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My Teach Yourself: Philosophy of Science has now gone out of print, but there are plenty of secondhand copies available. It is also available as a FREE download from this site, and will be re-published later this year by Papermill Books. See F.U.N. Philosophy.
There is a chapter on Philosophy of Science in my TY: Philosophy, giving a brief historical overview, followed by an introduction to some key issues, and another in World Philosophy, which was written by Alexander Bird. In my view, the really big issue for the Philosophy of Science continues to be whether realism is compatible with the scientific method - in other words, whether believing that the things science speaks of (sub-atomic particles etc) are 'real' (in the sense of existing independent of our understanding of them) is compatible with the flexibility of modern science. After all, scientists are always trying to find better explanations and more adequate theories, and in some cases (e.g. Relativity v Quantum Mechanics) there are theories that are equally valuable but which do not easily sit alongside one another. But, if the realist view is correct, there is actually only one reality - we either understand it correctly or incorrectly - if one theory is right the other must be wrong (or at least defective in some respect). On the other hand, if everything is flexible and depends on our methods of observations, how can any scientific theory be said to be 'wrong'? And from that issue there come many questions - about the status of metaphysics, the nature of scientific progress etc etc... But, of course, the issues are far more complex than that, as you find if you start dipping into some introductions to the subject. A level student resources are listed below, but for a really substantial anthology, giving a global view of the subject, try Blackwell's Philosophy of Science, edited by Marc Lange. A heavy book (literally!) but packed with valuable articles from the last 50 years. Realism and the character of scientific theories, Scientific Theories and Laws of Nature, natural kinds, causation, probability, metaphysics - the range of issues covered is enormous. But don't always expect an easy read! To buy from Amazon click the left box in the USA, the right in the UK.... For a very well written and clearly presented account of the way in which Philosophy addresses the key issues in science - including the relationship between science and philosophy and issues concerning scientific explanation, theories and models, along with questions of underdeterminism and probability, there is Philosophy of Science by Alex Rosenberg in Routledge's Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy series.
Other resources, for students at A level.... For those styudying the Philosophy of Science module for AQA A2 level, there is a chapter (originally written by the late Rupert Woodfin) in Understanding Philosophy for A2 Level, giving the basics that are required for that examination. At the same level, Unit 4 in Philosophy for AS and A2, written by Nicholas Wilson, also covers the basic ground, with sections on scientific method, objectivity, the nature of scientific development and so on. Controversial when it comes to all matters relating to religion (and incline to indulge in polemic rather than reason or evidence), I still think that, when it comes to an enthusiastic and brilliant exposition of science, Dawkins is the one to read. Unweaving the Rainbow was the book that, for me, demonstrated his enthusiasm at its best - showing that science need not preclude a sense of wonder at nature.
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As a warning against the assumption that present theories are the final word, here are two quotes from The Riddle of the Universe, by Ernst Haeckel, 1899.
‘The existence of ether (or cosmic ether) as a real element is a positive fact, and has been known as such for the last twelve years.’
‘ … all the particular advances in physics and chemistry yield in theoretical importance to the discovery of the great law which brings them to one common focus, the “Law of Substance.” As this fundamental cosmic law established the eternal persistence of matter and force, their unvarying constancy throughout the entire universe…’
And within a decade, Einstein would come and blow it all away!!
---- 'I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.' Isaac Newton --- "Science, it seems to me, has an obligation to take phenomena seriously and to attempt a balanced explanation of their causes and their place in the larger scheme of things. Religion, like morality, is a phenomenon to be studied and, if possible, explained. Religion is NOT simply to be identified with belief in God - it is far more complex than that. Why it persists, in the face of huge intellectual difficulties with many of its claims, is a fascinating subject worthy of serious philosophical and scientific scrutiny." |
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