Marxism and Epistemology
Автор: Dominique Lecourt
Год издания: 0000
When this book was first published in English in 1975, the previous forty years had seen the emergence of a new tradition in the philosophy of the sciences, or 'epistemology' in France. The founder of this tradition was Gaston Bachelard. Rather than elaborating from existing philosophy a series of categories to judge science's claims to truth, Bachelard started from the twentieth-century revolution in physics and critically examined existing philosophy on the basis of the achievements of this revolution and the scientific practice it exemplified. This critique of philosophy produced an epistemology radically different from traditional idealism and empiricism. Simultaneously, it opened the way to a new history of the sciences which had been developed by Georges Canguilhem and Michel Foucault. This critique of empiricism and idealism in the name of science clearly parallels the theses of dialectical materialism. Hence a dialectical-materialist analysis illuminates both the achievements and limitations of the tradition. In this book Dominique Lecourt presents an exposition of Bachelard's epistemological writings and then offers a critique of that epistemology and of the works of Canguilhem and Foucault from a Marxist-Leninist viewpoint. In an introduction written especially for the English edition he compares Bachelard's positions with those of the different, but in some respects analogous, Anglo-Saxon traditions in epistemology descending from the works of Karl Popper, in particular with Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
What to Believe Now. Applying Epistemology to Contemporary Issues
Автор: David Coady
Год издания:
What can we know and what should we believe about today's world? What to Believe Now: Applying Epistemology to Contemporary Issues applies the concerns and techniques of epistemology to a wide variety of contemporary issues. Questions about what we can know-and what we should believe-are first addressed through an explicit consideration of the practicalities of working these issues out at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Coady calls for an 'applied turn' in epistemology, a process he likens to the applied turn that transformed the study of ethics in the early 1970s. Subjects dealt with include: Experts-how can we recognize them? And when should we trust them? Rumors-should they ever be believed? And can they, in fact, be a source of knowledge? Conspiracy theories-when, if ever, should they be believed, and can they be known to be true? The blogosphere-how does it compare with traditional media as a source of knowledge and justified belief? Timely, thought provoking, and controversial, What to Believe Now offers a wealth of insights into a branch of philosophy of growing importance-and increasing relevance-in the twenty-first century.
Epistemology. A Guide
Автор: John Turri
Год издания:
Designed to accompany Epistemology: An Anthology or stand alone as a concise primer, this is a straightforward and accessible introduction to contemporary epistemology for those studying the topic for the first time. A step-by-step introduction to contemporary epistemology, with coverage of skepticism, epistemic justification, epistemic closure, virtue epistemology, naturalized epistemology, and more Explains the main arguments of the most influential publications from the last 50 years Contextualizes key concepts and themes, instead of treating them in isolation Straightforward and accessible for those studying the topic for the first time Designed to accompany the second edition of Epistemology: An Anthology (Wiley Blackwell, 2008), but stands on its own as a concise introduction to the key ideas and arguments in epistemology
Epistemology of the Cell. A Systems Perspective on Biological Knowledge
Автор: Bittner Michael L.
Год издания:
Honorable mention – Biomedicine and Neuroscience, 2011 Prose Awards An examination of how the cell should be described in order to effectively process biological data «The fruitful pursuit of biological knowledge requires one to take Einstein's admonition [on science without epistemology] as a practical demand for scientific research, to recognize Waddington's characterization of the subject matter of biology, and to embrace Wiener's conception of the form of biological knowledge in response to its subject matter. It is from this vantage point that we consider the epistemology of the cell.» —from the Preface In the era of high biological data throughput, biomedical engineers need a more systematic knowledge of the cell in order to perform more effective data handling. Epistemology of the Cell is the first authored book to break down this knowledge. This text examines the place of biological knowledge within the framework of science as a whole and addresses issues focused on the specific nature of biology, how biology is studied, and how biological knowledge is translated into applications, in particular with regard to medicine. The book opens with a general discussion of the historical development of human understanding of scientific knowledge, the scientific method, and the manner in which scientific knowledge is represented in mathematics. The narrative then gets specific for biology, focusing on knowledge of the cell, the basic unit of life. The salient point is the analogy between a systems-based analysis of factory regulation and the regulation of the cell. Each chapter represents a key topic of current interest, including: Causality and randomness Translational science Stochastic validation: classification Stochastic validation: networks Model-based experimentation in biology Epistemology of the Cell is written for biomedical researchers whose interests include bioinformatics, biological modeling, biostatistics, and biological signal processing.
A Companion to Epistemology
Автор: Группа авторов
Год издания:
With nearly 300 entries on key concepts, review essays on central issues, and self-profiles by leading scholars, this companion is the most comprehensive and up-to-date single volume reference guide to epistemology. Epistemology from A-Z is comprised of 296 articles on important epistemological concepts that have been extensively revised to bring the volume up-to-date, with many new and re-written entries reflecting developments in the field Includes 20 new self-profiles by leading epistemologists Contains 10 new review essays on central issues of epistemology
Metaphysics and Epistemology. A Guided Anthology
Автор: Stephen Hetherington
Год издания:
Metaphysics and Epistemology: A Guided Anthology presents a comprehensive introductory overview of key themes, thinkers, and texts in metaphysics and epistemology. Presents a wide-ranging collection of carefully excerpted readings on metaphysics and epistemology Blends classic and contemporary works to reveal the historical development and present directions in the fields of metaphysics and epistemology Provides succinct, insightful commentary to introduce the essence of each selection at the beginning of chapters which also serve to inter-link the selected writings