Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Science

Description

This volume gathers together leading philosophers of science and cognitive scientists from around the world to provide one of the first book-length studies of this important and emerging field. Specific topics considered include learning and the nature of scientific knowledge, the cognitive consequences of exposure to explanations, climate change, and mechanistic reasoning and abstraction. Chapters explore how experimental methods can be applied to questions about the nature of science and show how to fruitfully theorize about the nature and role of science with well-grounded empirical research. Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Science presents a new direction in the philosophical exploration of science and paves a path for those who might seek to pursue research in experimental philosophy of science.

Richard Samuels is Professor of Philosophy at Ohio State University, and previously held appointments at King's College London and the University of Pennsylvania. He has published numerous papers on topics in the philosophy of psychology and foundations of cognitive science. Daniel A. Wilkenfeld is Lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, USA.

The papers included in this ground-breaking collection, many authored by world class psychologists and philosophers, make a persuasive case that experimental methods can contribute to traditional debates in the philosophy of science as well as opening new domains of inquiry at the cutting edge of the field. * Stephen Stich, Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Philosophy & Cognitive Science, Rutgers University, USA * Though science is often seen as an enterprise that goes against our natural way of thinking, it still takes its root in everyday cognition and concepts. This volume is one of the few to provide original and valuable insights in the cognitive underpinnings of scientific enterprise. * Florian Cova, Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy, University of Geneva, Switzerland *