{"product_id":"speculation-within-and-about-science-9780190615055","title":"Speculation: Within and about Science","description":"Newton urged scientists never to speculate, only to prove by establishing experimental facts. By contrast, Einstein urged scientists to speculate freely, since only daring speculations, not experimental facts, can advance science. Who, if either, is right? Is speculation a legitimate part of\u003cbr\u003escience, even in the absence of testing? If so, can speculations be evaluated without testing? How? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTo answer these questions it must first be determined what counts as a speculation, a task not usually investigated by those who express strong views about speculation. In \u003cem\u003eSpeculation\u003c\/em\u003e, Peter Achinstein develops the basic idea that speculating involves introducing assumptions, under certain\u003cbr\u003etheorizing conditions, without knowing that there is evidence for those assumptions. This idea is made precise by utilizing a concept of evidence Achinstein has introduced in previous writings and also explains here. With this concept, Achinstein defends a view according to which, by contrast\u003cbr\u003ewith Newton, speculations are crucial in science, and by contrast with Einstein, they are subject to constraints. The latter include pragmatic ones, reflecting the particular aims of the scientist in speculating, and epistemic ones that are subject to a different standard then evidence sufficient\u003cbr\u003efor belief. This viewpoint is illustrated and evaluated by critically examining historical and contemporary speculations in fundamental physics as well as more general speculations within or about science, including these: nature is simple, and simplicity is a sign of truth (Newton, Einstein); a\u003cbr\u003etheory can only be tested holistically (Duhem and Quine); and there is, and must be, a Theory of Everything (string theorists and reductionists).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Peter Achinstein\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/03\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 296\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.95lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.70w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780190615055\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Achinstein\u003c\/strong\u003e who received his B.A. and Ph.D.\u003cbr\u003edegrees from Harvard, is the author of seven influential books in the philosophy of science, including \u003cem\u003eParticles and Waves: Historical Essays in the Philosophy of Science \u003c\/em\u003e(OUP 1991), which received the Lakatos Award in 1993. A festschrift in his honor, \u003cem\u003ePhilosophy of Science Matters: The Philosophy\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eof Peter Achinstein\u003c\/em\u003e, was published by Oxford University Press in 2011.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":40322449440883,"sku":"9.78019E+12","price":34.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_6d4d0832-6eac-42be-81a6-64af5e46f191.jpg?v=1659445949","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/speculation-within-and-about-science-9780190615055","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}