This book represents a new approach to philosophy. It treats philosophy as not a collection of systems, but as a study of problems. It recognizes in traditional philosophical systems the historical function of having asked questions rather than having given solutions. Professor Reichenbach traces the failures of the systems to psychological causes. Speculative philosophers offe...
This book represents a new approach to philosophy. It treats philosophy as not a collection of systems, but as a study of problems. It recognizes in traditional philosophical systems the historical function of having asked questions rather than having given solutions. Professor Reichenbach traces the failures of the systems to psychological causes. Speculative philosophers offered answers at a time when science had not yet provided the means to give true answers. Their search for certainty and for moral directives led them to accept pseudo-solutions. Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, and many others are cited to illustrate the rationalist fallacy: reason, unaided by observation, was regarded as a source of knowledge, revealing the physical world and 'moral truth'. The empiricists could not disprove this thesis, for they could not give a valid account of mathematical knowledge. Mathematical discoveries in the early nineteenth century cleared the way for modern scientific philosophy. Its advance was furthered by discoveries in modern physics, chemistry, biology, and psychology. These findings have made possible a new conception of the universe and of the atom. The work of scientists thus altered philosophy completely and brought into being a philosopher with a new attitude and training. Instead of dictating so-called laws of reason to the scientist, this modern philosopher proceeds by analyzing scientific methods and results. He finds answers to the age-old questions of space, time, causality, and life; of the human observer and the external world. He tells us how to find our way through this world without resorting to unjustifiable beliefs or assuming a supernatural origin for moral standards. Philosophy thus is no longer a battleground of contradictory opinions, but a science discovering truth step by step. Professor Reichenbach, known for his many contributions to logic and the philosophy of science, addresses this book to a wider audience. He writes for those who do not have the leisure or preparation to read in the fields of mathematics, symbolic logic, or physics. Besides showing the principal foundations of the new philosophy, he has been careful to provide the necessary factual background. He has written a philosophical study, not a mere popularization. It contains within its chapters all the necessary scientific material in an understandable form - and, therefore, conveys all the information indispensable to a modern world-view. The late Hans Reichenbach was Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles.
水龙吟
商务印书馆1983版
Strongart
商务印书馆1983版
之乙
商务印书馆1983版
0 有用 自闭训练师 2024-09-01 15:43:36 中国香港
一本小书，种种原因断断续续读了一年半才读完。书的内容并不晦涩，先是对“旧哲学”，也就是所谓思辨哲学的批判，而之后则是在此基础上延伸出的“新哲学”，也就是科学哲学的陈述。作为一个哲学门外汉，个人觉得前一部分对思辨哲学的批判非常清晰合理，也契合作者时代科学，尤其是物理学与统计学的发展。对于科学哲学自身的陈述则稍显单薄，尤其是作为指导科学研究的所谓meta理论，科学哲学自身应该如何接受实证的检验呢？总的... 一本小书，种种原因断断续续读了一年半才读完。书的内容并不晦涩，先是对“旧哲学”，也就是所谓思辨哲学的批判，而之后则是在此基础上延伸出的“新哲学”，也就是科学哲学的陈述。作为一个哲学门外汉，个人觉得前一部分对思辨哲学的批判非常清晰合理，也契合作者时代科学，尤其是物理学与统计学的发展。对于科学哲学自身的陈述则稍显单薄，尤其是作为指导科学研究的所谓meta理论，科学哲学自身应该如何接受实证的检验呢？总的来说，这是一本非常适合科普的小书，个人感觉读完之后对自己学科的方法论又有了新的思考。 (展开)