Making Scientific Discoveries

Zusatztext

Scientic progress depends crucially on scientic discoveries. Yet the topic of scientic discoveries has not been central to debate in the philosophy of science. This book aims to remedy this shortcoming. Based on a broad reading of the term science (similar to the German term Wissenschaft ), the book convenes experts from different disciplines who reect upon several intertwined questions connected to the topic of making scientic discoveries. Among these questions are the following: What are the preconditions for making scientic discoveries? What is it that we (have to) do when we make discoveries in science? What are the objects of scientic discoveries, how do we name them, and how do scientic names function? Do dis-coveries in, say, physics and biology, share an underlying structure, or do they differ from each other in crucial ways? Are other elds such as theology and environmental studies loci of scientic discovery? What is the purpose of making scientic discoveries? Explaining nature or reality? Increasing scientic knowledge? Finding new truths? If so, how can we account for instructive blunders and serendipities in science? In the light of the above, the following is an encompassing question of the book: What does it mean to make a discovery in science, and how can scientic discoveries be distinguished from non-scientic discoveries?

Autorenportrait

Jan G. Michel vertritt die Professur für die Philosophie des Geistes und der Kognition an der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf.

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