Books in Philosophy

Investigating the Life Sciences

1st Edition
July 29, 2016
G. M. N. Verschuuren
English
eBook
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A unique introduction to the philosophy of science with special emphasis on the life sciences. Part I presents elementary but fundamental concepts and problems in epistemology and their relation to questions of scientific methodology. Part II deals with case studies from the history of biology which illustrate particular philosophical points while Part III progresses to more complex ideas as on the nature and methodology of science. Part IV discusses the limitations of scientific enquiry and its relations to other systems of knowledge and interpretation.

Foundations of the Probabilistic Mechanics of Discrete Media

1st Edition
March 16, 2016
D. R. Axelrad
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 8 5 7 2 6

This latest volume in the Foundations & Philosophy of Science & Technology series provides an account of probabilistic functional analysis and shows its applicability in the formulation of the behaviour of discrete media with the inclusion of microstructural effects. Although quantum mechanics have long been recognized as a stochastic theory, the introduction of probabilistic concepts and principles to classical mechanics has in general not been attempted. In this study the author takes the view that the significant field quantities of a discrete medium are random variables or functions of such variables. Hence the probabilistic mechanics of discrete media are based on the mathematical theory of probability and the axiomatics of measure theory.

A New Morality from Science

1st Edition
January 22, 2016
Arnold P. Goldstein
English
eBook
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Pergamon General Psychology Series: A New Morality from Science: Beyondism focuses on the role of science in establishing ethical values. The publication first elaborates on three gateways to the understanding of life, origins of uncertainty and confusion, and basic logic of beyondism. Discussions focus on moral laws within groups and the fallacy of universalization; planned bio-cultural diversity of groups in the great experiment; absence of institutional mechanisms specifically to create progress; social construction without positive value construction; and humanity and the ever-open gateway of religion. The manuscript then examines moral directives derivable from the beyondist goal and psychological problems in human adjustment to the new ethics. The book takes a look at the departure of beyondism from traditional and current ethical systems; impact of evolutionary values on current socio-political practices; and integration of the emotional life with progressive institutions. Topics include mutual services of beyondism and the arts, setting of the research institutes for the world federation and free enquirers, community goals in population size, class, and internal diversity, and the reconstruction needed for a scientifically rational politics. The manuscript is a dependable reference for researchers interested in the role of science in establishing ethical values.

Philosophy and Archaeology

1st Edition
June 28, 2014
Merrilee H. Salmon
English
eBook
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Studies in Archaeology: Philosophy and Archaeology presents the circumstances under which archeological hypotheses can be considered confirmed or disconfirmed. This book discusses the role of analogy in archeological reasoning, particularly in ascribing functions to archeological items. Organized into seven chapters, this book begins with an overview of the relationship between archeology and philosophy. This text then examines the importance of laws for archeology and discusses some essential features of law statements. Other chapters consider the strong claims for the hypothetico–deductiv... method of confirmation in various works by archeologists. This book discusses as well the different uses of analogical reasoning in archeology and provides a discussion of the structure of analogical arguments, criteria for evaluating them, and their relations to the Bayesian arguments for confirmation. The final chapter deals with several issues related to the development of a theory of archeology. This book is a valuable resource for archeologists and philosophers.

Popper and After

1st Edition
May 20, 2014
D. C. Stove
English
eBook
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Popper and After: Four Modern Irrationalists focuses on a tendency in the philosophy of science, of which the leading representatives are Professor Sir Karl Popper, the late Professor Imre Lakatos, and Professors T. S. Kuhn and P. K. Feyerabend. Their philosophy of science is in substance irrationalist. They doubt, or deny outright, that there can be any reason to believe any scientific theory; and a fortiori they doubt or deny, for example, that there has been any accumulation of knowledge in recent centuries. The book is composed of two parts and Part One explains how these writers succeeded in making irrationalism about science acceptable to readers. Part Two explores the intellectual influence that led these writers to embrace irrationalism about science.

