Alex Rosenberg - Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction

Any serious student attempting to better understand the nature, methods, and justification of science will value Alex Rosenberg and Lee McIntyres updated and substantially revised fourth edition of Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction. Weaving lucid explanations with clear analyses, the volume is a much-used, thematically oriented introduction to the field.

The fourth edition has been thoroughly rewritten based on instructor and student feedback, to improve readability and accessibility, without sacrificing depth. It retains, however, all of the logically structured, extensive coverage of earlier editions, which a review in the journal Teaching Philosophy called the industry standard and essential reading.

Revised and rewritten for readability based on feedback from student and instructor surveys.

Updated text on the problem of underdetermination, social science, and the realism/antirealism debate.

Improved continuity between chapters.

Revised and updated Study Questions and annotated Suggested Readings at the end of each chapter.

Updated Bibliography.

For a list of relevant online primary sources, please visit: www.routledge.com/9781138331518.

Alex Rosenberg is R. Taylor Cole Professor and Chair in the Philosophy Department at Duke University. He is also co-director of Dukes Center for Philosophy of Biology. Rosenberg has held fellowships from the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. In 1993, Rosenberg received the Lakatos Award in the philosophy of science.

Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. He is the author of Respecting Truth (2015); Post-Truth (2018); and The Scientific Attitude (2019).

Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy

Series editor: Paul K. Moser, Loyola University of Chicago

This innovative, well-structured series is for students who have already done an introductory course in philosophy. Each book introduces a core general subject in contemporary philosophy and offers students an accessible but substantial transition from introductory to higher-level college work in that subject. The series is accessible to non-specialists and each book clearly motivates and expounds the problems and positions introduced. An orientating chapter briefly introduces its topic and reminds readers of any crucial material they need to have retained from a typical introductory course. Considerable attention is given to explaining the central philosophical problems of a subject and the main competing solutions and arguments for those solutions. The primary aim is to educate students in the main problems, positions and arguments of contemporary philosophy rather than to convince students of a single position.

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For a full list of published Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy, please visit www.routledge.com/Routledge-Contemporary-Introductions-to-Philosophy/book-series/SE0111.

Praise for Previous Editions

Sets the industry standard. This book is essential reading for any serious student of the philosophy of science. [...] Rosenberg provides a comprehensive, sophisticated presentation of the current state of the field, and yet it is clear enough to be accessible to students. Rosenbergs text gets my highest recommendation for courses with students who are academically well prepared and motivated.

W. Russ Payne in Teaching Philosophy

Fourth Edition

Alex Rosenberg and Lee McIntyre

Fourth edition published 2020

by Routledge

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The right of Alex Rosenberg and Lee McIntyre to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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First edition published by Routledge 2000

Third edition published by Routledge 2012

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Rosenberg, Alexander, 1946- author. | McIntyre, Lee C., author.

Title: Philosophy of Science : a contemporary introduction /

Alex Rosenberg and Lee McIntyre.

Description: Fourth edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. |

Includes bibliographical references and index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2019028291 (print) | LCCN 2019028292 (ebook) |

ISBN 9781138331488 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138331518 (paperback) |

ISBN 9780429447266 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Science--Philosophy.

Classification: LCC Q175 .R5475 2020 (print) | LCC Q175 (ebook) | DDC 501dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028291

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028292

ISBN: 978-1-138-33148-8 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-33151-8 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-429-44726-6 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Newgen Publishing UK

Visit the eResources: www.routledge.com/9781138331518