The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences: Volume 2
Founded upon their History

First published in 1840, this influential two-volume treatise rigorously explores the philosophy of the physical sciences.

William Whewell (Author)

9781108064033, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 January 2014

598 pages, 1 colour illus.
21.6 x 14 x 3.4 cm, 0.75 kg

First published in 1840, this two-volume treatise by Cambridge polymath William Whewell (1794–1886) remains significant in the philosophy of science. The work was intended as the 'moral' to his three-volume History of the Inductive Sciences (1837), which is also reissued in this series. Building on philosophical foundations laid by Immanuel Kant and Francis Bacon, Whewell opens with the aphorism 'Man is the Interpreter of Nature, Science the right interpretation'. Volume 2 contains the final sections of Part 1, addressing namely the philosophy of biology and palaetiology. Part 2, 'Of Knowledge', includes a selective review of opinions on the nature of knowledge and the means of seeking it, beginning with Plato. Whewell's work upholds throughout his belief that the mind was active and not merely a passive receiver of knowledge from the world. A key text in Victorian epistemological debates, notably challenged by John Stuart Mill and his System of Logic, Whewell's treatise merits continued study and discussion in the present day.

Part I. Of Ideas (cont.)
9. The philosophy of biology
10. The philosophy of palaeontology
Part II. Of Knowledge: 11. Of the construction of science
12. Review of opinions on the nature of knowledge, and the means of seeking it
13. Of methods employed in the formation of science.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of science [PDA]