This volume provides an investigation of thought experiments. Starting with Galileo's argument on falling bodies, it describes numerous examples of the most influential thought experiments from the history of science. Following this introduction to the subject, some substantial and provocative claims are made, the principle being that some thought experiments should be understood in the same way that Platonists understand mathematical activity: as an intellectual grasp of an independently existing abstract realm.

The laboratory of the mind: Thought experiments in the natural sciences (Philosophical issues in science series)

Brown, James Robert

Science & Math

Routledge

Platonism, Naturalism, and Mathematical Knowledge (Routledge Studies in the Philosophy of Science)

This study addresses a central theme in current philosophy: Platonism vs Naturalism and provides accounts of both approaches to mathematics, crucially discussing Quine, Maddy, Kitcher, Lakoff, Colyvan, and many others. Beginning with accounts of both approaches, Brown defends Platonism by arguing that only a Platonistic approach can account for concept acquisition in a number of special cases in the sciences. He also argues for a particular view of applied mathematics, a view that supports Platonism against Naturalist alternatives. Not only does this engaging book present the Platonist-Naturalist debate over mathematics in a comprehensive fashion, but it also sheds considerable light on non-mathematical aspects of a dispute that is central to contemporary philosophy.

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Newton's bucket, Einstein's elevator, Schrödinger's cat – these are some of the best-known examples of thought experiments in the natural sciences. But what function do these experiments perform? Are they really experiments at all? Can they help us gain a greater understanding of the natural world? How is it possible that we can learn new things just by thinking? In this revised and updated new edition of his classic text The Laboratory of the Mind, James Robert Brown continues to defend apriorism in the physical world. This edition features two new chapters, one on “counter thought experiments” and another on the development of inertial motion. With plenty of illustrations and updated coverage of the debate between Platonic rationalism and classic empiricism, this is a lively and engaging contribution to the field of philosophy of science.

The Laboratory of the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences (Philosophical Issues in Science)

The Laboratory of the Mind

What if something as seemingly academic as the so-called science wars were to determine how we live? 
 This eye-opening book reveals how little we've understood about the ongoing pitched battles between the sciences and the humanities--and how much may be at stake. James Brown's starting point is C. P. Snow's famous book, Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution, which set the terms for the current debates. But that little book did much more than identify two new, opposing cultures, Brown contends: It also claimed that scientists are better qualified than nonscientists to solve political and social problems. In short, the true significance of Snow's treatise was its focus on the question of who should rule--a question that remains vexing, pressing, and politically explosive today. 
 In Who Rules in Science? Brown takes us through the various engagements in the science wars--from the infamous "Sokal affair" to angry confrontations over the nature of evidence, the possibility of objectivity, and the methods of science--to show how the contested terrain may be science, but the prize is political: Whoever wins the science wars will have an unprecedented influence on how we are governed. 
 Brown provides the most comprehensive and balanced assessment yet of the science wars. He separates the good arguments from the bad, and exposes the underlying message: Science and social justice are inextricably linked. His book is essential reading if we are to understand the forces making and remaking our world.

Who Rules in Science?: An Opinionated Guide to the Wars

Harvard University Press

What if something as seemingly academic as the so-called science wars were to determine how we live?
This eye-opening book reveals how little we've understood about the ongoing pitched battles between the sciences and the humanities--and how much may be at stake. James Brown's starting point is C. P. Snow's famous book, Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution, which set the terms for the current debates. But that little book did much more than identify two new, opposing cultures, Brown contends: It also claimed that scientists are better qualified than nonscientists to solve political and social problems. In short, the true significance of Snow's treatise was its focus on the question of who should rule--a question that remains vexing, pressing, and politically explosive today.
In Who Rules in Science? Brown takes us through the various engagements in the science wars--from the infamous "Sokal affair" to angry confrontations over the nature of evidence, the possibility of objectivity, and the methods of science--to show how the contested terrain may be science, but the prize is political: Whoever wins the science wars will have an unprecedented influence on how we are governed.
Brown provides the most comprehensive and balanced assessment yet of the science wars. He separates the good arguments from the bad, and exposes the underlying message: Science and social justice are inextricably linked. His book is essential reading if we are to understand the forces making and remaking our world.

Who Rules In Science

Philosophy of Mathematics: An Introduction to a World of Proofs and Pictures

The Laboratory of the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences

Smoke and Mirrors: How Science Reflects Reality

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brown, James Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Brown, James Robert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brown, James Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The laboratory of the mind: Thought experiments in the natural sciences (Philosophical issues in science series)

Platonism, Naturalism, and Mathematical Knowledge (Routledge Studies in the Philosophy of Science)

The Laboratory of the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences (Philosophical Issues in Science)

The Laboratory of the Mind

Who Rules in Science?: An Opinionated Guide to the Wars

Who Rules In Science

Philosophy of Mathematics: An Introduction to a World of Proofs and Pictures

Philosophy of Mathematics: An Introduction to a World of Proofs and Pictures

The Laboratory of the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences

Smoke and Mirrors: How Science Reflects Reality