Boyle on Fire: The Mechanical Revolution in Scientific ExplanationA&C Black, 15 мая 2004 г. - Всего страниц: 224 The philosophy of Robert Boyle (1627-1691) is a hot topic in early modern philosophy. Boyle was at the centre of the scientific community of 17th-century England, and an accurate view of the Enlightenment scientific revolution is impossible without recognition of the contributions that he made. Work on Boyle's philosophy is also shedding light on contemporary issues in the philosophy of science - it can help us understand the nature of scientific explanation and the role that the mechanical model of explanation plays in present-day science. Boyle's mechanical philosophy ushered in a new explanatory model for science and even though his corpuscular hypothesis failed, its failure does not entail the failure of the explanatory model of which it was an instance. Boyle on Fire demonstrates these points by examining Boyle's work concerning a method of experiment common in the seventeenth century called Fire Analysis. In the Sceptical Chymist (1661), Boyle attacks elemental theories of chemical explanation primarily by raising objections against Aristotelian and Paracelsian interpretations of fire analysis. The book reconstructs Boyle's corpuscular account of fire analysis and then compares it to these objections. This process reveals those characteristics of mechanical explanations that make them epistemologically superior to elemental theories of chemical explanation, and it is these characteristics that survive the death of the corpuscular hypothesis and have become an enduring feature of the scientific enterprise. |
Содержание
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2 On the Intelligibility of Mechanical Explanations | 24 |
3 Boyles Attack on Elemental Interpretations of Fire Analysis | 87 |
4 Boyles Mechanical Theory of Heat and Fire | 109 |
5 Boyles Mechanical Epistemology | 129 |
6 The Contrivance of Parts | 152 |
7 Mechanical Explanation in Contemporary Science | 171 |
Conclusion | 189 |
Robert Boyle chronology | 194 |
Glossary of technical terms | 195 |
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Другие издания - Просмотреть все
Boyle on Fire: The Mechanical Revolution in Scientific Explanation William Eaton Ограниченный просмотр - 2004 |
Boyle on Fire: The Mechanical Revolution in Scientific Explanation William Eaton Ограниченный просмотр - 2004 |
Boyle on Fire: The Mechanical Revolution in Scientific Explanation William Eaton Недоступно для просмотра - 2005 |
Часто встречающиеся слова и выражения
agitation alchemy Anstey Aristotelian Aristotelian and Paracelsian arrangement atomic Boas-Hall Boyle believed Boyle writes Boyle's mechanical philosophy Boyle's role Carneades cause chapter chemical clock consider contemporary science continental drift corpuscular hypothesis Corpuscularian Descartes Edward Davis eds elemental interpretations elemental model elemental theories Elutherius entities essay example explanatory model Explications fire analysis Formes and Qualities Gabbey galaxy heat Hunter and Edward ical important intelligibility of mechanical interpretations of fire LeFevre London macroscopic McMullin mechanical affections mechanical explanations mechanical interpretation mechanical model mechanical theories Michael Hunter model of explanation Nadler Naomi Oreskes natural phenomena natural philosophy natural selection nomothetic explanations objection occult explanations occult qualities Paracelsian particles phenomenon philoso Philosophy of Robert Pickering & Chatto plate tectonics primary qualities principles problems produced properties Robert Boyle Sceptical Chymist scientific explanation scientific revolution separate seventeenth century shape Shapin spiral Steven Steven Shapin structural explanations substances texture tion wood