Product Description

Reviews of the previous edition:

"In this academic bestseller - indeed, one of the most widely read books ever written in the history and philosophy of science - Alan Chalmers provides a refreshingly lucid introduction . . . Drawing on illuminating historical examples, he asks and answers some of the most fundamental questions about the nature of science and its methods."
Ronald L. Numbers, William Coleman Professor of the History of Science and Medicine, University of Wisconsin at Madison.

"Crisp, lucid and studded with telling examples . . . As a handy guide to recent alarums and excursions (in the philosophy of science) I find this book vigorous, gallant and useful."
New Scientist

* What is the characteristic that serves to distinguish scientific knowledge from other kinds of knowledge?
* What is the role of experiment in science?
* What is the role of theory in science?

In clear, jargon-free language, the third edition of this highly successful introduction to the philosophy of science surveys the answers of the past hundred years to these central questions.

The previous edition of this book, translated into fifteen foreign languages, has been thoroughly revised in the light of two decades of teaching experience on the part of the author, and has been brought right up to date. The text has been enriched by many new historical examples and the early chapters have been reorganised, re-ordered and amplified to facilitate the introduction of beginners to the field.

The new edition includes new chapters on the following topics:

*the new experimentalism

*the Bayesian approach to science, currently in vogue

*the nature of scientific laws

*recent developments in the
realism/anti-realism debate

These changes will enhance the value of this book as a standard university text in the philosophy of science, not just on science and philosophy courses but also in the social and human sciences such as sociology and psychology, where the need is felt for an introduction to scientific method.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #117587 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
"Any teacher of history, from primary school to university, can learn much from this articulate book." - Teaching History

From the Publisher
Public Understanding of Science, Vol. 8 (1999)
"...perhaps the most widely used philosophy of science text in the English-speaking world." - Public Understanding of Science

About the Author
Alan Chalmers was born in Bristol, England and has a BSc in physics from the University of Bristol, an MSc in physics from the University of Manchester and a PhD in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of London. He has taught history and philosophy of science at the University of Sydney since 1971 and is now an Associate Professor there. He is the author of Science and its Fabrication (Open University Press, 1990), as well as the previous two editions of What is this Thing Called Science? and many articles on history and philosophy of science.

Customer Reviews

Excellent read
As a historian of science I found this book a very informative and entertaining read. Chalmers has the ability to introduce an idea (say theories as structures), lead you to think it is good (as in an explanation of scientific methology), then take it to pieces in a couple of sentences.

There are a few areas of the book where someone new to the subject might struggle, but they don't last long and the dedicated reader will be rewarded by continuing.

If you have taken the time to find this book, then you should definately add it to your basket!

A very useful overview of philosophy of science to date.
What is it that sets "science" apart from "non-sciences"? Do these terms have any real meaning? What constitutes a science? In this, the 3rd edition of Chalmers' acclaimed introduction to the philosophy of science, notions of what the scientific method entails are critically examined and compared . Stylistically very accessible, Chalmers provides detailed introductions to the more note-worthy areas of phil. of science & suggests further reading for each area within the field. Inductivism and the opposing school of Falsificationism are handled thoroughly and with great clarity. Chalmers then details and assesses the contributions of Quine, Kuhn, Feyerabend et al. to theory of science . A very impressive and compelling introduction to philosophy of science. It should be on every science undergraduate's reading-list.

Ok for physicists, but hard for psychologists to swallow
Several students from my second undergraduate year took a semester long course based upon this book - in conjunction with the physics department. What resulted was a realisation of how deeply en-meshed we had each become in our respective disciplines.

The first few chapters are relatively easy to follow, and seem explanatory and clear - except that you find yourself agreeing with every model of science he proposes - but when he gets on to the colour 'grue' things begin to go awry.

Don't tackle this one unless you are ready to read and re-read a single sentence repeatedly in order to get some idea of its meaning. This one is a tough cookie! As a psychologist, I'd recommend it to philosophists.