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Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Philosophy of science

The Instrument of Science - Scientific Anti-Realism Revitalised (Hardcover): Darrell P. Rowbottom The Instrument of Science - Scientific Anti-Realism Revitalised (Hardcover)
Darrell P. Rowbottom
R3,904 Discovery Miles 39 040 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Roughly, instrumentalism is the view that science is primarily, and should primarily be, an instrument for furthering our practical ends. It has fallen out of favour because historically influential variants of the view, such as logical positivism, suffered from serious defects. In this book, however, Darrell P. Rowbottom develops a new form of instrumentalism, which is more sophisticated and resilient than its predecessors. This position-'cognitive instrumentalism'-involves three core theses. First, science makes theoretical progress primarily when it furnishes us with more predictive power or understanding concerning observable things. Second, scientific discourse concerning unobservable things should only be taken literally in so far as it involves observable properties or analogies with observable things. Third, scientific claims about unobservable things are probably neither approximately true nor liable to change in such a way as to increase in truthlikeness. There are examples from science throughout the book, and Rowbottom demonstrates at length how cognitive instrumentalism fits with the development of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century chemistry and physics, and especially atomic theory. Drawing upon this history, Rowbottom also argues that there is a kind of understanding, empirical understanding, which we can achieve without having true, or even approximately true, representations of unobservable things. In closing the book, he sets forth his view on how the distinction between the observable and unobservable may be drawn, and compares cognitive instrumentalism with key contemporary alternatives such as structural realism, constructive empiricism, and semirealism. Overall, this book offers a strong defence of instrumentalism that will be of interest to scholars and students working on the debate about realism in philosophy of science.

McTaggart's Paradox (Paperback): R. D. Ingthorsson McTaggart's Paradox (Paperback)
R. D. Ingthorsson
R1,255 Discovery Miles 12 550 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

McTaggart's argument for the unreality of time, first published in 1908, set the agenda for 20th-century philosophy of time. Yet there is very little agreement on what it actually says-nobody agrees with the conclusion, but still everybody finds something important in it. This book presents the first critical overview of the last century of debate on what is popularly called "McTaggart's Paradox". Scholars have long assumed that McTaggart's argument stands alone and does not rely on any contentious ontological principles. The author demonstrates that these assumptions are incorrect-McTaggart himself explicitly claimed his argument to be dependent on the ontological principles that form the basis of his idealist metaphysics. The result is that scholars have proceeded to understand the argument on the basis of their own metaphysical assumptions, duly arriving at very different interpretations. This book offers an alternative reading of McTaggart's argument, and at the same time explains why other commentators arrive at their mutually incompatible interpretations. It will be of interest to students and scholars with an interest in the philosophy of time and other areas of contemporary metaphysics.

The Approach to Metaphysics (Hardcover): E.W.F. Tomlin The Approach to Metaphysics (Hardcover)
E.W.F. Tomlin
R3,028 Discovery Miles 30 280 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Originally published in 1947. This book looks at contemporary conundrums in philosophical tendencies, bringing the reader a first-principles review of the purpose of such enquiries in relation to modern life. It presents the importance of the history of the development of philosophical thought, beginning in Part 1 with perception. Significant definitions and theories are identified and later refinements discussed - in particular conceptualism and its development from the Greeks through Berkeley to modern realism and its limitations and critiques. Part 2 brings problems identified by past thinkersto the fore, from Plato's forms to Christian theology, in an examination of the apparent dichotomy between metaphysics and scientific methods. Part 3 examines the Rationalist and the Empiricist attacks on Scepticism and Kant's reconciliation of the differences of both. This provides the context and structure for discussion of the works of Hegel, and ultimate refutation thereof as a confusion between metaphysics and theology. Part 4 identifies the developments in thinking of Positivism, both Modern and Logical, and the New Synthesis of Alexander and Whitehead as the most recent approach.

