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<p>Preface ix</p> <p>Acknowledgments xi</p> <p>About the Companion Website xii</p> <p><b>1 Pillars of Science: Reasons, Knowledge, and Truth 1</b></p> <p>1.1 Epistemic Reasons 2</p> <p>1.2 Reasoning from Evidence 7</p> <p>1.3 Knowledge and Truth 11</p> <p>1.4 Facts, Hypotheses, and Theories 12</p> <p>1.5 Conclusion 17</p> <p><b>2 Evidence, Observation, and Measurement 19</b></p> <p>2.1 The Promises of Evidence 19</p> <p>2.2 Basic Evidence and Derived Evidence 21</p> <p>2.3 Measurement 26</p> <p>2.4 Conclusion 31</p> <p><b>3 Uses of Evidence 33</b></p> <p>3.1 From Observation to Hypothesis 33</p> <p>3.2 Theory Appraisal 36</p> <p>3.3 The Demarcation Problem 42</p> <p>3.4 Conclusion 49</p> <p><b>4 Evidence, Rationality, and Disagreement 51</b></p> <p>4.1 From Weak to Strong Evidence 51</p> <p>4.2 Evidence and Rationality 60</p> <p>4.3 Explaining Scientific Disagreement 63</p> <p>4.4 Conclusion 69</p> <p><b>5 The Nature of Probability 71</b></p> <p>5.1 Basics of Probability 71</p> <p>5.2 Interpretations of Probability 73</p> <p>5.3 Probabilities as Credences 74</p> <p>5.4 Epistemic Probabilities 79</p> <p>5.5 Probabilities as Objective Chances 81</p> <p>5.6 Probabilities and Defeasible Reasoning 84</p> <p>5.7 Fallacies 86</p> <p>5.8 Conclusion 87</p> <p><b>6 Do Not Be Misled: Confounds and Controls 88</b></p> <p>6.1 Trials and Errors 88</p> <p>6.2 Treatment and Control 89</p> <p>6.3 Randomization 94</p> <p>6.4 Conclusion 99</p> <p><b>7 Physical Experiments and Their Design 101</b></p> <p>7.1 Historical Remarks 101</p> <p>7.2 Setting Experimental Parameters 102</p> <p>7.3 Dependent and Independent Variables 103</p> <p>7.4 Learning from Experiment 106</p> <p>7.5 Types of Errors: Pick Your Poison 112</p> <p>7.6 Relationships between Experiment and Theory 113</p> <p>7.7 Conclusion 117</p> <p><b>8 Experimental Methods That They Don’t Teach 119</b></p> <p>8.1 Found and Natural Experiments 119</p> <p>8.2 Thought Experiments 122</p> <p>8.3 The Structure and Evidential Value of Thought Experiments 133</p> <p>8.4 Learning from TEs 136</p> <p>8.5 The Ubiquity of Thought Experiments 139</p> <p>8.6 Are Computer Simulations Thought Experiments? 141</p> <p>8.7 Conclusion 142</p> <p><b>9 Models: Useful Lies and Informative Fictions 144</b></p> <p>9.1 The Nature of Models 146</p> <p>9.2 Modelling Techniques 153</p> <p>9.3 Analogies 156</p> <p>9.4 Learning from Models 159</p> <p>9.5 Conclusion 165</p> <p><b>10 Causation and Causal Inference 167</b></p> <p>10.1 What’s the Problem with Causation? 167</p> <p>10.2 Hume’s Challenge 168</p> <p>10.3 Causation as Mere Regularities 170</p> <p>10.4 Conserved Quantities to the Rescue? 171</p> <p>10.5 Causation and Manipulation 173</p> <p>10.6 Conclusion 177</p> <p><b>11 Strange Causation – Time Travel and Remote Action 179</b></p> <p>11.1 On Influencing the Past 180</p> <p>11.2 Quantum Mechanics and Locality 191</p> <p>11.3 Conclusion 196</p> <p><b>12 But Is Any of It Real? 198</b></p> <p>12.1 Theories and Truth 198</p> <p>12.2 A Map of the Views 199</p> <p>12.3 Are Groups Real? 201</p> <p>12.4 Laws of Nature 205</p> <p>12.5 Is Everything Real Observable? 208</p> <p>12.6 Realism vs. Antirealism 213</p> <p>12.7 Structural Realism 218</p> <p>12.8 Realism and Explanation 219</p> <p>12.9 Conclusion 221</p> <p><b>13 Explanation and Understanding 223</b></p> <p>13.1 The Deductive-Nomological Model 224</p> <p>13.2 The Causal Model 229</p> <p>13.3 The Unificationist Model 231</p> <p>13.4 The Pragmatic Model 234</p> <p>13.5 What about Realism? 237</p> <p>13.6 Conclusion 238</p> <p><b>14 Fundamental Theories and the Organization of Science 240</b></p> <p>14.1 The Layer Cake Model 242</p> <p>14.2 Classical Reductionism 243</p> <p>14.3 Functional Concepts 248</p> <p>14.4 The Functional Model 250</p> <p>14.5 Emergence 253</p> <p>14.6 Interdisciplinary Research 257</p> <p>14.7 Conclusion 259</p> <p><b>15 Scientific Progress 262</b></p> <p>15.1 Science and Technology 263</p> <p>15.2 Goals of Science 264</p> <p>15.3 Reduction in the Limit 265</p> <p>15.4 How Theories Are Born 266</p> <p>15.5 What Kind of Progress? 269</p> <p>15.6 From Theories to Research Programmes 275</p> <p>15.7 Methodological Anarchism 277</p> <p>15.8 Incommensurability 279</p> <p>15.9 Structural Realism and Progress 284</p> <p>15.10 Conclusion 286</p> <p>Index 288</p>

<p><b>FRANZ-PETER GRIESMAIER</b> is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wyoming, where he teaches history and philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, logic, and epistemology. He is the author of <i>Rationality and Epistemic Sophistication.</i></p> <p><b>JEFFREY A. LOCKWOOD</b> is a Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities at the University of Wyoming. He worked for 15 years in scientific research and is a recipient of the Pushcart Prize and the John Burroughs award. Professor Lockwood’s work has been featured in the <i>Best American Science and Nature Writing. </i>

<p>What are the central features and advantages of a scientific worldview?<BR> Why do even reasonable scientists sometimes disagree with each other?<BR> Does science reveal objective reality? <p><i>This is Philosophy of Science</i> provides a reader-friendly introduction to the philosophical study of the nature, methods, and implications of empirical science. Assuming no previous background in philosophy, this accessible volume explains key philosophical concepts and addresses the important philosophical issues and debates that continue to arise within the empirical sciences. <p>Easy-to-comprehend chapters cover a wide range of both conceptual and practical topics, including theories of explanation and confirmation, the design of physical experimentation and modeling, probability and theory testing, and debates concerning scientific realism and anti-realism. Throughout the text, engaging discussions are illustrated by numerous relevant real-world examples drawn from the physical, life, and social sciences. <p>Featuring a companion website with useful student and instructor resources, <i>This is Philosophy of Science</i> is the perfect textbook for both STEM students with an interest in the conceptual foundations of their disciplines and undergraduate philosophy majors. It is also an excellent introduction for general readers wanting to explore science through a philosophical lens.

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