World Changes: Thomas Kuhn and the Nature of Science

by Paul Horwich

Overview

Thomas Kuhn is viewed as one of the most influential (and controversial) philosophers of science, and this re-release of a classic examination of one of his seminal works reflects his continuing importance. In World Changes, the contributors examine the work of Kuhn from a broad philosophical perspective, comparing earlier logical empiricism and logical positivism with the new philosophy of science inspired by Kuhn in the early 1960s.  The nine chapters offer interpretations of his major work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and subsequent writings. The introduction outlines the significant concepts of Kuhn's work that are examined and is followed by a brief appraisal of Kuhn by Carl Hempel. The chapters discuss topics that include: a systematic comparison of Kuhn and Carnap viewing similarities and differences; the disputation of absolute truth; rational theory evaluation and comparison; applying theory to observation and the relation of models in a new conceptualization of theory content; and interpreting Kuhn's plurality-of-worlds thesis. The volume also presents four historical papers that speak to Kuhn's views on lexical structures and concept-formation and their antecedents. The afterward, by Kuhn himself, reviews his own philosophical development, his thoughts on the dynamics of scientific growth, and his response to issues raised by the contributors and other interpreters of his work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780822960546
Publisher:	University of Pittsburgh Press
Publication date:	02/28/2010
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Paul Horwich is professor of philosophy at New York University. He is the author of numerous books, including:  Reflections on Meaning; From a Deflationary Point of View; and Meaning. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, among others.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Paul Horwich
Thomas Kuhn, Colleague and Friend
Carl G. Hempel
THE PHILOSOPHERS LOOK BACK
Carnap, Kuhn, and the Philosophy of Scientific Methodology
John Earman
Remarks on the History of Science and the History of Philosophy
Michael Friedman
Rationality and Paradigm Change in Science
Ernan McMullin
THE HISTORIANS LOOK
A Mathematicians' Mutiny, with Morals
J. L. Heilbron
Science and Humanism in the Renaissance: Regiomontanus's Oration on
the Dignity and Utility of the Mathematical Sciences
N. M. Swerdlow
Design for EXperimenting
Jed Z. Buchwald
Mediations: Enlightenment Balancing Acts, or the Technologies of
Rationalism
M. Norton Wise
THE PHILOSOPHERS LOOK AHEAD
How We Relate Theory to Observation
Nancy Cartwright
Working in a New World: The TaXonomic Solution
Ian Hacking
Afterwords
Thomas S. Kuhn
Contributors
IndeX

Editorial Reviews

Magnificent. A splendid volume with state-of-the-art philosophical and historical pieces. Highly recommended.”
—British Journal for the Philosophy of Science


“The essays are fascinating and make visible, blow by blow, the evolving discussion of the nature of science.”
—Leonardo


“World Changes touches many facets of Kuhn's legacy . . . a wide-ranging book that offers interesting reading for the historian as well as the philosopher.”
—Erkenntnis

From the Publisher

Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) opened a new dimension in the study of how science and scientists work, and remains a seminal work in the philosophy of science. The development and relevance of ideas he raised, and their application to new historical situations, are discussed in 11 essays. Kuhn contributes an afterword. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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