Methods of Metaphysics (Hardcover): Alan White Methods of Metaphysics (Hardcover)
Alan White
R3,022 Discovery Miles 30 220 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Originally published in 1987. This book comprises a critical exposition of the thoughts on metaphysics of the major philosophers of the tradition. It introduces the ideas of these philosophers to students but is of interest to teachers as well. The author begins with a survey of the metaphysical writings of Plato, Aristotle, Berkeley, Leibniz and Bradley, clarifying throughout the relation of their methods and results to those of science. He follows this with a careful study of the critical attitudes to metaphysics espoused by Kant, Wittgenstein and the Logical Positivists. In the final section he scrutinizes the attempts by Collingwood, Wisdom and Lazerowitz to rehabilitate metaphysics.

Aristotle on How Animals Move - The De incessu animalium: Text, Translation, and Interpretative Essays (Hardcover): Andrea... Aristotle on How Animals Move - The De incessu animalium: Text, Translation, and Interpretative Essays (Hardcover)
Andrea Falcon, Stasinos Stavrianeas; Contributions by Pantelis Golitsis
R3,029 R2,784 Discovery Miles 27 840 Save R245 (8%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The De incessu animalium forms an integral part of Aristotle's biological corpus but is one of the least studied Aristotelian works both by ancient and modern interpreters. Yet it is a treatise where we can see, with some clarity and detail, Aristotle's methodology at work. This volume contains a new critical edition of the Greek text, an English translation, and nine in-depth interpretative essays. A general introduction that focuses on the explanatory strategies adopted by Aristotle in the De incessu animalium plus a historical essay on the reception of this work in antiquity and beyond open the volume. No other work of this kind has been published in any modern language.

The Emergence of Relativism - German Thought from the Enlightenment to National Socialism (Hardcover): Martin Kusch, Katherina... The Emergence of Relativism - German Thought from the Enlightenment to National Socialism (Hardcover)
Martin Kusch, Katherina Kinzel, Johannes Steizinger, Niels Wildschut
R3,911 Discovery Miles 39 110 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Debates over relativism are as old as philosophy itself. Since the late nineteenth century, relativism has also been a controversial topic in many of the social and cultural sciences. And yet, relativism has not been a central topic of research in the history of philosophy or the history of the social sciences. This collection seeks to remedy this situation by studying the emergence of modern forms of relativism as they unfolded in the German lands during the "long nineteenth century"-from the Enlightenment to National Socialism. It focuses on relativist and anti-relativist ideas and arguments in four contexts: history, science, epistemology, and politics. The Emergence of Relativism will be of interest to those studying nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophy, German idealism, and history and philosophy of science, as well as those in related disciplines such as sociology and anthropology.

Routledge Revivals: Science as a Questioning Process (1996) (Paperback): Nigel Sanitt Routledge Revivals: Science as a Questioning Process (1996) (Paperback)
Nigel Sanitt
R840 R523 Discovery Miles 5 230 Save R317 (38%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

First published in 1996, Science as a Questioning Process offers an intriguing mix of science and philosophy by examining science as a questioning process. The book evaluates scientific theories through from Darwinian evolution to relativity, and from quantum theory to cosmology. It offers an examination of these theories, in terms of a trade-off between empirical questions resolved and theoretical questions left unresolved. The book asks questions that deal with both intellectual and public concern about what science tells us and how reliable it is. Through this novel perspective, the book examines science in the context of everyday culture and the role it plays in everyday life. This book will be of interest to anyone working in the fields of philosophy, sociology and science.

Normativity and Naturalism in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences (Paperback): Mark Risjord Normativity and Naturalism in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences (Paperback)
Mark Risjord
R1,273 Discovery Miles 12 730 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Normativity and Naturalism in the Social Sciences engages with a central debate within the philosophy of social science: whether social scientific explanation necessitates an appeal to norms, and if so, whether appeals to normativity can be rendered "scientific." This collection brings together contributions from a diverse group of philosophers who explore a broad but thematically unified set of questions, many of which stem from an ongoing debate between Stephen Turner and Joseph Rouse (both contributors to this volume) on the role of naturalism in the philosophy of the social sciences. Informed by recent developments in both philosophy and the social sciences, this volume will set the benchmark for contemporary discussions about normativity and naturalism. This collection will be relevant to philosophers of social science, philosophers in interested in the rule following and metaphysics of normativity, and theoretically oriented social scientists.

