Cambridge University Press The Search for a Naturalistic World View: Volume 2: 002

Product Description Abner Shimony an eminent philosopher of science, whose work has exerted a profound influence in both the philosophy and physics communities. This two-volume collection of his essays written over a period of forty years explores the interrelations between science and philosophy. Shimony regards the knowing subject as an entity in nature whose faculties must be studied from the points of view of evolutionary biology and empirical psychology. He maintains that the twentieth century is one of the great ages of metaphysics, given the deep implications of quantum mechanics, relativity theory, and molecular biology. The first volume, Scientific Method and Epistemology, deals with the dialectic of subject and object, epistemic probability, induction and scientific theories, perception and conception, and fact and values. The focus of the second volume, Natural Sciences and Metaphysics, is on quantum mechanical measurement and non-locality, parts and wholes, time, and mind and matter. Review Winner 1996 Lakatos Award"This collection of papers is an admirable contribution to the study of nature and of how we aquire knowledge of it. Shimony's work is an important model for how these investigations ought to be carried out." The Philosophical Review"There is so much to be learned and savored in these two volumes that my goal here has not been to 'summarize' Abner Shimony's Oeuvres, but to entice the reader into perusing this collection of masterfully written essays." American Journal of Physics Book Description This two-volume collection of Abner Shimony's essays written over a period of forty years explores the interrelations between science and philosophy.