This textbook offers an introduction to the philosophy of science. It
helps undergraduate students from the natural, the human and social
sciences to gain an understanding of what science is, how it has
developed, what its core traits are, how to distinguish between science
and pseudo-science and to discover what a scientific attitude is. It
argues against the common assumption that there is fundamental
difference between natural and human science, with natural science being
concerned with testing hypotheses and discovering natural laws, and the
aim of human and some social sciences being to understand the meanings
of individual and social group actions. Instead examines the
similarities between the sciences and shows how the testing of
hypotheses and doing interpretation/hermeneutics are similar activities.
The book makes clear that lessons from natural scientists are relevant
to students and scholars within the social and human sciences, and vice
versa. It teaches its readers how to effectively demarcate between
science and pseudo-science and sets criteria for true scientific
thinking.
Divided into three parts, the book first examines the question What is
Science? It describes the evolution of science, defines knowledge, and
explains the use of and need for hypotheses and hypothesis testing. The
second half of part I deals with scientific data and observation,
qualitative data and methods, and ends with a discussion of theories on
the development
of science. Part II offers philosophical reflections on four of the most
important con
cepts in science: causes, explanations, laws and models. Part III
presents discussions on philosophy of mind, the relation between mind
and body, value-free and value-related science, and reflections on
actual trends in science.
