Explanation, Prediction, and Confirmation [electronic resource] /
Dieks, Dennis.editor.
Gonzalez, Wenceslao J.editor.
Hartmann, Stephan.editor.
Uebel, Thomas.editor.
Weber, Marcel.editor.
This volume, the second in the Springer series Philosophy of Science in a European Perspective, contains selected papers from the workshops organised by the ESF Research Networking Programme PSE (The Philosophy of Science in a European Perspective) in 2009. Five general topics are addressed: 1. Formal Methods in the Philosophy of Science; 2. Philosophy of the Natural and Life Sciences; 3. Philosophy of the Cultural and Social Sciences; 4. Philosophy of the Physical Sciences; 5. History of the Philosophy of Science. This volume is accordingly divided in five sections, each section containing papers coming from the meetings focussing on one of these five themes. However,  these sections are not completely independent and detached from each other. For example, an important connecting thread running through a substantial number of papers in this volume is the concept of probability: probability plays a central role in present-day discussions in formal epistemology, in the philosophy of the physical sciences, and in general methodological debates---it is central in discussions concerning explanation, prediction and confirmation. The volume thus also attempts to represent the intellectual exchange between the various fields in the philosophy of science that was central in the ESF workshops.
""TABLE OF CONTENTS""; ""PREFACE:EXPLANATION, PREDICTION, CONFIRMATION""; ""Team A Formal Methods ""; ""THE NO MIRACLES INTUITION AND THE NO MIRACLES ARGUMENT ""; ""1. THE NO MIRACLES INTUITION""; ""2. THE â€?NO MIRACLES ARGUMENTâ€?""; ""THE SCOPE AND LIMITS OF THE NO MIRACLES ARGUMENT1""; ""REFERENCES""; ""CAUSATION, ASSOCIATION AND CONFIRMATION""; ""ABSTRACT""; ""1. INTRODUCTION""; ""2. COHERENCE AS PROBABILISITIC ASSOCIATION""; ""3. CONFIRMATION""; ""4. CETERUS PARIBUS""; ""5. FOCUSED CORRELATION""; ""6. CAUSAL STRUCTURE""; ""7. CONCLUSION""; ""REFERENCES""
""AN OBJECTIVE BAYESIAN ACCOUNT OF CONFIRMATION """"ABSTRACT ""; ""Â1 CARNAPIAN CONFIRMATION""; ""Â2 THE BAYESIAN APPROACH TO CONFIRMATION""; ""Â3 LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE ""; ""Â4 CARNAP'S RESOLUTION ""; ""Â5 PROBLEMS WITH CARNAP'S RESOLUTION ""; ""Â6 A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE ""; ""Â7 THE BAYESIAN APPROACH REVISITED ""; ""Â8 OBJECTIVE BAYESIAN EPISTEMOLOGY ""; ""Â9 OBJECTIVE BAYESIAN CONFIRMATION THEORY ""; ""BIBLIOGRAPHY ""; ""AN EXPLICATION OF THE USE OF INFERENCE TO THE BEST EXPLANATION    ""; ""1. PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF IBE""; ""2. HEURISTICS""
""3. APPLYING THE LOGIC OF QUESTIONS: PRELIMINARIES""""4. TWO COMPARATIVE CRITERIA OF EXPLANATORY POWER""; ""5. APPLICATIONS TO SOME PERSISTENT QUESTIONS IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE ""; ""A FORMAL LOGIC FOR THE ABDUCTION OF SINGULAR HYPOTHESES1""; ""1 INTRODUCTION""; ""2 THE PROBLEM""; ""3 MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF ABDUCTIVE REASONING""; ""4 INFORMAL PRESENTATION OF THE LOGIC LArs""; ""5 THE LOGIC LArs""; ""6 CONCLUSION AND OPEN PROBLEMS""; ""PROBABILITIES IN BRANCHING STRUCTURES""; ""REAL AND OTHER POSSIBILITIES""; ""PROBABILITIES IN BRANCHING TIME""
""EXTENDING THE ACCOUNT: BRANCHING SPACE-TIMES""""CONCLUSIONS""; ""BIBLIOGRAPHY""; ""Team B Philosophy of the Natural and Life Sciences  ""; ""CAUSALITY AND EXPLANATION: ISSUES FROM EPIDEMIOLOGY""; ""1. EPIDEMIOLOGY PARADIGMS""; ""2. OVERCOMING THE BLACK BOX PARADIGM. THE SEARCH FOR MECHANISMS""; ""3. MECHANISTIC EXPLANATIONS OF LAYERED DISEASES""; ""INVARIANCE, MECHANISMS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY""; ""REFERENCES""; ""WHATâ€?S WRONG WITH THE PRAGMATIC-ONTIC ACCOUNT OF MECHANISTIC EXPLANATION?""; ""1. INTRODUCTION""; ""2. WORRIES""; ""3. CONCLUSION""; ""REFERENCES""
""CAUSALITY AND EVIDENCE DISCOVERY IN EPIDEMIOLOGY""""EXISTENCE AND CAUSALITY""; ""NON-RANDOMISED EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES""; ""CONCLUSION""; ""REFERENCES""; ""INFERENCES TO CAUSAL RELEVANCE FROM EXPERIMENTS""; ""1 THEORY AND EXPERIENCE""; ""2 CAUSAL ANALYSIS""; ""2.1 Causal models""; ""2.2 Theory of causal regularities""; ""2.3 Principles of causal reasoning""; ""2.3.1 Method of Difference""; ""2.3.2 Assumptions""; ""2.3.3 Inferring a causal factor""; ""2.3.4 More complex designs""; ""2.3.5 Other inference patterns""; ""2.4 Difference tests in practice: notebook entries""
""3 METHODOLOGY OF CAUSAL MODELS""
Includes index.
This volume, the second in the Springer series Philosophy of Science in a European Perspective, contains selected papers from the workshops organised by the ESF Research Networking Programme PSE (The Philosophy of Science in a European Perspective) in 2009. Five general topics are addressed: 1. Formal Methods in the Philosophy of Science; 2. Philosophy of the Natural and Life Sciences; 3. Philosophy of the Cultural and Social Sciences; 4. Philosophy of the Physical Sciences; 5. History of the Philosophy of Science. This volume is accordingly divided in five sections, each section containing papers coming from the meetings focussing on one of these five themes. However,  these sections are not completely independent and detached from each other. For example, an important connecting thread running through a substantial number of papers in this volume is the concept of probability: probability plays a central role in present-day discussions in formal epistemology, in the philosophy of the physical sciences, and in general methodological debates---it is central in discussions concerning explanation, prediction and confirmation. The volume thus also attempts to represent the intellectual exchange between the various fields in the philosophy of science that was central in the ESF workshops.
Philosophy and science.
Philosophy and social sciences.
Biology—Philosophy.
Philosophy of nature.
Epistemology.
Ontology.
Philosophy of Science.
Philosophy of the Social Sciences.
Philosophy of Biology.
Philosophy of Nature.
Epistemology.
Ontology.
The Philosophy of Science in a European Perspective