商品簡介
Preface
Part I. Background1. Problems in Philosophy of Physics1.1 Introduction1.2 Philosophical Questions in Physics1.3 Summary and General Methodology
2. Some Important Episodes in the History of Physics2.1 Introduction2.2 Aristotle's Physics2.3 From Aristotle's Physics to Classical Mechanics: Galilei and Newton2.4 Relativity Theory2.5 Quantum Theory
Part II. General Philosophy of Science3. Empiricism from Ockham to van Fraassen3.1 Introduction3.2 Medieval Nominalism - an Empiricist Position3.3 Classical Empiricism3.4 Empiricism During the 19th Century3.4.1 Mach3.4.2 Poincar?.5 The Vienna Circle3.6 Quine3.7 Van Fraassen's Constructive Empiricism3.7.1 Van Fraassen's Empiricist Stance3.8 Evidence3.8.1 Evidence and Reasons3.8.2 Empirical Evidence3.8.3 Is Inconsistency Counter-Evidence Against a Theory?3.9 Classification - Natural Kinds3.10 My Empiricist Stance
4. Mathematical Knowledge and Mathematical Objects4.1 Introduction4.2 Kant and Quine on Objects4.3 Truth Value Gaps in Mathematics4.4 Are Numbers Universals?4.5 From Natural Numbers to Reals4.5.1 Against Reduction of Mathematics to Set Theory4.5.2 Platonism Versus Constructivism and Reals4.6 Constructions of Numbers4.6.1 Constructions of integers and rationals4.6.2 Reals and Infinity4.6.3 Constructive Analysis4.7 G鐰el's First Incompleteness Theorem and the Law of Excluded Middle4.8 Summary
5. Induction and Concept Formation5.1 Induction in the naturalistic perspective5.2 Justification in the Naturalistic Perspective5.3 Evidence and Justification5.4 Induction and concept formation5.5 Induction as a heuristic device5.6 Summary
6. Explanation, Unification and Reduction6.1 Introduction6.2 Friedman on Unification6.3 Nagel on Theory Reduction6.4 Explanation and Understanding6.5 Summary
7. Realism, Theory-Equivalence and Underdetermination of Theories7.1 The Physical Content of Theories7.2 Arguments About Scientific Realism7.2.1 Defusing Underdetermination7.2.2 Structural Realism7.3 Existence7.4 Are Physical Quantities Real?7.4.1 Universals7.4.2 Physical Quantities7.5 The Use of 'Model' in physics7.6 Theories of Principle vs Constructive Theories7.7 Summary
Part III. Philosophy of Physics8 Causation in Physics8.1 Introduction8.2 Causes and Laws8.2.1 Causation and Relativity Theory8.3 Are Forces Causes?8.4 Cause is Agent-Related8.5 Summary
9. Space, Time and Body; Three Fundamental Concepts9.1 Observations9.2 How Does a Theory Connect to the World?9.3 The Interdependence Between the Predicates place, time and body9.3.1 Bodies and Particles9.4 Fundamental Quantities9.5 Summary
10. Laws10.1 Introduction10.2 The Extension of the Predicate "Law of Nature"10.3 The Logical Form of Laws10.4 Semantics and ontology10.5 Induction, Concept Formation and Discovery of Fundamental Laws10.5.1 Laws, Physical Theories and Observations: Top-Down or Bottom-Up?10.6 Laws and Fundamental Quantities in Classical
