The Dappled World - Nancy Cartwright

The Dappled World

Nancy Cartwright

出版时间

1999-09-23

ISBN

9780521644112

评分

★★★★★
书籍介绍

It is often supposed that the spectacular successes of our modern mathematical sciences support a lofty vision of a world completely ordered by one single elegant theory. In this book Nancy Cartwright argues to the contrary. When we draw our image of the world from the way modern science works - as empiricism teaches us we should - we end up with a world where some features are precisely ordered, others are given to rough regularity and still others behave in their own diverse ways. This patchwork makes sense when we realise that laws are very special productions of nature, requiring very special arrangements for their generation. Combining classic and newly written essays on physics and economics, The Dappled World carries important philosophical consequences and offers serious lessons for both the natural and the social sciences.

用户评论
(1)物理学定律只适用于它的模型适合的地方,显然只包括非常有限的情况。 (2)定律在适用范围内只是“其他情况相同”(ceteris paribus)地成立。作为反复成功地运行的结果,我们可以将其当作“律则机器”。 (3)我们最广泛的科学知识不是“定律的知识”(knowledge of laws),而是“事物本性的知识”(knowledge of the natures of things)。
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