A Better Ape - The Evolution of the Moral Mind and How it Made us Human (Hardcover): Victor Kumar, Richmond Campbell A Better Ape - The Evolution of the Moral Mind and How it Made us Human (Hardcover)
Victor Kumar, Richmond Campbell
R772 Discovery Miles 7 720 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Humans are moral creatures. Among all life on Earth, we alone experience rich moral emotions, follow complex rules governing how we treat one another, and engage in moral dialogue. But how did human morality evolve? And can humans become morally evolved? In A Better Ape, Victor Kumar and Richmond Campbell draw on the latest research in the biological and social sciences to explain the key role that morality has played in human evolution. They explore the moral traits that humans share with chimpanzees; how a more complex moral mind enabled Homo sapiens to arise and out-compete other human species; and the place of morality alongside historic revolutions in technology and social organization. Throughout the book, Kumar and Campbell argue that morality co-evolved with intelligence and complex sociality. Morality prevents societal collapse and enables complex knowledge. After unearthing the ancient origins of human morality, Kumar and Campbell use evolutionary theory to deliver profound insights about how to advance moral progress and resist moral regress, such as reducing animal suffering on industrial farms; capitalizing on the recent revolution in gay rights to foster a nascent revolution in transgender rights; opposing intersectional inequality that impacts women and people of color in lower socioeconomic classes; and addressing major problems of global inequality, especially impending crises of injustice caused by anthropogenic climate change. Understanding how we evolved-and how we continue to evolve-can help us become a better ape.

Calibrating Western Philosophy for India - Rousseau, Derrida, Deleuze, Guattari, Bergson and Vaddera Chandidas (Hardcover): A.... Calibrating Western Philosophy for India - Rousseau, Derrida, Deleuze, Guattari, Bergson and Vaddera Chandidas (Hardcover)
A. Raghuramaraju
R3,907 Discovery Miles 39 070 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book proposes a new way of reading modern Western philosophers in the Indian context. It questions the colonial methodology, or the practice of importing theories of Western philosophy, and shows how its unmediated applications are often incongruent, irrelevant, and unproductive in local frameworks. The author shows an alternative route to approaching philosophers from the West - Rousseau, Derrida, Deleuze, Guattari, and Bergson - by bending and reassembling aspects of their ideas and theories to relate with the diversity and complexity of Indian society. He also offers insights on the politics of non-being and negation from a neglected modern Indian philosopher, Vaddera Chandidas, as a step forward from the Western philosophers presented here. An intervention in philosophical research methodology, this volume will interest scholars and researchers of philosophy, Western philosophy, Indian philosophy, comparative studies, postcolonial studies, literature, cultural studies, and political philosophy.

The Reform of the International System of Units (SI) - Philosophical, Historical and Sociological Issues (Hardcover): Nadine De... The Reform of the International System of Units (SI) - Philosophical, Historical and Sociological Issues (Hardcover)
Nadine De Courtenay, Olivier Darrigol, Oliver Schlaudt
R3,907 Discovery Miles 39 070 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Systems of units still fail to attract the philosophical attention they deserve, but this could change with the current reform of the International System of Units (SI). Most of the SI base units will henceforth be based on certain laws of nature and a choice of fundamental constants whose values will be frozen. The theoretical, experimental and institutional work required to implement the reform highlights the entanglement of scientific, technological and social features in scientific enterprise, while it also invites a philosophical inquiry that promises to overcome the tensions that have long obstructed science studies.

