Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues

Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues offers a balanced and comprehensive survey to the main currents in twentieth-century philosophy of science.

Gathering 49 readings on a variety of topics―science and pseudoscience; rationality, objectivity, and values in science; laws of nature; models of explanation, among others―this anthology introduces students to the often challenging problems examined by major thinkers in the field. Combine this with thoughtful and thorough apparatus, and Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues is the most flexible and comprehensive collection ever created for undergraduate courses.

J. A. Cover is professor of philosophy at Purdue University. Leaving a research post after completing a B.S. in biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, Davis, he took a B.A. in philosophy at Syracuse University, where he later received his M.A. and Ph.D. Published widely in journals and books on issues in early modern philosophy, metaphysics, and philosophy of science, he is coeditor of Central Themes in Early Modern Philosophy (Hackett, 1990), coauthor of Theories of Knowledge and Reality, Second Edition (McGraw-Hill, 1994), coauthor of Leibniz on Substance and Individuation (Cambridge, 1999), and coeditor of Leibniz: Nature and Freedom (Oxford, 2005).

Martin Curd is associate professor of philosophy at Purdue University. He has a B.A. in natural sciences from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in history and philosophy of science from the University of Pittsburgh. Working mainly in philosophy of science and epistemology, he is coeditor of The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science (2008).