Explanations: styles of explanation in scienceJohn Cornwell OUP Oxford, 22.4.2004 - 266 sivua Our lives, states of health, relationships, behaviour, experiences of the natural world, and the technologies that shape our contemporary existence are subject to a superfluity of competing, multi-faceted and sometimes incompatible explanations. Widespread confusion about the nature of 'explanation' and its scope and limits pervades popular exposition of the natural sciences, popular history and philosophy of science. This fascinating and intriguing book explores the way explanations work, why they vary between disciplines, periods, and cultures, and whether they have any necessary boundaries. In other words, Explanations aims to achieve a better understanding of explanation, both within the sciences and the humanities. It features contributions from expert writers from a wide range of disciplines, including science, philosophy, mathematics, and social anthropology. |
Sisältö
1 What good is an explanation? | 1 |
2 Can science explain everything? Can science explain anything? | 23 |
3 Explaining the universe | 39 |
4 Does physics rule the roost of scientific explanation? | 67 |
5 Mathematical explanation | 81 |
explanation in chemistry | 111 |
7 The biology of the future and the future of biology | 125 |
the explanation that bedevils biology | 143 |
9 What is it not like to be a brain? | 157 |
10 Ontology and scientific explanation | 173 |
11 From explanation to interpretation in social anthropology | 197 |
redescribing scientific explanation | 213 |
| 229 | |
Muita painoksia - Näytä kaikki
Explanations: Styles of Explanation in Science Director Science and Human Dimension Project John Cornwell Rajoitettu esikatselu - 2004 |
Yleiset termit ja lausekkeet
argued arithmetic atoms behaviour big bang biology brain C-fibre firing causal causes explain century chemical chemistry chemists complex conception of understanding cosmology deduced Descartes described domain effects electrons elementary particles ematics emerged equations Euclidean geometry evolution evolutionary example existence experience explanandum fact function fundamental galaxies genes geometry Gödel gravity human idea incompleteness inference Kepler’s kind laws of nature logical mathematicians mathematics matter means mental metaphor metric tensor mind molecules multiverse neurones Newton’s laws notion objective observed ontology orbits organism pain particles patterns phenomena philosophers physicists planets possible predict primary entities principles problem processes properties quantum mechanics quantum ontology quantum physics question reactions reason reduced reductionism reductionist scientific explanation scientists self-evidencing explanations sense simple social space-time Steven Weinberg string string theory structure subjective superstring theory superstrings Teleology theorem theory thermodynamics things tion undecidable University Press