Theory and Reality
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
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Narrated by:
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Matthew Lloyd Davies
About this listen
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.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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Can there be freedom and free will in a deterministic world? Renowned philosopher Daniel Dennett emphatically answers "yes!" Using an array of provocative formulations, Dennett sets out to show how we alone among the animals have evolved minds that give us free will and morality. Weaving a richly detailed narrative, Dennett explains in a series of strikingly original arguments - drawing upon evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, and philosophy - that far from being an enemy of traditional explorations of freedom, morality, and meaning, the evolutionary perspective can be an indispensable ally.
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I knew I was going to like this book
- By Gary on 05-30-14
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Is God a Mathematician?
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Nobel Laureate Eugene Wigner once wondered about "the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" in the formulation of the laws of nature. Is God a Mathematician? investigates why mathematics is as powerful as it is. From ancient times to the present, scientists and philosophers have marveled at how such a seemingly abstract discipline could so perfectly explain the natural world. More than that - mathematics has often made predictions, for example, about subatomic particles or cosmic phenomena that were unknown at the time, but later were proven to be true.
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Origins of Mathematics
- By Rick B on 07-08-21
By: Mario Livio
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Truth and Truthfulness
- By: Bernard Williams
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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What does it mean to be truthful? What role does truth play in our lives? What do we lose if we reject truthfulness? No philosopher is better suited to answer these questions than Bernard Williams. Writing with his characteristic combinationof passion and elegant simplicity, he explores the value of truth and finds it to be both less and more than we might imagine.
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Content is excellent but the sound quality falters
- By Andy B. on 09-08-23
By: Bernard Williams
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Philosophy of Mind
- An Audio Guide
- By: Edward Feser
- Narrated by: Andrea Powell
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In this lively and entertaining introduction to the philosophy of mind, Edward Feser explores the questions central to the discipline, and relates them not only to the human brain and its capacity for thought, but also to the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence. This in-depth primer is an account of all the most important and significant attempts that have been made to answer the riddles of consciousness and thought.
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Author is a Christian apologist, and it shows
- By David Penn on 08-30-15
By: Edward Feser
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The Invention of Science
- A New History of the Scientific Revolution
- By: David Wootton
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 22 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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In this fascinating history spanning continents and centuries, historian David Wootton offers a lively defense of science, revealing why the Scientific Revolution was truly the greatest event in our history. The Invention of Science goes back 500 years in time to chronicle this crucial transformation, exploring the factors that led to its birth and the people who made it happen. Wootton argues that the Scientific Revolution was actually five separate yet concurrent events that developed independently.
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A Good Read Spoiled
- By David A. Donnelly on 12-23-16
By: David Wootton
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Aquinas
- An Audio Guide
- By: Edward Feser
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
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One of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the history of Western thought, St Thomas Aquinas established the foundations for much of modern philosophy of religion, and is famous for his arguments for the existence of God. In this cogent and multifaceted introduction to the great saint's work, Edward Feser argues that you cannot fully understand Aquinas' philosophy without his theology, and vice-versa. He covers Aquinas' thoughts on the soul, natural law, metaphysics, and more.
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Excellent book marred by faulty pronunciation
- By Charles on 09-13-15
By: Edward Feser
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The Devil's Delusion
- Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions
- By: David Berlinski
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
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Militant atheism is on the rise. In recent years, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have produced a steady stream of best-selling books denigrating religious belief. These authors are merely the leading edge of a larger movement that includes much of the scientific community. In response, mathematician David Berlinski, himself a secular Jew, delivers a biting defense of religious thought.
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Riddled With Problems
- By Ben on 11-01-13
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Undeniable
- How Biology Confirms Our Intuition That Life Is Designed
- By: Douglas Axe
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
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Throughout his distinguished and unconventional career, engineer-turned-molecular-biologist Douglas Axe has been asking the questions that much of the scientific community would rather silence. Now, he presents his conclusions in this brave and pioneering book. Axe argues that the key to understanding our origin is the "design intuition" - the innate belief held by all humans that tasks we would need knowledge to accomplish can be accomplished only by someone who has that knowledge.
