Observation, Experiment, and Hypothesis in Modern Physical Science

Observation, Experiment, and Hypothesis in Modern Physical Science PDF Author: Peter Achinstein
Publisher: Bradford Book
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
These original contributions by philosophers and historians of science discuss a range of issues pertaining to the testing of hypotheses in modern physics by observation and experiment. Chapters by Lawrence Sklar, Dudley Shapere, Richard Boyd, R. C. Jeffrey, Peter Achinstein, and Ronald Laymon explore general philosophical themes with applications to modern physics and astrophysics. The themes include the nature of the hypothetico-deductive method, the concept of observation and the validity of the theoretical-observation distinction, the probabilistic basis of confirmation, and the testing of idealizations and approximations. The remaining four chapters focus on the history of particular twentieth-century experiments, the instruments and techniques utilized, and the hypotheses they were designed to test. Peter Galison reviews the development of the bubble chamber; Roger Stuewer recounts a sharp dispute between physicists in Cambridge and Vienna over the interpretation of artificial disintegration experiments; John Rigden provides a history of the magnetic resonance method; and Geoffrey Joseph suggests a statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics that can be used to interpret the Stern-Gerlach and double-slit experiments. This book inaugurates the series, Studies from the Johns Hopkins Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, directed by Peter Achinstein and Owen Hannaway. A Bradford Book.

Observation, Experiment, and Hypothesis in Modern Physical Science

Observation, Experiment, and Hypothesis in Modern Physical Science PDF Author: Peter Achinstein
Publisher: Bradford Book
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Get Book

Book Description
These original contributions by philosophers and historians of science discuss a range of issues pertaining to the testing of hypotheses in modern physics by observation and experiment. Chapters by Lawrence Sklar, Dudley Shapere, Richard Boyd, R. C. Jeffrey, Peter Achinstein, and Ronald Laymon explore general philosophical themes with applications to modern physics and astrophysics. The themes include the nature of the hypothetico-deductive method, the concept of observation and the validity of the theoretical-observation distinction, the probabilistic basis of confirmation, and the testing of idealizations and approximations. The remaining four chapters focus on the history of particular twentieth-century experiments, the instruments and techniques utilized, and the hypotheses they were designed to test. Peter Galison reviews the development of the bubble chamber; Roger Stuewer recounts a sharp dispute between physicists in Cambridge and Vienna over the interpretation of artificial disintegration experiments; John Rigden provides a history of the magnetic resonance method; and Geoffrey Joseph suggests a statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics that can be used to interpret the Stern-Gerlach and double-slit experiments. This book inaugurates the series, Studies from the Johns Hopkins Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, directed by Peter Achinstein and Owen Hannaway. A Bradford Book.

The Philosophy of Science

The Philosophy of Science PDF Author: Richard Boyd
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262521567
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 820

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Book Description
The more than forty readings in this anthology cover the most important developments of the past six decades, charting the rise and decline of logical positivism and the gradual emergence of a new consensus concerning the major issues and theoretical options in the field. As an introduction to the philosophy of science, it stands out for its scope, its coverage of both historical and contemporary developments, and its detailed introductions to each area discussed.

Observability and Observation in Physical Science

Observability and Observation in Physical Science PDF Author: Peter Kosso
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400924348
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
The concept of observability of entities in physical science is typically analyzed in terms of the nature and significance of a dichotomy between observables and unobservables. In this book, however, this categorization is resisted and observability is analyzed in a descriptive way in terms of the information which one can receive through interaction with objects in the world. The account of interaction and the transfer of information is done using applicable scientific theories. In this way the question of observability of scientific entities is put to science itself. Several examples are presented which show how this interaction-information account of observability is done. It is demonstrated that observability has many dimensions which are in general orthogonal. The epistemic significance of these dimensions is explained. This study is intended primarily as a method for understanding problems of observability rather than as a solution to those problems. The important issue of scientific realism and its relation to observability, however, demands attention. Hence, the implication of the interaction-information account for realism is drawn in terms of the epistemic significance of the dimensions of observability. This amounts to specifying what it is about good observations that make them objective evidence for scientific theories.

The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 5, The Modern Physical and Mathematical Sciences

The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 5, The Modern Physical and Mathematical Sciences PDF Author: David C. Lindberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521571999
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 714

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Book Description
A new and comprehensive examination of the history of the modern physical and mathematical sciences.

Rationality, realism, revision

Rationality, realism, revision PDF Author: Gesellschaft für Analytische Philosophie
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 9783110163933
Category : Philosophy
Languages : de
Pages : 908

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Book Description
Includes bibliographical references and index.

