Table of Contents

Preface 1. WHY PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE? The relationship between science and philosophy. Scientific questions and questions about science. Modern science as philosophy. Understanding science and understanding Western civilization 2. THE NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION AND THE PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS IT RAISES Defining scientific explanation. Why do laws explain? Counter-examples and the pragmatics of explanation. Causation and explanation. Explaining why and explaining how. Conclusion 3. SCIENTIFIC THEORIES, EPISTEMOLOGY AND METAPHYSICS Hypothetico-deductivism. The problem of theoretical terms and the things they name. Theories and models. The epistemology of scientific testing. Underdetermination 4. THE CHALLENGE OF HISTORY AND SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE A place for history? No place for first philosophy? From philosophy to history to relativism. Could the earth really be flat? Bibliography Index