A Guide to Kant's Psychologism - via Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Wittgenstein (Hardcover): Wayne Waxman A Guide to Kant's Psychologism - via Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Wittgenstein (Hardcover)
Wayne Waxman
R3,918 Discovery Miles 39 180 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book presents an interpretation of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason as a priori psychologism. It groups Kant's philosophy together with those of the British empiricists-Locke, Berkeley, and Hume-in a single line of psychologistic succession and offers a clear explanation of how Kant's psychologism differs from psychology and idealism. The book reconciles Kant's philosophy with subsequent developments in science and mathematics, including post-Fregean mathematical logic, non-Euclidean geometry, and both relativity and quantum theory. It also relates Kant's psychologism to Wittgenstein's later conception of language. Finally, the author reveals the ways in which Kant's philosophy dovetails with contemporary scientific theorizing about the natural phenomenon of consciousness and its place in nature. This book will be of interest to Kant scholars and historians of philosophy working on the British empiricists.

The End of Morality - Taking Moral Abolitionism Seriously (Hardcover): Richard Joyce, Richard Garner The End of Morality - Taking Moral Abolitionism Seriously (Hardcover)
Richard Joyce, Richard Garner
R3,909 Discovery Miles 39 090 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

According to the moral error theorist, all moral judgments are mistaken. The world just doesn't contain the properties and relations necessary for these judgments to be true. But what should we actually do if we decided that we are in this radical and unsettling predicament-that morality is just a widespread and heartfelt illusion? One suggestion is to eliminate all talk and thought of morality (abolitionism). Another is to carry on believing it anyway (conservationism). And yet another is to treat morality as a kind of convenient fiction (fictionalism). We tend to think of moral thinking as valuable and useful (e.g., for motivating cooperative behavior), but we can also recognize that it can be harmful (e.g., hindering compromise) and even disastrous (e.g., inspiring support for militaristic propaganda). Would we be better off or worse off if we stopped basing decisions on moral considerations? This is a collection of twelve brand new chapters focused on a critical examination of the options available to the moral error theorist. After a general introduction outlining the topic, explaining key terminology, and offering suggestions for further reading, the chapters address questions like: * Is it true that the more that people are motivated by moral concerns, the more likely it is that society will be elitist, authoritarian, and dishonest? * Is an appeal to moral values a useful tool for helping resolve conflicts, or does it actually exacerbate conflicts? * Would it even be possible to abolish morality from our thinking? * If we were to accept a moral error theory, would it be feasible to carry on believing in morality in everyday contexts? * Might moral discourse be usefully modeled on familiar metaphorical language, where we can convey useful and important truths by uttering falsehoods? * Does moral thinking support or undermine a commitment to feminist goals? * What role do moral judgments play in addressing important decisions affecting climate change? The End of Morality: Taking Moral Abolitionism Seriously is the first book to thoroughly address these and other questions, systematically investigating the harms and benefits of moral thought, and considering what the world might be like without morality.

Where Do We Come From? Is Darwin Correct? - A Philosophical and Critical Study of Darwin's Theory of "Natural Selection"... Where Do We Come From? Is Darwin Correct? - A Philosophical and Critical Study of Darwin's Theory of "Natural Selection" (Hardcover)
Herbert Morse
R3,614 Discovery Miles 36 140 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

First published in 1911. The first chapter in this fascinating study devotes itself to a short preliminary introduction to Darwin's ideas, and some remarks on the thoughts of the ancients on the subject and how matters stood in the period immediately preceding the appearance of Darwin himself. The second and third chapters discuss Darwin's theory and a suggested alternative hypothesis. The concluding chapter is devoted to the philosophical aspect of the case, and to some general reflections after a close perusal of Darwin's works.

