It Started with Copernicus
Vital Questions about Science
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
A unique approach to the philosophy of science that focuses on the liveliest and most important controversies surrounding scienceIs science more rational or objective than any other intellectual endeavor? Are scientific theories accurate depictions of reality or just useful devices for manipulating the environment? These core questions are the focus of this unique approach to the philosophy of science. Unlike standard textbooks, this book does not attempt a comprehensive review of the entire field, but makes a selection of the most vibrant debates and issues.The author tackles such stimulating questions as: Can science meet the challenges of skeptics? Should science address questions traditionally reserved for philosophy and religion? Further, does science leave room for human values, free will, and moral responsibility?Written in an accessible, jargon-free style, the text succinctly presents complex ideas in an easily understandable fashion. By using numerous examples taken from diverse areas such as evolutionary theory, paleontology, and astronomy, the author piques readers' curiosity in current scientific controversies. Concise bibliographic essays at the end of each chapter invite readers to sample ideas different from the ones offered in the text and to explore the range of opinions on each topic.Rigorous yet highly readable, this excellent invitation to the philosophy of science makes a convincing case that understanding the nature of science is essential for understanding life itself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Parsons, professor of philosophy at the University of Houston Clear Lake, presents "an expansion and revision" of his 2006 work, Copernican Questions: A Concise Invitation to the Philosophy of Science. Rather than offering a comprehensive overview of the philosophy of science, Parsons invited readers in his earlier work " to jump into some of the biggest, deepest, and sometimes nastiest controversies that have roiled around the nature, authority, role, extent, and implications of natural science." He has reworked older material in light of suggestions to remove the "sarcastic or dismissive tone" taken toward some of the writers critiqued, and he has added three chapters on the nature of scientific methodology, the need for a philosophy of science, and the role science plays in defining what it means to be human. The older material offers an engaging exposition of some basic topics; however, the text is fairly dated. The postmodern critique of science, for example, is no longer a burning issue, and creationism, while no more sophisticated than it was years ago, has moved well beyond the early formulation of intelligent design. Parsons cites only seven works produced in the last decade and none more recently than in 2011. Nonetheless, those looking for an introduction to the philosophy of science will find the book useful.
