From the Bookshelf of Distance Learning - Fun Reading List Group…

[close] I decided to read this book to learn more about the philosophy of science. This is because I teach this subject on a Psychology module called Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology (CHIP).

Here is the problem: Science uses observations to find out about the world. Philosophy says this is no so easy: all observations are biased by theory, and it is not possible to prove claims based on the limited number of observations used in science.

This book is an understandable introduction to philosophy of science. Unlike other philosophy of science books which I have read, it does not assume background knowledge of particular scientific fields (e.g., physics or chemistry) or their history.

The book is structured chronologically, and includes many of the most important areas of philosophy of science. This includes the positions which I have oversimplified below:
- Logical positivism - the theory that science uses logic to prove claims about the world.
- Popperian falsification - the theory that science can disprove, but cannot prove ideas.
- Kuhn / Lakatos / Lauder - theories that science works by assuming a theory is true, and focusing on small "puzzles" within this theory.
- Sociology of science, e.g., Merton - theories about the common values through which the scientific community operates.
- Scientific realism - the theory that science uses models of the world, and that over time these models get closes to the truth.

The book includes several logical proofs and paradoxes, however these are always explained with concrete examples.

I highly recommend this book if you study a scientific field or are interested in the logic of science.