Inference to the best explanation

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Robert Nozick

One of the foremost philosophers of our time, Robert Nozick continues the Socratic tradition of investigation. This volume, which illustrates the originality, force, and scope of his work, also displays Nozick's trademark blending of extraordinary analytical rigor with intellectual playfulness. As such, Socratic Puzzles testifies to the great pleasure that both doing and reading philosophy can be. Comprising essays and philosophical fictions, classics and new work, the book ranges from Socrates to W. V. Quine, from the implications of an Israeli kibbutz to the flawed arguments of Ayn Rand. Nozick considers the figure of Socrates himself as well as the Socratic method (why is it a "method" of getting at the truth?). Many of these essays bring classic methods to bear on new questions about choice. How should you choose in a disconcerting situation ("Newcomb's Problem") when your decisions are completely predictable? Why do threats and not offers typically coerce our choices? How do we make moral judgments when we realize that our moral principles have exceptions? Other essays present new approaches to familiar intellectual puzzles, from the stress on simplicity in scientific hypotheses to the tendency of intellectuals to oppose capitalism. As up to date as the latest reflections on animal rights; as perennial as the essentials of aesthetic merit (doggerel by Isaac Newton goes to prove that changing our view of the world won't suffice); as whimsical as a look at how some philosophical problems might appear from God's point of view: these essays attest to the timeliness and timelessness of Nozick's thinking. With a personal introduction, in which Nozick discusses the origins, tools, and themes of his work, Socratic Puzzles demonstrates how philosophy can constitute a way of life.

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Alister E. McGrath

In this new book, Alister McGrath explores the relation of religion and the natural sciences, focusing specifically on Christianity as a case study. The book explores the way in which religions and the natural sciences differ from each other, yet converge on matters of considerable interest in a number of areas. This book will be of great interest to those researching and studying in the areas of science and religion, Christian theology and history, and the philosophy of science.

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Marcello Pera

In this greatly anticipated revision and translation of Scienza e Retorica, Marcello Pera argues that rhetoric is central to the making of scientific knowledge. Pera begins with an attack on what he calls the "Cartesian syndrome," the fixation on method shared by supporters of both the "standard" and "new" philosophies of science. He argues that in linking scientific rationality to methodological rules, both sides get it wrong. Scientific knowledge is neither the mirror of nature provided by a universal method, nor a cultural construct imposed by subjective interests. Pera proposes to overcome the tension between normative and descriptive philosophies of science by focusing on rhetoric in the construction and acceptance of theories. Examining the uses of argumentation in Galileo's Dialogue, Darwin's Origin, and the big bang-steady state controversy in cosmology, Pera shows that scientific research is not just an interchange between nature and the observer. Rather, science is a three-way interaction among nature, the investigator, and a questioning community which, through the process of attack, defense, and dispute, determines what science is. Rhetoric, then, understood as the practice of scientific argumentation, is an essential element in the constitution of science. . As a powerful alternative to dominant philosophies of science and a bold reconsideration of rhetoric and dialectic more broadly, this book addresses contemporary questions in philosophy, rhetoric, history of science, literary criticism, and cognitive science.

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Didier Fassin, Samuel Lézé

"This Reader is an essential resource for students and scholars interested in the anthropology of morality. The collection includes classical and more recent material, carefully chosen to provide a critical and historical overview of an important and developing field. The selections are contextualized with lucid editorial material, including a substantial introduction"--