholars and scientists in the various fields of the Division has risen enormously. For these and related reasons it seemed to the editors chosen by the Divisional officers that the usual format of publishing the proceedings of the Congress be abandoned in favour of a somewhat more flexible, and hopefully acceptable, method of pre sentation. Accordingly, the work of the invited participants to the Congress has been divided into four volumes appearing in the University of Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science. The volumes are entitled, Logic, Foundations of Mathematics and Computability Theory, Foun dational Problems in the Special Sciences, Basic Problems in Methodol ogy and Linguistics, and Historical and Philosophical Dimensions of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science.


Philosophy in Economics

Philosophy in Economics

Author: Joseph C. Pitt

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9400983948

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The essays in this volume are the result of a workshop held at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in April, 1979. The assembled group was diverse, comprised of philosophers, economists, and statisticians. But it was not the complete group on which we had initially planned. Richard Rudner was in France on sabbatical and was unable to fly back for the occa sion. His untimely death the following summer saddened us all, for we lost not just a colleague but a friend. This book is dedicated to him out of the spirit of friendship and in appreciation for the ground breaking work he did in the philosophy of the social sciences. In addition to the participants, a number of people worked very hard to make our gathering possible. We are especially indebted to Dean Henry Bauer, Dean Ernie Stout and Dean John Ballweg of the College of Arts and Sciences at Virginia Tech for their good will and support, both moral and substantive. We would also like to thank Professor Guy Hammond, Head, Department of Philosophy and Religion, for his council and assistance. Our special thanks to Jeanne Keister and Betty Davis for their patience with unending typing and reservations, and finally to Barbara Kersey, always at hand, ever helpful. Without them nothing would have transpired.


IFS

IFS

Author: W.L. Harper

Publisher: Springer Science & Business

Published: 1980-12-31

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9789027712202

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With publication of the present volume, The University of Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science enters its second phase. The first fourteen volumes in the Series were produced under the managing editorship of Professor James J. Leach, with the cooperation of a local editorial board. Many of these volumes resulted from colloguia and workshops held in con nection with the University of Western Ontario Graduate Programme in Philosophy of Science. Throughout its seven year history, the Series has been devoted to publication of high quality work in philosophy of science con sidered in its widest extent, including work in philosophy of the special sciences and history of the conceptual development of science. In future, this general editorial emphasis will be maintained, and hopefully, broadened to include important works by scholars working outside the local context. Appointment of a new managing editor, together with an expanded editorial board, brings with it the hope of an enlarged international presence for the Series. Serving the publication needs of those working in the various subfields within philosophy of science is a many-faceted operation. Thus in future the Series will continue to produce edited proceedings of worthwhile scholarly meetings and edited collections of seminal background papers. How ever, the publication priorities will shift emphasis to favour production of monographs in the various fields covered by the scope of the Series. THE MANAGING EDITOR vii W. L. Harper, R. Stalnaker, and G. Pearce (eds.), lIs, vii.


Leibniz’s Metaphysics of Nature

Leibniz’s Metaphysics of Nature

Author: N. Rescher

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 9400984456

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The essays included in this volume are a mixture of old and new. Three of them make their first appearance in print on this occa sion (Nos III, IV, and V). The remaining four are based upon materials previously published in learned journals or anthologies. (However, these previously published papers have been revised and, generally, expanded for inclusion here.) Detailed acknowl edgement of prior publications is made in the notes to the relevant articles. I am grateful to the editors of these several publications for their kind permission to use this material. I am grateful to an anonymous reader for the Western Ontario Series for some useful corrigenda. And I should like to thank John Horty and Lily Knezevich for their help in seeing this material through the press. NICHOLAS RESCHER Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania May, 1980 xi INTRODUCTION The unifying theme of these essays is their concern with Leibniz's metaphysics of nature. In particular, they revolve about his cos mology of creation and his conception of the real world as one among infinitely many equipossible alternatives.


New Perspectives on Galileo

New Perspectives on Galileo

Author: Robert E. Butts

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 940099799X

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The essays in this volume (except for the contribution of Dr. Le Grand) are extremely revised versions of papers originally delivered at a workshop on Galileo held in Blacksburg, Virginia in October, 1975. The meeting was organized by Professor Joseph Pitt and sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Religion, The College of Arts and Sciences, and the Division of Research of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The papers that follow deal with problems OIf Galileo's philosophy of science, specific and general problems connected with his methodology, and with historical and conceptual questions concerning the relationship of his work to that of contemporaries and both earlier and later scientists. New perspectives take many forms. In this book the 'newness' has, for the most part, two forms. First, in the papers by Wisan, Shea, Le Grand and Wallace (the concerns will also appear in some of the other contributions), greatly enriched historical discoveries of how Galileo's science and its method ology developed are provided. It should be stressed that these papers are attempts to recapture a deep sense of the kind of science Galileo was creating. Other papers in the volume, for example, those by McMullin, Machamer, Butts and Pitt, underscore the importance of this historical venture by discussing various aspects of the philosophical background of Galileo's thought. The historical and philosophical evaluations and analyses compliment one another.