Bedeviled - A Shadow History of Demons in Science (Hardcover): Jimena Canales Bedeviled - A Shadow History of Demons in Science (Hardcover)
Jimena Canales
R675 Discovery Miles 6 750 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

How scientists through the ages have conducted thought experiments using imaginary entities-demons-to test the laws of nature and push the frontiers of what is possible Science may be known for banishing the demons of superstition from the modern world. Yet just as the demon-haunted world was being exorcized by the enlightening power of reason, a new kind of demon mischievously materialized in the scientific imagination itself. Scientists began to employ hypothetical beings to perform certain roles in thought experiments-experiments that can only be done in the imagination-and these impish assistants helped scientists achieve major breakthroughs that pushed forward the frontiers of science and technology. Spanning four centuries of discovery-from Rene Descartes, whose demon could hijack sensorial reality, to James Clerk Maxwell, whose molecular-sized demon deftly broke the second law of thermodynamics, to Darwin, Einstein, Feynman, and beyond-Jimena Canales tells a shadow history of science and the demons that bedevil it. She reveals how the greatest scientific thinkers used demons to explore problems, test the limits of what is possible, and better understand nature. Their imaginary familiars helped unlock the secrets of entropy, heredity, relativity, quantum mechanics, and other scientific wonders-and continue to inspire breakthroughs in the realms of computer science, artificial intelligence, and economics today. The world may no longer be haunted as it once was, but the demons of the scientific imagination are alive and well, continuing to play a vital role in scientists' efforts to explore the unknown and make the impossible real.

Understanding Evo-Devo (Hardcover): Wallace Arthur Understanding Evo-Devo (Hardcover)
Wallace Arthur
R1,223 Discovery Miles 12 230 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Why do the best-known examples of evolutionary change involve the alteration of one kind of animal into another very similar one, like the evolution of a bigger beak in a bird? Wouldn't it be much more interesting to understand how beaks originated? Most people would agree, but until recently we didn't know much about such origins. That is now changing, with the growth of the interdisciplinary field evo-devo, which deals with the relationship between how embryos develop in the short term and how they (and the adults they grow into) evolve in the long term. One of the key questions is: can the origins of structures such as beaks, eyes, and shells be explained within a Darwinian framework? The answer seems to be yes, but only by expanding that framework. This book discusses the required expansion, and the current state of play regarding our understanding of evolutionary and developmental origins.

Ecological Masculinities - Theoretical Foundations and Practical Guidance (Hardcover): Martin  Hultman, Paul M. Pule Ecological Masculinities - Theoretical Foundations and Practical Guidance (Hardcover)
Martin Hultman, Paul M. Pule
R3,911 Discovery Miles 39 110 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Around the globe, unfettered industrialisation has marched forth in unison with massive social inequities. Making matters worse, anthropogenic pressures on Earth's living systems are causing alarming rates of thermal expansion, sea-level rise, biodiversity losses in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and a sixth mass extinction. As various disciplines have shown, rich white men in the Global North are the main (although not the only) perpetrators of this slow violence. This book demonstrates that industrial/breadwinner masculinities have come at terrible costs to the living planet and ecomodern masculinities have failed us as well, men included. This book is dedicated to a third and relationally focused pathway that the authors call ecological masculinities. Here, they explore ways that masculinities can advocate and embody broader, deeper and wider care for the global through to local ('glocal') commons. Ecological Masculinities works with the wisdoms of four main streams of influence that have come before us. They are: masculinities politics, deep ecology, ecological feminism and feminist care theory. The authors work with profeminist approaches to the conceptualisations and embodiments of modern Western masculinities. From there, they introduce masculinities that give ADAM-n for Earth, others and self, striving to create a more just and ecologically viable planet for all of life. This book is interdisciplinary. It is intended to reach (but is not restricted to) scholars exploring history, gender studies, material feminism, feminist care theory, ecological feminism, deep ecology, social ecology, environmental humanities, social sustainability, science and technology studies and philosophy.

