Ebook: Models and Methods in the Philosophy of Science: Selected Essays

The thirty-one papers collected in this volume represent most of the arti­ cles that I have published in the philosophy of science and related founda­ tional areas of science since 1970. The present volume is a natural succes­ sor to Studies in the Methodology and Foundations of Science, a collection of my articles published in 1969 by Reidel (now a part of Kluwer). The articles are arranged under five main headings. Part I contains six articles on general methodology. The topics range from formal methods to the plurality of science. Part II contains six articles on causality and explanation. The emphasis is almost entirely on probabilistic approaches. Part III contains six articles on probability and measurement. The impor­ tance of representation theorems for both probability and measurement is stressed. Part IV contains five articles on the foundations of physics. The first three articles are concerned with action at a distance and space and time, the last two with quantum mechanics. Part V contains eight articles on the foundations of psychology. This is the longest part and the articles reflect my continuing strong interest in the nature of learning and perception. Within each part the articles are arranged chronologically. I turn now to a more detailed overview of the content. The first article of Part I concerns the role of formal methods in the philosophy of science. Here I discuss what is the new role for formal methods now that the imperialism of logical positivism has disappeared.

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This book publishes 31 of the author's selected papers which have appeared, with one exception, since 1970. The papers cover a wide range of topics in the philosophy of science. Part I is concerned with general methodology, including formal and axiomatic methods in science. Part II is concerned with causality and explanation. The papers extend the author's earlier work on a probabilistic theory of causality. The papers in Part III are concerned with probability and measurement, especially foundational questions about probability. Part IV consists of several papers, including two historical ones, on the foundations of physics, with the main emphasis being on quantum mechanics. Part V, the longest part, is on the foundations of psychology and includes papers mainly on learning and perception.
The book is aimed at philosophers of science, scientists concerned with the methodology of the social sciences, and mathematical psychologists interested in theories of learning, perception and measurement.

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This book publishes 31 of the author's selected papers which have appeared, with one exception, since 1970. The papers cover a wide range of topics in the philosophy of science. Part I is concerned with general methodology, including formal and axiomatic methods in science. Part II is concerned with causality and explanation. The papers extend the author's earlier work on a probabilistic theory of causality. The papers in Part III are concerned with probability and measurement, especially foundational questions about probability. Part IV consists of several papers, including two historical ones, on the foundations of physics, with the main emphasis being on quantum mechanics. Part V, the longest part, is on the foundations of psychology and includes papers mainly on learning and perception.
The book is aimed at philosophers of science, scientists concerned with the methodology of the social sciences, and mathematical psychologists interested in theories of learning, perception and measurement.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
The Role of Formal Methods in the Philosophy of Science....Pages 3-14
The Study of Scientific Revolutions: Theory and Methodology....Pages 15-23
Limitations of the Axiomatic Method in Ancient Greek Mathematical Sciences....Pages 25-40
The Plurality of Science....Pages 41-54
Heuristics and the Axiomatic Method....Pages 55-65
Representation Theory and the Analysis of Structure....Pages 67-82
Front Matter....Pages 83-83
Causal Analysis of Hidden Variables....Pages 85-93
Scientific Causal Talk....Pages 95-109
Explaining the Unpredictable....Pages 111-119
Conflicting Intuitions about Causality....Pages 121-140
When are Probabilistic Explanations Possible?....Pages 141-148
Non-Markovian Causality in the Social Sciences with Some Theorems on Transitivity....Pages 149-159
Front Matter....Pages 161-161
Finite Equal-Interval Measurement Structures....Pages 163-179
The Measurement of Belief....Pages 181-200
The Logic of Clinical Judgment: Bayesian and Other Approaches....Pages 201-212
Arguments for Randomizing....Pages 213-224
Propensity Representations of Probability....Pages 225-245
Indeterminism or Instability, does It Matter?....Pages 247-257
Front Matter....Pages 259-259
Descartes and the Problem of Action at a Distance....Pages 261-269
Some Open Problems in the Philosophy of Space and Time....Pages 271-287
Front Matter....Pages 259-259
Aristotle’s Concept of Matter and Its Relation to Modern Concepts of Matter....Pages 289-310
Popper’s Analysis of Probability in Quantum Mechanics....Pages 311-326
Probabilistic Causality in Quantum Mechanics....Pages 327-337
Front Matter....Pages 339-339
From Behaviorism to Neobehaviorism....Pages 341-355
Learning Theory for Probabilistic Automata and Register Machines, with Applications to Educational Research....Pages 357-371
Is Visual Space Euclidean?....Pages 373-393
Davidson’s Views on Psychology as a Science....Pages 395-405
Current Directions in Mathematical Learning Theory....Pages 407-434
On Deriving Models in the Social Sciences....Pages 435-450
The Principle of Invariance with Special Reference to Perception....Pages 451-470
Can Psychological Software be Reduced to Physiological Hardware?....Pages 471-482
Back Matter....Pages 483-510

