Philosophy of Science- Book Recommendations?

[Mr Arkadin]

I was having a discussion with my brother-in-law about science and the history thereof. He held a very naive view which essentially amounted to empirical data (what he calls evidence) being self interpreting and that contemporary science is pretty much, by definition, the best science has ever been such that anyone prior to the 18th century didn't attempt find evidence for there conclusions- he seemingly holds the progression theory of history.

So I was wondering whether any of you could recommend an introduction to the philosophy of science which is suitable for the layman, he's not much interested in philosophy but is very much so in science, has a decent overview of scientific thought and deals with biology at least in part (it's the science he's most interested in).

[Seasanctuary]

That depends. Do you want philosophy of science that affirms science as a useful means of discovering true things, or philosophy of science that shows how science just a certain kind of culture run amok?

Unfortunately, the latter is easier to find.

[Soyeong]

Science is basically doing stuff that adds to your body of knowledge, so while it wasn't formalized until later, it seems foolish to me to think that no one ever did anything like that. I mean a child is doing informal science when they start playing with a new toy to figure out what they can do with it. It's so simple that a caveman can do it when they eat something they have never seen before to test if it's good to eat.

[ENeGMA]

I was having a discussion with my brother-in-law about science and the history thereof. He held a very naive view which essentially amounted to empirical data (what he calls evidence) being self interpreting and that contemporary science is pretty much, by definition, the best science has ever been such that anyone prior to the 18th century didn't attempt find evidence for there conclusions- he seemingly holds the progression theory of history.

So I was wondering whether any of you could recommend an introduction to the philosophy of science which is suitable for the layman, he's not much interested in philosophy but is very much so in science, has a decent overview of scientific thought and deals with biology at least in part (it's the science he's most interested in).

I'd recommend "Theory and Reality" by Peter Godfrey-Smith.

[Seasanctuary]

I'd recommend "Theory and Reality" by Peter Godfrey-Smith.

That one's still on my to-read list.

[siliconwafer]

Christianity and the Nature of Science by J.P. Moreland. This book discusses the definition of science, the nature and limits of science, scientific realism, anti-realism, creationism, and so on.

Science and Its Limits by Del Ratzch.

I'm currently reading Worldviews: An Introduction to the History and Philosophy of Science by Richard DeWitt. This book is divided into three parts: the philosophical issues related to science, the transition from the Aristotelian worldview to the Newtonian worldview, and recent developments in science and worldviews. The first part deals with the philosophy of science and the last two parts deal mostly with the history of science. The sections dealing with the history of science cover the Ptolemaic system, the Copernican system, the Tyconic system, Kepler's system, Galileo, the Newtonian worldview, the special and general theories of relativity, quantum theory, and the theory of evolution.