The Solvay Councils and the Birth of Modern Physics

The Solvay Councils and the Birth of Modern Physics PDF Author: Pierre Marage
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 303487703X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
FOREWORD This book came about as a result of two events: an exhibition on the Solvay Physics Councils, held in Brussels in May 1995, and a conference on the same theme which took place at the Free University of Brussels (ULB) on May 1Oth 1995. A book was published in French in conjunction with the exhibition, and much of the present publication is taken from that book. In addition, we have included some of the papers presented at the conference, as we believe they add a further dimension to the history of the Councils. The French term, Conseil Solvay, is usually translated into English as Solvay Conference or Congress. We have elected to retain the particular connotations of the French word Conseil by translating it instead as Council. The Councils were, after all, no ordinary conferences. Only a limited number of participants was invited, hand picked by a scientific committee, who for five to six days took an active part in the sessions and the long discussions that followed. Each day, one or two physicists would present a paper on a subject that had been chosen by the committee to fit in with the overall theme of the Council. The word Conseil expressly implies the gathering of an elite to engage in debate.

Being Modern

Being Modern PDF Author: Robert Bud
Publisher: UCL Press
ISBN: 178735394X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
In the early decades of the twentieth century, engagement with science was commonly used as an emblem of modernity. This phenomenon is now attracting increasing attention in different historical specialties. Being Modern builds on this recent scholarly interest to explore engagement with science across culture from the end of the nineteenth century to approximately 1940. Addressing the breadth of cultural forms in Britain and the western world from the architecture of Le Corbusier to working class British science fiction, Being Modern paints a rich picture. Seventeen distinguished contributors from a range of fields including the cultural study of science and technology, art and architecture, English culture and literature examine the issues involved. The book will be a valuable resource for students, and a spur to scholars to further examination of culture as an interconnected web of which science is a critical part, and to supersede such tired formulations as 'Science and culture'.

New Methodological Perspectives on Observation and Experimentation in Science

New Methodological Perspectives on Observation and Experimentation in Science PDF Author: Wenceslao J. González
Publisher: Netbiblo
ISBN: 8497455304
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Observation and experimentation are central topics of philosophy and methodology of science. The empirical sciences have commonly been associated to observational and experimental processes, because they have been considered crucial for testing the contents of these. Thus, observation and experimentation have received attention from different angles, and they have been historically relevant in the advancement of science. Their philosophical-methodological analysis includes some key aspects those related to axiological, epistemological and methodological issues. New Methodological Perspectives on Observation and Experimentation in Science deals with a classic topic that is seen from new angles. Its nine chapters seek “non-traditional” aspects, trying to extend the boundaries of this philosophical-methodological theme. They are presented in five sections: 1) A Philosophical-Methodological Context; 2) Experience and Scientific Observations; 3) Empirical Support and Experiments in Science; 4) Changes in the Framework on Observation and Experimentation; and 5) Enlarging the Philosophical Scope: Law and Ecology. Wenceslao J. Gonzalez is Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science (University of A Coruña). He is a Full Member of the International Academy for Philosophy of Sciences (AIPS), Visiting fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science (University of Pittsburgh) and a Team Leader of the European Science Foundation program entitled “The Philosophy of Science in a European Perspective.” He has been named a Distinguished Researcher by the Main National University of San Marcos in Lima (Peru). He has been a visiting researcher at the Universities of St. Andrews, Münster and London (LSE). He has given lectures at the Universities of Pittsburgh, Stanford, Quebec and Helsinki. The conferences in which he has participated include those organized by the Universities of Uppsala, New South Wales, Bologna, Canterbury (NZ), and Beijing. He has edited 26 volumes on philosophy and methodology of science.

Aufbruch und Zerstörung

Aufbruch und Zerstörung PDF Author: Wolfgang L. Reiter
Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster
ISBN: 3643508255
Category :
Languages : de
Pages : 466

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Book Description
Mit dem vorliegenden Band legt der Autor eine Auswahl seiner Aufsatze der letzten drei Jahrzehnte zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften in Osterreich von 1850 bis 1950 vor. HErvorzuheben ist die Zeiten und Facher ubergreifende Perspektive, die es dem Autor erlaubt, die Wissenschaftsentwicklung aus dem Blickwinkel von Aufbruch und Zerstorung zu rekonstruieren. Die Zerstorung der Wissenschaftskultur durch die Machtubernahme der Nationalsozialisten 1938 und die Restrukturierung des wissenschaftlichen Lebens in Osterreich nach 1945 stehen im Fokus einer detailreichen Darstellung der Wissenschaften unter wechselnd politischen Bedingungen. "Wolfgang Reiter hat ... Ein einzigartiges und nachhaltig wirksames Bild von der osterreichischen Wissenschaftsgeschichte gezeichnet, das im vorliegenden Buch durch die Leserin und den Leser neu betrachtet werden kann." (Johannes Feichtinger, Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften)

Restructuring Of Physical Sciences In Europe And The United States - 1945-1960, The - Proceedings Of The International Conference

Restructuring Of Physical Sciences In Europe And The United States - 1945-1960, The - Proceedings Of The International Conference PDF Author: Michelangelo De Maria
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9813201460
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 829

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Book Description