Cognitive Structures in Scientific Inquiry: Essays in Debate with Theo Kuipers. Volume 2

by Roberto Festa B (Editor), Atocha Aliseda-Llera (Editor), Jeanne Peijnenburg

This book is the second of two volumes devoted to the work of Theo Kuipers, a leading Dutch philosopher of science. Philosophers and scientists from all over the world, thirty seven in all, comment on Kuipers’ philosophy, and each of their commentaries is followed by a reply from Kuipers. The present volume is devoted to Kuipers’ neo-classical philosophy of science, as laid down in his Structures in Science (Kluwer, 2001). Kuipers defends a dialectical interaction between science and philosophy in that he views philosophy of science as a meta-science which formulates cognitive structures that provide heuristic patterns for actual scientific research, including design research. In addition, Kuipers pays considerable attention to the computational approaches to philosophy of science as well as to the ethics of doing research. Thomas Nickles, David Atkinson, Jean-Paul van Bendegem, Maarten Franssen, Anne Ruth Mackor, Arno Wouters, Erik Weber & Helena de Preester, Eric Scerri, Adam Grobler & Andrzej Wisniewski, Alexander van den Bosch, Gerard Vreeswijk, Jaap Kamps, Paul Thagard, Emma Ruttkamp, Robert Causey, Henk Zandvoort comment on these ideas of Kuipers, and many present their own account. The present book also contains a synopsis of Structures in Science. It can be read independently of the first volume of Essays in Debate with Theo Kuipers, which is devoted to Kuipers’ From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism (Kluwer, 2000). Contents Roberto FESTA, Atocha ALISEDA, Jeanne Introduction Theo A.F. Structures in Scientific A Synopsis of Structures in Science. Heuristic Patterns Based on Cognitive Structures. An Advanced Textbook in Neo-Classical Philosophy of Science (2001) Types of Research and Research Programs David A New Finding A Niche for String Theory Thomas Problem Some Thoughts Maarten Design Research Programs Jean Paul VAN Proofs and The Special Case of Mathematics Types of Explanation Erik WEBER, Helena DE Micro-Explanations of Laws Eric R. On the Formalization of the Periodic Table Jeanne Classical, Nonclassical and Neoclassical Intentions Anne Ruth Erklären, Verstehen and Reconsidering the Role of Empathy in the Social Sciences Arno Functional Explanation in Biology Adam GROBLER, Andrzej WIŒ Explanation and Theory Evaluation Computational Approaches Jaap The Ubiquity of Background Knowledge Alexander P.M. VAN DEN Structures in Neuropharmacology Paul Why is Beauty a Road to the Truth? Gerard A.W. Direct Connectionistic Methods for Scientific Theory Formation Theories and Structures Emma Overdetermination of Theories by Empirical A Realist Interpretation of Empirical Choices Robert L. What Is Structure? Science and Ethics Henk Knowledge, Risk, and Liability. Analysis of a Discussion Continuing Within Science and Technology Bibliography of Theo A.F. Kuipers Index of Names

518 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005