From Observables to Unobservables in Science and Philosophy

by Richard J. Connell

Overview

From Observables to Unobservables in Science and Philosophy focuses on knowing unobservable real things or attributes by means of observing real things or attributes, a topic central to twentieth-century scientific philosophy. Engaging both current and perennial issues in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of nature and of science, Connell writes from a realist perspective. He adds a cogent, well written, and much needed voice to the current debate over foundationalism from the perspective of the undersubscribed quarter of empirical realism. Principal audiences for this volume will be scholars and graduate students in philosophy, working in the Aristotelian tradition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761816638
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/10/2000
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.16(w) x 9.22(h) x 0.74(d)

About the Author

Richard J. Connell is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Problem
Chapter 2 Observables-What They Are
Chapter 3 The Fundamental Cognitive Relation
Chapter 4 The Similarity-Dissimilarity Relation
Chapter 5 More on Analogies and Metaphors
Chapter 6 Signs, Symbols and Words
Chapter 7 The Necessity of Myth
Chapter 8 Theory-Laden Observation
Chapter 9 The A Priori and Innate Ideas
Chapter 10 Regularities, Experience, Experiment
Chapter 11 Hypotheses and Reality
Chapter 12 The Mathematical Character of Physics
Chapter 13 General Considerations on Philosophy
Chapter 14 Philosophical Principles: Preliminaries
Chapter 15 Natural Philosophy
Chapter 16 Definitions
Chapter 17 Analytic Propositions
Chapter 18 Recapitulation
Chapter 19 Bibliography
Chapter 20 Index