Anticipatory Systems

1st Edition
Volume 1
October 22, 2013
Robert Rosen
G. Klir
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 8 6 2 7 3

The first detailed study of this most important class of systems which contain internal predictive models of themselves and/or of their environments and whose predictions are utilized for purposes of present control. This book develops the basic concept of a predictive model, and shows how it can be embedded into a system of feedforward control. Includes many examples and stresses analogies between wired-in anticipatory control and processes of learning and adaption, at both individual and social levels. Shows how the basic theory of such systems throws a new light both on analytic problems (understanding what is going on in an organism or a social system) and synthetic ones (developing forecasting methods for making individual or collective decisions).

Predictive Simplicity

1st Edition
Volume 5
October 22, 2013
George J. Klir
English
eBook
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The book attempts to develop an account of simplicity in terms of testability, and to use this account to provide an adequate characterization of induction, one immune to the class of problems suggested by Nelson Goodman. It is then shown that the past success of induction, thus characterized, constitutes evidence for its future success. A qualitative measure of confirmation is developed, and this measure - along with the considerations of simplicity - is used to provide an account of the consilience of inductions, and also an inductivist account of the structure and progress of scientific theory. An appendix extends the treatment of simplicity to statistical distributions and provides a reasonable interpretation of the maximum entropy principle. Thus, this book is an attempt to characterize induction in terms of a well-defined notion of simplicity and to use that characterization as a basis of an account of empirical, and in particular, scientific reasoning.

Philosophy of Economics

1st Edition
April 23, 2012
Dov M. Gabbay + 3 more
English

Part of the Handbook of the Philosophy of Science Series edited by: Dov M. Gabbay King's College, London, UK;Paul Thagard University of Waterloo, Canada; and John Woods University of British Columbia, Canada. Philosophy of Economics investigates the foundational concepts and methods of economics, the social science that analyzes the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. This groundbreaking collection, the most thorough treatment of the philosophy of economics ever published, brings together philosophers, scientists and historians to map out the central topics in the field. The articles are divided into two groups. Chapters in the first group deal with various philosophical issues characteristic of economics in general, including realism and Lakatos, explanation and testing, modeling and mathematics, political ideology and feminist epistemology. Chapters in the second group discuss particular methods, theories and branches of economics, including forecasting and measurement, econometrics and experimentation, rational choice and agency issues, game theory and social choice, behavioral economics and public choice, geographical economics and evolutionary economics, and finally the economics of scientific knowledge. This volume serves as a detailed introduction for those new to the field as well as a rich source of new insights and potential research agendas for those already engaged with the philosophy of economics.

Ethics in Forensic Science

1st Edition
March 20, 2012
J.C. Upshaw Downs + 1 more
English
Hardback
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eBook
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This work will draw upon the expertise of the editors as authors and various contributors in order to present several different perspectives with the goal of approaching and understanding when ethical lines are crossed. In order to achieve this goal, comparisons of various canons of ethics from related fields such as medicine, law, the military, science and politics will be examined and applied. Case studies will be presented throughout to illustrate ethical dilemmas and challenge the reader with the goal of greater understanding.

Philosophy of Complex Systems

1st Edition
Volume 10
May 4, 2011
Dov M. Gabbay + 3 more
English
eBook
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The domain of nonlinear dynamical systems and its mathematical underpinnings has been developing exponentially for a century, the last 35 years seeing an outpouring of new ideas and applications and a concomitant confluence with ideas of complex systems and their applications from irreversible thermodynamics. A few examples are in meteorology, ecological dynamics, and social and economic dynamics. These new ideas have profound implications for our understanding and practice in domains involving complexity, predictability and determinism, equilibrium, control, planning, individuality, responsibility and so on.Our intention is to draw together in this volume, we believe for the first time, a comprehensive picture of the manifold philosophically interesting impacts of recent developments in understanding nonlinear systems and the unique aspects of their complexity. The book will focus specifically on the philosophical concepts, principles, judgments and problems distinctly raised by work in the domain of complex nonlinear dynamical systems, especially in recent years.

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