Samir Okasha
Website
Genre
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Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
33 editions
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published
2002
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Philosophy of Biology: A Very Short Introduction
5 editions
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published
2019
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Evolution and the Levels of Selection
8 editions
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published
2006
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The Major Transitions in Evolution Revisited (Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology)
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5 editions
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published
2011
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Agents and Goals in Evolution
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Evolution and Rationality: Decisions, Co-operation and Strategic Behaviour
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8 editions
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published
2012
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EPSA Philosophy of Science: Amsterdam 2009
by
5 editions
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published
2011
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Vidnyanache Tatvadnyan
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EPSA Philosophy of Science: Amsterdam 2009 (The European Philosophy of Science Association Proceedings Book 1)
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“From a philosophical point of view, Leibniz's most interesting argument was that absolute space conflicted with what he called the principle of the identity of indiscernibles (PII). PII says that if two objects are indiscernible, then they are identical, i.e. they are really one and the same object. What does it mean to call two objects indiscernible? It means that no difference at all can be found between them--they have exactly the same attributes. So if PII is true, then any two genuinely distinct objects must differ in at least one of their attributes--otherwise they would be one, not two. PII is intuitively quite compelling. It certainly is not easy to find an example of two distinct objects that share all their attributes. Even two mass-produced factory goods will normally differ in innumerable ways, even if the differences cannot be detected with the naked eye.
Leibniz asks us to imagine two different universes, both containing exactly the same objects. In Universe One, each object occupies a particular location in absolute space.In Universe Two, each object has been shifted to a different location in absolute space, two miles to the east (for example). There would be no way of telling these two universes apart. For we cannot observe the position of an object in absolute space, as Newton himself admitted. All we can observe are the positions of objects relative to each other, and these would remain unchanged--for all objects are shifted by the same amount. No observations or experiments could ever reveal whether we lived in universe One or Two.”
― Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
Leibniz asks us to imagine two different universes, both containing exactly the same objects. In Universe One, each object occupies a particular location in absolute space.In Universe Two, each object has been shifted to a different location in absolute space, two miles to the east (for example). There would be no way of telling these two universes apart. For we cannot observe the position of an object in absolute space, as Newton himself admitted. All we can observe are the positions of objects relative to each other, and these would remain unchanged--for all objects are shifted by the same amount. No observations or experiments could ever reveal whether we lived in universe One or Two.”
― Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
“Simpler theories may be more convenient to work with, but they are not intrinsically more probable than complex ones.”
― Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
― Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
“The word 'proof' should strictly only be used when we are dealing with deductive inferences.... Popper claimed that scientists only need to use deductive inferences.... So if a scientist is only interested in demonstrating that a given theory is false, she may be able to accomplish her goal without the use of inductive inferences.... When a scientist collects experimental data, her aim might be to show that a particular theory...is false. She will have to resort to inductive reasoning.... So Popper's attempt to show that science can get by without induction does not succeed.”
― Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
― Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
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52 Books in 52 We...: Week: 39 | 10 | 100 | Dec 10, 2011 05:35PM |
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