The Logic in Philosophy of Science

Description

Major figures of twentieth-century philosophy were enthralled by the revolution in formal logic, and many of their arguments are based on novel mathematical discoveries. Hilary Putnam claimed that the Loewenheim-Skolem theorem refutes the existence of an objective, observer-independent world; Bas van Fraassen claimed that arguments against empiricism in philosophy of science are ineffective against a semantic approach to scientific theories; W. V. O. Quine claimed that the distinction between analytic and synthetic truths is trivialized by the fact that any theory can be reduced to one in which all truths are analytic. This book dissects these and other arguments through in-depth investigation of the mathematical facts undergirding them. It presents a systematic, mathematically rigorous account of the key notions arising from such debates, including theory, equivalence, translation, reduction, and model. The result is a far-reaching reconceptualization of the role of formal methods in answering philosophical questions.

Hans Halvorson is Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University, New Jersey. He has written extensively on philosophical issues in physics and the other sciences, on mathematical logic, and on the relationship between science and religion.

'This book offers a masterful and comprehensive treatment of the metalogical concepts, distinctions and theorems with which modern philosophy of science is so heavily involved. Both students and professionals in the field can expect to learn much from Halvorson's patient and lucid exposition. Any serious student of general philosophy of science will want to refer to it repeatedly.' Arif Ahmed, University of Cambridge 'The book is effectively organized, interspersing formal results and helpful examples among purely textual sections containing thought-provoking discussion ... scholars interested in fresh insights into past and current stances/arguments/positions in the philosophy of science, Halvorson's book will be of great value.' R. DeWitt, Choice 'Hans Halvorson's The Logic in Philosophy of Science is highly impressive-technically astute and philosophically accomplished ... [this] is obviously a work of technical brilliance and philosophical acumen.' T. Parent, Metascience