Time Devoured - A Materialistic Discussion of Duration (Hardcover): Edmund Parsons Time Devoured - A Materialistic Discussion of Duration (Hardcover)
Edmund Parsons
R2,863 Discovery Miles 28 630 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Originally published in 1964. This lively, challenging book, written with enthusiasm, conviction and clarity, sets out to elucidate the shadowy concept of Time. This involves central philosophical issues, which are vigorously discussed. Also relativity theory, in a clear-cut exposition, is made intelligible in a new light. All who are interested in science and its philosophical implications will find this book highly controversial but certainly readable. The author believes philosophy to be important, not only for its professionals, but for everyman. He believes that the fact that this is no longer realised shows that something is wrong with professional philosophy; he also indicates what this is. The book ends, surprisingly but pertinently, with a bold plunge into the questions of telepathy, precognition and psychical research generally. Whilst the phenomena are reasonably admitted, trenchant criticism of their significance confronts parapsychologists.

Time: A Bibliographic Guide (Hardcover): Samuel L. Macey Time: A Bibliographic Guide (Hardcover)
Samuel L. Macey
R3,949 Discovery Miles 39 490 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Originally published in 1991. A multidisciplinary guide in the form of a bibliography of selected time-related books and articles divided into 25 existing academic disciplines and about 100 subdisciplines which have a wide application to time studies.

Time and its Importance in Modern Thought (Hardcover): M. F. Cleugh Time and its Importance in Modern Thought (Hardcover)
M. F. Cleugh
R3,638 Discovery Miles 36 380 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Originally published in 1937. This book is a classic work on the philosophy of time, looking at the pshychology, physics and logic of time before investigating the views of Kant, Bergson, Alexander, McTaggart and Dunne. The second half of the book contains more indepth consideration of prediction, the concepts of past and future, and reality.

Philosophy of Science - A Contemporary Introduction (Paperback, 4th edition): Alex Rosenberg, Lee McIntyre Philosophy of Science - A Contemporary Introduction (Paperback, 4th edition)
Alex Rosenberg, Lee McIntyre
R1,369 Discovery Miles 13 690 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Any serious student attempting to better understand the nature, methods, and justification of science will value Alex Rosenberg and Lee McIntyre's updated and substantially revised fourth edition of Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction. Weaving lucid explanations with clear analyses, the volume is a much- used, thematically oriented introduction to the field. The fourth edition has been thoroughly rewritten based on instructor and student feedback, to improve readability and accessibility, without sacrificing depth. It retains, however, all of the logically structured, extensive coverage of earlier editions, which a review in the journal Teaching Philosophy called "the industry standard" and "essential reading." Key Features of the Fourth Edition: Revised and rewritten for readability based on feedback from student and instructor surveys. Updated text on the problem of underdetermination, social science, and the realism/antirealism debate. Improved continuity between chapters. Revised and updated Study Questions and annotated Suggested Readings at the end of each chapter. Updated Bibliography. For a list of relevant online primary sources, please visit: www.routledge.com/9781138331518.

Semiotics of Animals in Culture - Zoosemiotics 2.0 (Paperback, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2018): Gianfranco... Semiotics of Animals in Culture - Zoosemiotics 2.0 (Paperback, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2018)
Gianfranco Marrone, Dario Mangano
R2,892 Discovery Miles 28 920 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

To place animals within the realm of nature, means inserting them among the articulations of culture and the social. Semiotics has never avoided this chiasmus, choosing to deal from the outset with the problem of the languages of animals following the old admonition of Montaigne: it is not that animals do not talk, it is us who do not understand them. Recent research in the field of the anthropology of nature and sociology of sciences and techniques allow to think about the Zoosemiotic issue in a different way. Instead of transplanting the language structures - gestures, LIS, etc. - for a semiotic study of the forms of the human and social meaning, it seems more apt to look at their discourse, and as such, the actual interactions, communicative and scientific as well as practical and functional, between humans and non-humans. This book aims to investigate precisely this hypothesis, known here as Zoosemiotics 2.0, working on several fronts and levels: * Anthropology * Languages of the image and visual representations, from art history to cinema * Old and new media. From literature to comics, from cartoons to TV documentaries but also advertising, music, Web and social networks. All those cultural products that talk about the role of human and non-human in society implicitly proposing (and in some way imposing) a form of articulation of such a relationship. * Food and feeding rites * Animalist, vegetarian and vegan movements * Philosophy: metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics

