Download or read book Thought Experiments in Philosophy Science and the Arts written by Mélanie Frappier and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Lucretius throwing a spear beyond the boundary of the universe to Einstein racing against a beam of light, thought experiments stand as a fascinating challenge to the necessity of data in the empirical sciences. Are these experiments, conducted uniquely in our imagination, simply rhetorical devices or communication tools or are they an essential part of scientific practice? This volume surveys the current state of the debate and explores new avenues of research into the epistemology of thought experiments.
Download or read book Thought Experiments in Science Philosophy and the Arts written by Melanie Frappier and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-09-10 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Lucretius throwing a spear beyond the boundary of the universe to Einstein racing against a beam of light, thought experiments stand as a fascinating challenge to the necessity of data in the empirical sciences. Are these experiments, conducted uniquely in our imagination, simply rhetorical devices or communication tools or are they an essential part of scientific practice? This volume surveys the current state of the debate and explores new avenues of research into the epistemology of thought experiments.
Download or read book Thought Experiments in Science Philosophy and the Arts written by Melanie Frappier and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-09-10 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Lucretius throwing a spear beyond the boundary of the universe to Einstein racing against a beam of light, thought experiments stand as a fascinating challenge to the necessity of data in the empirical sciences. Are these experiments, conducted uniquely in our imagination, simply rhetorical devices or communication tools or are they an essential part of scientific practice? This volume surveys the current state of the debate and explores new avenues of research into the epistemology of thought experiments.
Download or read book The Routledge Companion to Thought Experiments written by Michael T Stuart and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-20 with total page 709 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thought experiments are a means of imaginative reasoning that lie at the heart of philosophy, from the pre-Socratics to the modern era, and they also play central roles in a range of fields, from physics to politics. The Routledge Companion to Thought Experiments is an invaluable guide and reference source to this multifaceted subject. Comprising over 30 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Companion covers the following important areas: · the history of thought experiments, from antiquity to the trolley problem and quantum non-locality; · thought experiments in the humanities, arts, and sciences, including ethics, physics, theology, biology, mathematics, economics, and politics; · theories about the nature of thought experiments; · new discussions concerning the impact of experimental philosophy, cross-cultural comparison studies, metaphilosophy, computer simulations, idealization, dialectics, cognitive science, the artistic nature of thought experiments, and metaphysical issues. This broad ranging Companion goes backwards through history and sideways across disciplines. It also engages with philosophical perspectives from empiricism, rationalism, naturalism, skepticism, pluralism, contextualism, and neo-Kantianism to phenomenology. This volume will be valuable for anyone studying the methods of philosophy or any discipline that employs thought experiments, as well as anyone interested in the power and limits of the mind.
Download or read book Thought Experiments in Science and Philosophy written by Tamara Horowitz and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 1991 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite their centrality and importance to both science and philosophy, relatively little has been written about thought experiments. This volume brings together a series of extremely interesting studies of the history, mechanics, and applications of this important intellectual resource. A distinguished list of philosophers and scientists consider the role of thought experiments in their various disciplines, and argue that an examination of thought experimentation goes to the heart of both science and philosophy.
