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50 Ideas You Really Need to Know
50 Philosophy of Science Ideas You Really Need to Know
Science first began as a branch of philosophy, but it has since grown up and moved out of the family home, and its successes have put its parent in the shade. Thanks to scientific knowledge we have walked on the Moon, cured once-fatal illnesses, and even identified the very building blocks of life and the universe. But it is these very successes that underline the need for philosophy.
How much should we trust the pronouncements of scientists that we read in the media? What are the ethical implications of our delving into the foundations of our DNA, reproductive treatments, or artificially prolonging life? And are there limits to what science can tell us about the world we think we know?
In straightforward and accessible terms, 50 Philosophy of Science Ideas You Really Need to Know explains the key philosophical questions that continue to lie at the heart of the nature and practice of science today.
The ideas explored include: Appearance and reality; Knowledge; Anti-realism; Metaphysics; Science and gender; Phenomenology and science.
How much should we trust the pronouncements of scientists that we read in the media? What are the ethical implications of our delving into the foundations of our DNA, reproductive treatments, or artificially prolonging life? And are there limits to what science can tell us about the world we think we know?
In straightforward and accessible terms, 50 Philosophy of Science Ideas You Really Need to Know explains the key philosophical questions that continue to lie at the heart of the nature and practice of science today.
The ideas explored include: Appearance and reality; Knowledge; Anti-realism; Metaphysics; Science and gender; Phenomenology and science.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published September 26, 2013
21 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Gareth Southwell
22 books45 followersGareth Southwell is a writer, illustrator and philosopher who lives in South Wales in the UK. He has a PhD in death, which has been read by exactly four people (including himself). His first novel MUNKi is just a thinly fictionalised version of this, with most of the boring bits taken out and replaced with robots and people swearing in Welsh.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 28, 2013
A few months back there was a page on facebook doing the rounds about what sort of philosophical outlook one had. Apparently the answers to a multiple choice questionaire would be scored automatically and ones percentage alignment with the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Berkeley, Hume, Nietzsche, Quine, etc. would come up. When I came across this title in the bookshop, my curiosity was piqued.
The book is nicely designed and well produced. Only two potential typos came to my notice (p. 160/161) in the supervenience section - 'hum' is 'sum' and 'multiply realizable' would be less ambiguous if rendered as 'multiplely realizable'.
This book sets out the philosophical concepts and theories that underpin science. The tenets are arranged in a historical order, starting with the ancients, and proceeding to renaissance ideas, through to 18th century when many sciencific disciplines were founded, and onto 20th century tweaking of anomalies in previously held perceptions. This book as an overview is very well written but the examples in modern section are not as carefully chosen and as thoroughly worked through.
For the review of 20th century philosophy, some of the later ideas included have limited relevance in the research life of a practicing natural resource scientist. By recasting the questions, one can see that some 20th century ideas of quantum physics chosen will not last the distance of being a valuable part of the education curriculum for 21st century science. The author has a bias in selecting worked examples from quantum physics rather than computing, statistical modelling, organic chemistry and genetics. It would be interesting to read the authors considerations on the philosophical underpining of topics in science such as 'Boolean algebra and computer programming languages','Akaike information criterion and information entropy', 'Gibbs free energy and thermodynamics' and 'Bayseian statistics in genetic sequence analysis' which to my mind are much more central topics of relevance to 21st century science education.
The book is nicely designed and well produced. Only two potential typos came to my notice (p. 160/161) in the supervenience section - 'hum' is 'sum' and 'multiply realizable' would be less ambiguous if rendered as 'multiplely realizable'.
This book sets out the philosophical concepts and theories that underpin science. The tenets are arranged in a historical order, starting with the ancients, and proceeding to renaissance ideas, through to 18th century when many sciencific disciplines were founded, and onto 20th century tweaking of anomalies in previously held perceptions. This book as an overview is very well written but the examples in modern section are not as carefully chosen and as thoroughly worked through.