Physics and Metaphysics in Descartes and in His Reception (Hardcover): Delphine Antoine-Mahut, Sophie Roux Physics and Metaphysics in Descartes and in His Reception (Hardcover)
Delphine Antoine-Mahut, Sophie Roux
R3,914 Discovery Miles 39 140 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This volume explores the relationship between physics and metaphysics in Descartes' philosophy. According to the standard account, Descartes modified the objects of metaphysics and physics and inverted the order in which these two disciplines were traditionally studied. This book challenges the standard account in which Descartes prioritizes metaphysics over physics. It does so by taking into consideration the historical reception of Descartes and the ways in which Descartes himself reacted to these receptions in his own lifetime. The book stresses the diversity of these receptions by taking into account not only Cartesianisms but also anti-Cartesianisms, and by showing how they retroactively highlighted different aspects of Descartes' works and theoretical choices. The historical aspect of the volume is unique in that it not only analyzes different constructions of Descartes that emerged in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, but also reflects on how his work was first read by philosophers across Europe. Taken together, the essays in this volume offer a fresh and up-to-date contribution to this important debate in early modern philosophy.

Causality, Probability, and Medicine (Hardcover): Donald Gillies Causality, Probability, and Medicine (Hardcover)
Donald Gillies
R3,911 Discovery Miles 39 110 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Why is understanding causation so important in philosophy and the sciences? Should causation be defined in terms of probability? Whilst causation plays a major role in theories and concepts of medicine, little attempt has been made to connect causation and probability with medicine itself. Causality, Probability, and Medicine is one of the first books to apply philosophical reasoning about causality to important topics and debates in medicine. Donald Gillies provides a thorough introduction to and assessment of competing theories of causality in philosophy, including action-related theories, causality and mechanisms, and causality and probability. Throughout the book he applies them to important discoveries and theories within medicine, such as germ theory; tuberculosis and cholera; smoking and heart disease; the first ever randomized controlled trial designed to test the treatment of tuberculosis; the growing area of philosophy of evidence-based medicine; and philosophy of epidemiology. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers in philosophy of science and philosophy of medicine, as well as those working in medicine, nursing and related health disciplines where a working knowledge of causality and probability is required.

Revisiting the Origin of Species - The Other Darwins (Hardcover): Thierry Hoquet Revisiting the Origin of Species - The Other Darwins (Hardcover)
Thierry Hoquet
R3,918 Discovery Miles 39 180 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Contemporary interest in Darwin rises from a general ideal of what Darwin's books ought to contain: a theory of transformation of species by natural selection. However, a reader opening Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, today may be struck by the fact that this "selectionist" view does not deliver the key to many aspects of the book. Without contesting the importance of natural selection to Darwinism, much less supposing that a fully-formed "Darwinism" stepped out of Darwin's head in 1859, this innovative volume aims to return to the text of the Origin itself. Revisiting the 'Origin of Species' focuses on Darwin as theorising on the origin of variations; showing that Darwin himself was never a pan-selectionist (in contrast to some of his followers) but was concerned with "other means of modification" (which makes him an evolutionary pluralist). Furthermore, in contrast to common textbook presentations of "Darwinism", Hoquet stresses the fact that On the Origin of Species can lend itself to several contradictory interpretations. Thus, this volume identifies where rival interpretations have taken root; to unearth the ambiguities readers of Darwin have latched onto as they have produced a myriad of Darwinian legacies, each more or less faithful enough to the originator's thought. Emphasising the historical features, complexities and intricacies of Darwin's argument, Revisiting the 'Origin of Species' can be used by any lay readers opening Darwin's On the Origin of Species. This volume will also appeal to students and researchers interested in areas such as Evolution, Natural Selection, Scientific Translations and Origins of Life.

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