Download or read book Thought Experiments in Methodological and Historical Contexts written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2011-06-09 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the last decades of the twentieth century highly imaginative thought experiments were introduced in philosophy: Searle’s Chinese room, variations on the Brain-in-a-vat, Thomson’s violinist. At the same time historians of philosophy and science claimed the title of thought experiment for almost any argument: Descartes’ evil genius, Buridan’s ass, Gyges’ ring. In the early 1990s a systematic debate began concerning the epistemological status of thought experiments. The essays in this volume are an outcome of this debate. They were guided by the idea that, since we cannot forge a strict definition of thought experiments, we should at least tame the contemporary wild usage of this notion by analysing thought experiments from various periods, and thus clarify how they work, what their limits are, and what their conceptualisation could be. Medieval and Early Modern Science, 15
Download or read book Philosophical Method a Very Short Introduction written by Timothy Williamson and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-08-27 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are philosophers trying to achieve? How can they succeed? Does philosophy make progress? Is it in competition with science, or doing something completely different, or neither? Timothy Williamson tackles some of the key questions surrounding philosophy in new and provocative ways, showing how philosophy begins in common sense curiosity, and develops through our capacity to dispute rationally with each other. Discussing philosophy's ability to clarify our thoughts, he explains why such clarification depends on the development of philosophical theories, and how those theories can be tested by imaginative thought experiments, and compared against each other by standards similar to those used in the natural and social sciences. He also shows how logical rigour can be understood as a way of enhancing the explanatory power of philosophical theories. Drawing on the history of philosophy to provide a track record of philosophical thinking's successes and failures, Williams overturns widely held dogmas about the distinctive nature of philosophy in comparison to the sciences, demystifies its methods, and considers the future of the discipline. From thought experiments, to deduction, to theories, this Very Short Introduction will cause you to totally rethink what philosophy is. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Previously published in hardback as Doing Philosophy
Download or read book Thought Experiments in Philosophy written by Sören Häggqvist and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Thought Experiments between Nature and Society written by Bojan Borstner and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2017-06-23 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a prominent figure in analytic philosophy of the 20th and 21st centuries, Nenad Miščević has enriched, enhanced, and expanded many areas of the field. This volume, dedicated to him for his 65th birthday, follows the virtues he so much respects – conceptual analysis, rigorous use of logics, and clear definitions – and applies them to a very hot topic in philosophy, thought experiments. Present throughout the history of philosophy, thought experiments have become indispensable for the discipline and for analytic philosophy in particular. But questions can be asked, as to what exactly is a thought experiment, what it consists of, and, most importantly, if it is even useful for philosophy. Next to these conceptual questions, this collection tackles thought experiments that have tradition, some of them very long, like The Ring of Gyges, The Social Contract, and Descartes’ Evil Demon. Others, like Twin Earth, Gettier cases and Brain-in-a-Vat thought experiments, have prompted at least half-a-century-long trails. One cannot understand contemporary analytic philosophy without understanding these trails and traditions. Nenad’s closest friends and colleagues, from all over Europe, share their thoughts on this topic in this book, followed diligently by Nenad’s comments on their work.
Download or read book Wittgenstein s Beetle and Other Classic Thought Experiments written by Martin Cohen and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wittgenstein’s Beetle and Other Classic Thought Experiments invites readers to participate actively in discovering the surprisingly powerful and fruitful tradition of "thought experiments." Gives a lively presentation of an "A to Z" of 26 fascinating and influential thought experiments from philosophy and science Presents vivid and often humorous discussion of the experiments, including strengths and weaknesses, historical context, and contemporary uses Provides a "how to" section for engaging in thought experiments Includes illustrations, mini-biographies, and suggestions for further reading.
Download or read book Thought Experiments written by Roy A. Sorensen and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1992 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text analyses a variety of thought experiments, and explores what they are, how they work, and what their positive and negative aspects are. It also sets the theory within an evolutionary framework of advances in experimental psychology.
Download or read book Evolutionary Philosophy written by Ed Gibney and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-04-24 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolutionary Philosophy is the foundation text for a new belief system. We are all products of evolution. Understanding all of the implications of this statement leads to a comprehensive worldview that can answer our universally shared questions: Where did I come from? What am I? What is a good life? How do I know? These questions and many more are answered in this book, before the beliefs of 60 of the top philosophers of history are put to the test in an evaluation of the survival of their fittest ideas. This is an audacious work of research and analysis from author Ed Gibney, who finishes by asking readers to help Evolutionary Philosophy to grow and adapt as mankind's knowledge continues to accumulate. This clear and accessible work promises to help you reevaluate mankind's place in the universe and your place in society.
Download or read book Love and Other Thought Experiments written by Sophie Ward and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This impressive debut novel, longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, takes its premise and inspiration from ten of the best-known thought experiments in philosophy—the what-ifs of philosophical investigation—and uses them to talk about love in a wholly unique way. Married couple Rachel and Eliza are considering having a child. Rachel wants one desperately, and Eliza thinks she does, too, but she can't quite seem to wrap her head around the idea. When Rachel wakes up screaming one night and tells Eliza that an ant has crawled into her eye and is stuck there, Eliza initially sees it as a cry for attention. But Rachel is adamant. She knows it sounds crazy—but she also knows it's true. As a scientist, Eliza is skeptical. Suddenly their entire relationship is called into question. What follows is a uniquely imaginative sequence of ten interconnecting episodes—each from a different character's perspective—inspired by some of the best-known thought experiments in philosophy. Together they form a sparkling philosophical tale of love lost and found across the universe.
