Arguing About Science

792 Pages·2010·6.584 MB·English

by  Alexander Bird, James Ladyman (eds.)

Arguing About Science
A rguing About Science is an outstanding, engaging introduction to the essential
topics in philosophy of science, edited by two leading experts in the fi eld. This exciting
and innovative anthology contains a selection of classic and contemporary readings
that examine a broad range of issues, from classic problems such as scientifi c
reasoning, causation, and scientifi c realism, to more recent topics such as science and
race, forensic science, and the scientifi c status of medicine.
The editors bring together some of the most infl uential contributions of famous
philosophers in the fi eld, including John Stuart Mill and Karl Popper, as well as more
recent extracts from philosophers and scientists such as Ian Hacking, Stephen Jay
Gould, Bas van Fraassen, Nancy Cartwright and John Worrall. The anthology is
organised into nine clear sections:
• Science, non science and pseudo-science
• Science, race and gender
• Scientifi c reasoning
• Scientifi c explanation
• Laws and causation
• Science and medicine
• Probability and forensic science
• Risk, uncertainty and science policy
• Scientifi c realism and antirealism.
The articles chosen are clear, interesting, and free from unnecessary jargon. The
editors provide lucid introductions to each section in which they give an overview of
the debate, as well as suggestions for further reading.
Alexander Bird is Professor of Philosophy and Faculty of Arts Research Director at
Bristol University, UK. His previous publications include N ature’s Metaphysics: Laws
and Properties (2007) and P hilosophy of Science (1998).
James Ladyman is Professor of Philosophy at Bristol University, UK. He is the
author (with Ross, Spurrett and Collier) of E very Thing Must Go: Metaphysics
Naturalised (2007) and of the C hoice awarding-winning book U nderstanding
Philosophy of Science (Routledge, 2001).
Arguing About Philosophy
This exciting and lively series introduces key subjects in philosophy with the help of a
vibrant set of readings. In contrast to many standard anthologies which often reprint
the same technical and remote extracts, each volume in the A rguing About Philosophy
series is built around essential but fresher philosophical readings, designed to attract
the curiosity of students coming to the subject for the fi rst time. A key feature of the
series is the inclusion of well-known yet often neglected readings from related fi elds,
such as popular science, fi lm and fi ction. Each volume is edited by leading fi gures in
their chosen fi eld and each section carefully introduced and set in context, making the
series an exciting starting point for those looking to get to grips with philosophy.
A rguing About Metaethics
Edited by Andrew Fisher and Simon Kirchin
A rguing About the Mind
Edited by Brie Gertler and Lawrence Shapiro
A rguing About Art 3rd Edition
Edited by Alex Neill and Aaron Ridley
A rguing About Knowledge
Edited by Duncan Pritchard and Ram Neta
A rguing About Law
Edited by John Oberdiek and Aileen Kanvanagh
A rguing About Metaphysics
Edited by Michael Rea
A rguing About Religion
Edited by Kevin Timpe
A rguing About Political Philosophy
Edited by Matt Zwolinski
A rguing About Language
Edited by Darragh Byrne and Max Kolbel
A rguing About Bioethics
Edited by Stephen Holland
Forthcoming titles:
A rguing About Political Philosophy 2nd Edition
Edited by Matt Zwolinski
Arguing About Science
Edited by
Alexander Bird and
James Ladyman
First published 2013
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Alexander Bird and James Ladyman
The right of the editors to be identifi ed as the authors of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
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Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Arguing about science / edited by Alexander Bird and James Ladyman.