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Seductively Challenge what are consider facts
- By Rafael Vila on 10-08-16
By: Douglas Axe
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The Scientist in the Early Roman Empire
- By: Richard Carrier
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- Length: 18 hrs and 29 mins
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In this extensive sequel to Science Education in the Early Roman Empire, Dr. Richard Carrier explores the social history of scientists in the Roman era. Was science in decline or experiencing a revival under the Romans? What was an ancient scientist thought to be and do? Who were they, and who funded their research? And how did pagans differ from their Christian peers in their views toward science and scientists?
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This Book is a Bombshell
- By James on 06-15-18
By: Richard Carrier
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Expert Political Judgment
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- By: Philip E. Tetlock
- Narrated by: Anthony Haden Salerno
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
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The intelligence failures surrounding the invasion of Iraq dramatically illustrate the necessity of developing standards for evaluating expert opinion. This audiobook fills that need. Here, Philip E. Tetlock explores what constitutes good judgment in predicting future events, and looks at why experts are often wrong in their forecasts. Tetlock first discusses arguments about whether the world is too complex for people to find the tools to understand political phenomena, let alone predict the future.
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Five-star book, one-star reading
- By Christian Tarsney on 01-23-19
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What listeners say about Theory and Reality
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Liz
- 03-23-18
Great to follow with
Great way to get through a textbook. Concepts are easy to follow along with in the book while listening and gaining a better grasp of philosophy of science.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Market Maven
- 10-04-20
First 75% Really Great. Last Part Not as Much.
This is the fourth book on the philosophy of science that I have read. I found Prof. Godfrey-Smith's review of the field to be excellent, probably the best I have read. However, in the latter part of the book, he delves into his own beliefs, and this is where I felt the book dropped. After covering the very interesting work in the philosophy of science, he concludes the book by presenting his own beliefs, which turn out to be that of naturalism and materialism. I felt there were too many "I" statements in the latter part. He also seems to have ignored the issues involved in the hard problem of consciousness in this final section. I still find Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions to stand alone in the philosophy of science. Godfrey-Smith covers this work, but doesn't accept Kuhn's view that revolutions in science lead to truly different worlds. Our world is what we think it is. But I would still recommend this book for great review of the philosophy of science. And the narrator was quite good as well,
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6 people found this helpful
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- Fred
- 03-15-23
Great Introduction
This is a authoritative and evenhanded introduction to the philosophy of science. Well written and well narrated. Great job!
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- Joeb
- 06-17-24
This book Wow
I've had this for a few years now ,I keep going back to it . I've read it over twice now And may end up reading it several more times . Great book to mark reference points in so I bought the Paperback . Easy to listen to . The Narrator does a fabulous job .
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- Daniel A. Demski
- 10-30-18
Great conceptual stew
...But could've done with more examples. There's fascinating discussion of how different scientific fields have different ideas about what an "explanation" is, yet we don't get to see what individual fields look like. Kuhn's concept of "paradigm shift" is discussed without any evocative cases being given. When examples do occur, they're the standard philosophical examples (ravens, emeralds) which the author admits are bad examples.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Online Buyer
- 02-02-23
One of the best audiobooks I listened in year
I listened to many audiobooks in this context and the author has a elegant strategy of weaving different perspectives together in an inner dialog like: “what would this group say or argue about.” inviting the listener to make his or her own thoughts.
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1 person found this helpful
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- R. C. Haynes
- 08-11-21
Balanced history of science
This was an interesting, and I would say comprehensive account of philosophy of science including colorful anecdotes and personalities, and of course delving into major issues of epistemology, evidence, theories etc. The book was a bit dense in parts, and certain sections were unsuited for audio enjoyment, e.g. discussing Bayes theorem. Overall, I learned a lot about philosophy of science and thoroughly admired the reading of the text by Matthew Lloyd Davies.
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- Kevin C
- 01-13-20
Overall excellent
Overall excellent. Some important people like Quine got glossed over however. The narration is very good and the the flow of topics well organized, I enjoyed it tremendously.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Bryan Decker
- 11-11-18
Perfect Introduction
Highly recommended for anyone interested in both the philosophy of science and scientific thought. Great work all around.
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- Jacob Richard Lipscomb
- 12-19-23
Good philosophy
Good at history and philosophy without getting lost in the weeds, I like that the narrator is British
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