Download or read book Philosophical Imagination written by Boris Vezjak and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2021-06-07 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thought experiments by ancient philosophers are often open to debate: in what sense did their reasoning really concern thought experimentation? For instance, in Plato’s Republic, Glaucon uses the myth of Gyges to demonstrate why people who practice justice do so unwillingly. A challenge, posed to Socrates and provided through some sort of thought experiment by imagining the effects of using the ring of invisibility, was intended to answer the question of human nature and our basis for the inclination towards justice or injustice. This collection expands the current, but rare, topic of whether it is possible to articulate a discussion about thought experiments and their arguments from the historical perspective of philosophy and science. It may sometimes seem that, in a loose sense, any philosophical reflection can already be interpreted as some form of thought experiment. Although the functions of it are very diverse and complex, and often closely linked to other cognitive tools, such as visualization, imagination or idealization, the contributions in this book provide new insights into how the concept of a thought experiment coincides with more modern perceptions. The purpose of the book is to show how philosophers, already in antiquity, began to use thought experiments and argumentation to convey theories in an accessible manner and how philosophical hypotheses, often being subjective and impossible to prove through empirical evidence, helped to promote scientific knowledge and discoveries. Different authors develop several lines of argumentation, claiming that philosophical thinking can be understood by comparing it to scientific experimenting, or vice versa: if empirical evidence is usually necessary for science, thought experiments may be used to develop a hypothesis or to prepare for experimentation. The analysis of historical examples of thought experiments might also contribute to a better understanding of philosophical endeavour in antiquity as a whole.
Download or read book The Blazing World Illustrated written by Margaret Cavendish and published by . This book was released on 2021-04-15 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Blazing World, is a 1666 work of prose fiction by the English writer Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle. Feminist critic Dale Spender calls it a forerunner ofScience Fiction-General. It can also be read as a utopian work
Download or read book Philosophy Illustrated written by Helen De Cruz and published by . This book was released on 2021-11-30 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thought experiments are tools philosophers and scientists use to investigate how things are, without actually having to go out and experiment in the real world. This book presents forty-two philosophical thought experiments. Each thought experiment is illustrated by De Cruz (who is an illustrator as well as a philosopher), and is summarized in one or two paragraphs, which is followed by a brief exploration of its significance. Each thought experiment also includes a longer (approximately 2-page) reflection, written by a philosopher who is a specialist in the field. De Cruz's unique illustrations serve as visual and accessible starting points for classroom discussions in Intro to Philosophy courses.
Download or read book Practicing Art Science written by Philippe Sormani and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-07-11 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last two decades, multiple initiatives of transdisciplinary collaboration across art, science, and technology have seen the light of day. Why, by whom, and under what circumstances are such initiatives promoted? What does their experimental character look like - and what can be learned, epistemologically and institutionally, from probing the multiple practices of "art/science" at work? In answer to the questions raised, Practicing Art/Science contrasts topical positions and insightful case studies, ranging from the detailed investigation of "art at the nanoscale" to the material analysis of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa and its cracked smile. In so doing, this volume brings to bear the "practice turn" in science and technology studies on the empirical investigation of multifaceted experimentation across contemporary art, science, and technology in situ. Against the background of current discourse on "artistic research," the introduction not only explains the particular relevance of the "practice turn" in STS to tackle the interdisciplinary task at hand, but offers also a timely survey of varying strands of artistic experimentation. In bringing together ground-breaking studies from internationally renowned scholars and upcoming researchers in sociology, art theory and artistic practice, as well as history and philosophy of science, Practicing Art/Science will be essential reading for practitioners and professionals in said fields, as well as postgraduate students and representatives of higher education and research policy more broadly.