p. cm. – (Arguing about philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Science–Philosophy. I. Bird, Alexander, 1964–II. Ladyman,
James, 1969–
Q175.3.A72 2012
501–dc23
2012009171
ISBN: 978-0-415-49229-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-49230-0 (pbk)
Typeset in Joanna and Bell Gothic
by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
Contents
A cknowledgements x
General Introduction 1
PART ONE
What is science? 3
Introduction to Part One 5
1 Karl Popper 15
SCIENCE: CONJECTURES AND REFUTATIONS
2 Adolf Grünbaum 44
IS FREUDIAN PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
PSEUDO-SCIENTIFIC BY KARL POPPER’S
CRITERION OF DEMARCATION?
3 Stephen Jay Gould 59
THE MISMEASURE OF MAN
4 Thomas S. Kuhn 74
OBJECTIVITY, VALUE JUDGMENT, AND
THEORY CHOICE
PART TWO
Science, race and gender 87
Introduction to Part Two 89
5 Sally Haslanger 95
GENDER AND RACE: (WHAT) ARE THEY?
(WHAT) DO WE WANT THEM TO BE?
vi Contents
6 Helena Cronin 117
THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES REVISITED
7 Evelyn Fox Keller 125
BEYOND THE GENE BUT BENEATH THE SKIN
8 Lucius T. Outlaw 140
TOWARD A CRITICAL THEORY OF “RACE”
9 Robin O. Andreasen 160
RACE: BIOLOGICAL REALITY OR SOCIAL
CONSTRUCT?
10 Joshua M. Glasgow 170
ON THE NEW BIOLOGY OF RACE
11 Clark Glymour 184
WHAT WENT WRONG? REFLECTIONS ON
SCIENCE BY OBSERVATION AND
T HE BELL CURVE
PART THREE
Scientifi c reasoning 207
Introduction to Part Three 209
12 Peter Lipton 217
INDUCTION
13 Hilary Putnam 228
THE “CORROBORATION” OF THEORIES
14 John Stuart Mill 243
A SYSTEM OF LOGIC
15 William Whewell 268
OF CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF
SCIENTIFIC INDUCTION
Contents vii
16 Peter Achinstein 282
WAVES AND SCIENTIFIC METHOD
17 Michael Strevens 293
NOTES ON BAYESIAN CONFIRMATION THEORY
PART FOUR
Explanation 329
Introduction to Part Four 331
18 Wesley C. Salmon 337
SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION
19 Bas van Fraassen 366
THE PRAGMATICS OF EXPLANATION
20 Peter Lipton 409
EXPLANATION
PART FIVE
Laws and causation 415
Introduction to Part Five 417
21 Fred I. Dretske 423
LAWS OF NATURE
22 Bas van Fraassen 439
WHAT ARE LAWS OF NATURE?
23 Marc Lange 455
NATURAL LAWS AND THE PROBLEM OF
PROVISOS
24 Nancy Cartwright 466
CAUSAL LAWS AND EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES
viii Contents
PART SIX
Science and medicine 481
Introduction to Part Six 483
25 Ronald Munson 489
WHY MEDICINE CANNOT BE A SCIENCE
26 Kenneth F. Schaffner 506
PHILOSOPHY OF MEDICINE
27 School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffi eld 540
HIERARCHY OF EVIDENCE
28 John Worrall 543
W HAT EVIDENCE IN EVIDENCE-BASED
MEDICINE?
PART SEVEN
Probability in action: forensic science 555
Introduction to Part Seven 557
29 William C. Thompson and Edward L. Schumann 561
INTERPRETATION OF STATISTICAL
EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL TRIALS:
THE PROSECUTOR’S FALLACY AND
THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY’S FALLACY
30 Neven Sesardic´ 579
SUDDEN INFANT DEATH OR MURDER?
A ROYAL CONFUSION ABOUT PROBABILITIES
PART EIGHT
Risk, uncertainty and science policy 603
Introduction to Part Eight 605
31 Neil A. Manson 607
FORMULATING THE PRECAUTIONARY
PRINCIPLE
Contents ix
32 Per Sandin, Martin Peterson, Sven Ove Hansson,
Christina Rudén and André Juthe 617
FIVE CHARGES AGAINST THE
PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE
33 Sven Ove Hansson 629
RISK AND ETHICS: THREE APPROACHES
PART NINE
Scientifi c realism and antirealism 641
Introduction to Part Nine 643
34 Pierre Duhem 651
THE AIM AND STRUCTURE OF
PHYSICAL THEORY
35 Henri Poincaré 694
THE THEORIES OF MODERN PHYSICS
36 Larry Laudan 703
A CONFUTATION OF CONVERGENT REALISM
37 Bas van Fraassen 727
ARGUMENTS CONCERNING SCIENTIFIC REALISM
38 Ian Hacking 753
EXPERIMENTATION AND SCIENTIFIC REALISM
39 John Worrall 765
STRUCTURAL REALISM: THE BEST OF
BOTH WORLDS?
I ndex 785