On the Metaphysics of Experimental Physics

Karl Rogers

252 pages, parution le 31/05/2005

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Résumé

Does experimental physics provide facts about the natural world? Scientific realists and positivists both argue that it does. This book critically addresses the question of how experimental physics is conceptually and historically possible as a natural and empirical science. How have experimental physicists used technology to explore, model and understand nature? The argument of this book is that scientific realist and positivistic philosophies of science have both presupposed the same operational metaphysics: that natural phenomena and machine performances are consequences of the same natural principles, laws and mechanisms. This metaphysics allows the ongoing technological activities of experimentation to disclose natural phenomena in terms of mechanistic models that are tested by their implementation in future technological innovation. The origin, function and implications of this metaphysics for our understanding of the world are described and analyzed in detail. It is then questionable whether physics is a natural and empirical science at all.

L'auteur - Karl Rogers

Karl Rogers studied physics and philosophy at Lancaster University. He received his PhD in the philosophy of science from the University of Bath. He is a research fellow in science studies at Bath and is currently a visiting lecturer in Buenos Aires, where he lives with his wife and son.

Sommaire

Entering the Cave of the Shadow Puppeteers
The Spirit of the Enterprise
The Mathematical Projection of the Six Simples Machines
The "Making" of the Ground Plan of Nature
The Anvil of Practice and the Art of Experimentation
What Enables Us to Build Machines?
Notes and References
Index

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Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Palgrave
Auteur(s)	Karl Rogers
Parution	31/05/2005
Nb. de pages	252
Format	14 x 22
Couverture	Relié
Poids	442g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9781403945280
ISBN13	978-1-4039-4528-0