For the review of 20th century philosophy, some of the later ideas included have limited relevance in the research life of a practicing natural resource scientist. By recasting the questions, one can see that some 20th century ideas of quantum physics chosen will not last the distance of being a valuable part of the education curriculum for 21st century science. The author has a bias in selecting worked examples from quantum physics rather than computing, statistical modelling, organic chemistry and genetics. It would be interesting to read the authors considerations on the philosophical underpining of topics in science such as 'Boolean algebra and computer programming languages','Akaike information criterion and information entropy', 'Gibbs free energy and thermodynamics' and 'Bayseian statistics in genetic sequence analysis' which to my mind are much more central topics of relevance to 21st century science education.
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April 30, 2021Condensed but clear and focused on the main proposals given by the major philosophers from before BC to now. Was great for me, for I didn't where to start my readings before or who the most influential philosophers were. Dr Southwell has saved me potentially years in accumulating the works of a myriad of philosophers. I quickly found out where my major interests lay - and it was interesting to see how I agreed with several of the assertions made by a few philosophers - this augmented my own thinking and conjecture regarding the actual philosophical leanings I had myself developed over the years. The book is focused and succinct but is still written in Dr Southwell's eloquent, charismatic style. I now need no other philosophy book - this is all I ever wanted or needed. Recommended for all those with a 'seeking spirit', or perhaps there own ideas - or those who simply want the works of the most influential philosophers to date.
July 24, 2023
No normal person "really needs to know" about these topics.
Technical or abstract philosophical concepts are not accessible or engaging for anyone without a background in philosophy.
Thematically the topics span a wide range of epistemological, metaphysical, and methodological ideas in the philosophy of science but there's no coherent narrative connecting them.
I don't think the author is necessarily at fault here, this is just a really bad idea for a "50 ideas you really need to know" book.
Technical or abstract philosophical concepts are not accessible or engaging for anyone without a background in philosophy.
Thematically the topics span a wide range of epistemological, metaphysical, and methodological ideas in the philosophy of science but there's no coherent narrative connecting them.
I don't think the author is necessarily at fault here, this is just a really bad idea for a "50 ideas you really need to know" book.
March 16, 2016
Handy introduction to concepts...
I found this a very useful guide and introduction to various topics in the philosophy of science. Its format caused the book to lack focus, I think, so there was little feeling for how these concepts join together. However I do think it was well-written with some tricky concepts explained clearly.
I found this a very useful guide and introduction to various topics in the philosophy of science. Its format caused the book to lack focus, I think, so there was little feeling for how these concepts join together. However I do think it was well-written with some tricky concepts explained clearly.
May 25, 2017
Philosophy of sciences field, that can help us better in understanding the surrounding.
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February 24, 2018Science first began as a branch of philosophy, but it has since grown up and moved out of the family home, and its successes have put its parent in the shade. Thanks to scientific knowledge we have walked on the Moon, cured once-fatal illnesses, and even identified the very building blocks of life and the universe. But it is these very successes that underline the need for philosophy.
How much should we trust the pronouncements of scientists that we read in the media? What are the ethical implications of our delving into the foundations of our DNA, reproductive treatments, or artificially prolonging life? And are there limits to what science can tell us about the world we think we know?
In straightforward and accessible terms, 50 Philosophy of Science Ideas You Really Need to Know explains the key philosophical questions that continue to lie at the heart of the nature and practice of science today.
The ideas explored include: Appearance and reality; Knowledge; Anti-realism; Metaphysics; Science and gender; Phenomenology and science.
How much should we trust the pronouncements of scientists that we read in the media? What are the ethical implications of our delving into the foundations of our DNA, reproductive treatments, or artificially prolonging life? And are there limits to what science can tell us about the world we think we know?
In straightforward and accessible terms, 50 Philosophy of Science Ideas You Really Need to Know explains the key philosophical questions that continue to lie at the heart of the nature and practice of science today.
The ideas explored include: Appearance and reality; Knowledge; Anti-realism; Metaphysics; Science and gender; Phenomenology and science.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews