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Theory and Reality

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science

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How does science work? Does it tell us what the world is "really" like? What makes it different from other ways of understanding the universe? In Theory and Reality, Peter Godfrey-Smith addresses these questions by taking the listener on a grand tour of 100 years of debate about science. The result is a completely accessible introduction to the main themes of the philosophy of science.

Intended for undergraduates and general audiences with no prior background in philosophy, Theory and Reality covers logical positivism; the problems of induction and confirmation; Karl Popper's theory of science; Thomas Kuhn and "scientific revolutions"; the views of Imre Lakatos, Larry Laudan, and Paul Feyerabend; and challenges to the field from sociology of science, feminism, and science studies. The book then looks in more detail at some specific problems and theories, including scientific realism, the theory-ladeness of observation, scientific explanation, and Bayesianism.

Finally, Godfrey-Smith defends a form of philosophical naturalism as the best way to solve the main problems in the field.

©2003 The University of Chicago (P)2017 Tantor History & Philosophy Philosophy Science Metaphysical Morality Mathematics

Critic reviews

"Godfrey-Smith presents a clear, comprehensive, and accessible introductory survey of the major problems and movements in the philosophy of science. It is an excellent book to use on its own in a lower-level philosophy of science course or as a supplement to some anthology of primary texts in a more sophisticated upper-level course. It would also suit anyone who has interest in the subject but little patience for jargon-heavy professional philosophy…. His exposition is accented by insightful commentary and criticism, and by examples from the history of science all with a keen sense of humor." (Michael Veber, Science Education)
All stars
Most relevant
... immensely.

This is another book to re-read; it covers issues I will no doubt be pondering for some time to come.

Enjoyed...

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This is a very good introduction of the philosophy of science. Quite traditional in form, very focused on 20th century “key figures” (with some interesting digressions into sociology and similar matter) and quite opinionated.

I do think that the author sometimes fails to convey (although he seems to appreciate) the subtlety in what he labels “constructivist” theories (e.g. Latour). However, that will usually happen in summaries of complex ideas.

I would like to say that this is very well performed. You really get the sense that the reader almost believes what he is saying.

Great summary, surprisingly well performed

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Peter Godfrey-Smith is a philosopher of biologist and philosopher of science; this book was based on his university lecturers, and this show, though not necessarily in a bad way. It’s most useful as a historical survey of philosophy of science, especially from the Vienna Circle to Popper to Kuhn to Lakatos and Laudan to van Fraassen. Godfrey-Smith ends up defending a very austere and humble version of scientific realism, influenced by BvF. The level of austerity is sometimes hard to pin down.

The narration was appropriate: English (though the author is Australian), professorial, a little clipped.

Excellent intro to philosophy of science, and nuanced defence of scientific realism

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What I liked about this book was its breadth, covering not just the philosophical underpinnings of Science, but also the social and sociological aspects. Having said that, the book is a bit of a “personal opinion”, with the authors views sometimes distorting the account.

For example, Godfrey-Smiths rather dismissive description of Lakatos is a travesty of Lakatos’ project as a progressive synthesis on Popper and Kuhn. Does an anomalous result such as deviations in the predicted orbit of Uranus, ‘falsify’ Newton/Kepler or can we legitimately posit an ‘auxiliary hypothesis’ of a yet undiscovered planet (ie. Neptune) as explanation? When do such ‘protective belts’ merely prolong the life of a doubtful ‘degenerate’ theory, and when are they genuinely ‘progressive’ and lead to further discovery? This seems an important refinement, not to be dismissed.

The book is well narrated, never dull, and neatly organised in sections, so it could be taught as the basis of a course. IMHO, anyone working or interested in science will benefit from an appreciation of the philosophical and sociological context supporting modern science.

Wide Ranging and Engaging, but Maybe Opinionated.

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This is really high quality work. I am amazed that Godfrey-Smith managed to provide it for free both in audio and PDF on the internet (so you can listen and pick certain parts in case you want add a reference in your work). The subject is deep, but the author was very clear. The narrator was sustained the greatness of the work with perfect performance. I loved the book

Incredible work, also with PDF free on the internet

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