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Philosophy of Science

By: Jeffrey L. Kasser, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Jeffrey L. Kasser
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Summary

What makes science science? Why is science so successful? How do we distinguish science from pseudoscience? This exciting inquiry into the vigorous debate over the nature of science covers important philosophers such as Karl Popper, W. V. Quine, Thomas Kuhn, Paul Feyerabend, Imre Lakatos, Carl Hempel, Nelson Goodman, and Bas van Fraassen.

These thinkers responded in one way or another to logical positivism, the dominant movement influencing the philosophy of science during the first half of the 20th century - a movement whose eventual demise is an object lesson in how truly difficult it is to secure the logical foundations of a subject that seems so unassailably logical: science.

The philosophy of science can be abstract and theoretical, but it is also surprisingly practical. Science plays a pivotal role in our society, and a rigorous study of its philosophical foundations sheds light on the ideas, methods, institutions, and habits of mind that have so astonishingly and successfully transformed our world.

In the course of these 36 stimulating lectures, you will investigate a wide range of philosophical approaches to science, including empiricism, constructivism, scientific realism, and Bayesianism. You'll also examine such concepts as natural kinds, bridge laws, Hume's fork, the covering-law model, the hypothetico-deductive model, and inference to the best explanation (mistakenly called "deduction" in the Sherlock Holmes stories).

Professor Kasser shows how these and other tools allow us to take apart scientific arguments and examine their inner workings - all the while remaining an impartial guide as you navigate the arguments among different philosophers during the past 100 years.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses
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A hidden gem

The most intellectually stimulating audio ive ever listened to. Will challenge and reward in equal measure. I first listened to this over fifteen years ago and there hasnt been a year where i havent thought about the concepts, and how it has impacted my view of knowledge and science.

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Difficult, massive and very, very good

This is a MASSIVE course. I mean it has a massive content.

For that reason, it is a very difficult course to cope with. I think I have already listened to it 3 times and, every time, I learn something new or pause to consider something I had not considered before.

The performance is merely good. I think it is so more due to the content that competency of the lecturer. Maybe this should be split into two courses with a bit more of depth in each one.

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Very interesting course

Super interesting subject material and great speaker (good speed, good voice). Everything is explained well BUT this is a complicated topic if you are new to it. I tried to listen while I was doing other things, and while I did enjoy it, it was quite taxing and really I should have been taking notes while I listened.

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Thank god for scientists and statisticians,

And mathematicians. Ten lectures down and that 's it: NO more. Time and money wasted. How many angels can dance on a pin head? Oh dear I cant always believe that copper will conduct electricity etc.. (except it might have something to do with its atomic structure, but who knows that could change over night). Or like the emeralds, change into a totally different colour after the year 3000 . I wonder if that will be due to changes in their refractive index too? Or the electro-magnetic properties of light will change, after all why believe light travels at 299,792,458 m/sec. Yes language is important, maybe that's why scientists use specialist "jargon". Is the earth flat?? Oh I feel much better now!

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