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This book publishes 31 of the author's selected papers which have appeared, with one exception, since 1970. The papers cover a wide range of topics in the philosophy of science. Part I is concerned with general methodology, including formal and axiomatic methods in science. Part II is concerned with causality and explanation. The papers extend the author's earlier work on a probabilistic theory of causality. The papers in Part III are concerned with probability and measurement, especially foundational questions about probability. Part IV consists of several papers, including two historical ones, on the foundations of physics, with the main emphasis being on quantum mechanics. Part V, the longest part, is on the foundations of psychology and includes papers mainly on learning and perception.
The book is aimed at philosophers of science, scientists concerned with the methodology of the social sciences, and mathematical psychologists interested in theories of learning, perception and measurement.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
The Role of Formal Methods in the Philosophy of Science....Pages 3-14
The Study of Scientific Revolutions: Theory and Methodology....Pages 15-23
Limitations of the Axiomatic Method in Ancient Greek Mathematical Sciences....Pages 25-40
The Plurality of Science....Pages 41-54
Heuristics and the Axiomatic Method....Pages 55-65
Representation Theory and the Analysis of Structure....Pages 67-82
Front Matter....Pages 83-83
Causal Analysis of Hidden Variables....Pages 85-93
Scientific Causal Talk....Pages 95-109
Explaining the Unpredictable....Pages 111-119
Conflicting Intuitions about Causality....Pages 121-140
When are Probabilistic Explanations Possible?....Pages 141-148
Non-Markovian Causality in the Social Sciences with Some Theorems on Transitivity....Pages 149-159
Front Matter....Pages 161-161
Finite Equal-Interval Measurement Structures....Pages 163-179
The Measurement of Belief....Pages 181-200
The Logic of Clinical Judgment: Bayesian and Other Approaches....Pages 201-212
Arguments for Randomizing....Pages 213-224
Propensity Representations of Probability....Pages 225-245
Indeterminism or Instability, does It Matter?....Pages 247-257
Front Matter....Pages 259-259
Descartes and the Problem of Action at a Distance....Pages 261-269
Some Open Problems in the Philosophy of Space and Time....Pages 271-287
Front Matter....Pages 259-259
Aristotle’s Concept of Matter and Its Relation to Modern Concepts of Matter....Pages 289-310
Popper’s Analysis of Probability in Quantum Mechanics....Pages 311-326
Probabilistic Causality in Quantum Mechanics....Pages 327-337
Front Matter....Pages 339-339
From Behaviorism to Neobehaviorism....Pages 341-355
Learning Theory for Probabilistic Automata and Register Machines, with Applications to Educational Research....Pages 357-371
Is Visual Space Euclidean?....Pages 373-393
Davidson’s Views on Psychology as a Science....Pages 395-405
Current Directions in Mathematical Learning Theory....Pages 407-434
On Deriving Models in the Social Sciences....Pages 435-450
The Principle of Invariance with Special Reference to Perception....Pages 451-470
Can Psychological Software be Reduced to Physiological Hardware?....Pages 471-482
Back Matter....Pages 483-510
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