Systematicity: The Nature of Science

In Systematicity, Paul Hoyningen-Huene answers the question What is science? by proposing that scientific knowledge is primarily distinguished from other forms of knowledge, especially everyday knowledge, by being more systematic. Science is here understood in the broadest possible sense,
encompassing not only the natural sciences but also mathematics, the social sciences, and the humanities. The author develops his thesis in nine dimensions in which it is claimed that science is more systematic than other forms of knowledge: regarding descriptions, explanations, predictions, the
defense of knowledge claims, critical discourse, epistemic connectedness, an ideal of completeness, knowledge generation, and the representation of knowledge. He compares his view with positions on the question held by philosophers from Aristotle to Nicholas Rescher. The book concludes with an
exploration of some consequences of Hoyningen-Huene's view concerning the genesis and dynamics of science, the relationship of science and common sense, normative implications of the thesis, and the demarcation criterion between science and pseudo-science.

Author: Paul Hoyningen-Huene
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 11/01/2015
Pages: 306
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780190298333

About the Author

Paul Hoyningen-Huene is a philosopher of science with a PhD in theoretical physics teaching at the Institute of Philosophy at the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany. He is best known for his book Reconstructing Scientific Revolutions: Thomas S. Kuhn's Philosophy of Science (1993).

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