The Philosophy of Science

This comprehensive textbook provides a clear nontechnical introduction to the philosophy of science. By asking whether science can provide us with objective knowledge of the world, it provides a thorough and accessible guide to the key thinkers and debates in the field. George Couvalis discusses traditional themes such as theory and observation, induction, probability, falsification, and rationality. He also covers the more recent challenges to objectivity produced by relativists, feminists, and sociologists of knowledge. He provides a helpful framework in which to locate some key intellectual contributions, such as those of Hume, Mill, Popper, Lakatos, Kuhn, Feyerabend, Bloor, Longino, and Van Fraassen. The Philosophy of Science contains a broad-ranging overview of some major developments in the field, from the nineteenth century to the present. It will be indispensable to students and academics with an interest in science and in the production of knowledge.