Philosophy of Science: A Unified Approach combines a general introduction to philosophy of science with an integrated survey of all its important subfields. As the book's subtitle suggests, this excellent overview is guided methodologically by "e;a unified approach"e; to philosophy of science: behind the diversity of scientific fields one can recognize a methodological unity of the sciences. This unity is worked out in this book, revealing all the while important differences between subject areas. Structurally, this comprehensive book offers a two-part approach, which makes it an excellent introduction for students new to the field and a useful resource for more advanced students. Each chapter is divided into two sections. The first section assumes no foreknowledge of the subject introduced, and the second section builds upon the first by bringing into the conversation more advanced, complementary topics.Definitions, key propositions, examples and figures overview all of the core material. At the end of every chapter there are selected readings and exercises (with solutions at the end of the book). The book also includes a comprehensive bibliography and an index.

Foreword 1 Introduction: Where Do We Stand? 2 The Question of Unity: In Search for Common Foundations of the Sciences 3 The Conceptual Toolkit: Language, Logic and Probability 4 A Question of Fit: Law Hypotheses and their Empirical Testing 5 Going Beyond Experience: Theories and their Empirical Evaluation 6 In Search of Causes: Explanation and All That Goes With It Bibliography Index