Skip to main content
Log in

The epistemology of science—a bird’s-eye view

  • Published:
Synthese Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this paper I outline my conception of the epistemology of science, by reference to my published papers, showing how the ideas presented there fit together. In particular I discuss the aim of science, scientific progress, the nature of scientific evidence, the failings of empiricism, inference to the best (or only) explanation, and Kuhnian psychology of discovery. Throughout, I emphasize the significance of the concept of scientific knowledge.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bird A. (1998) Philosophy of science. University College London Press, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bird A. (2004) Is Evidence non-inferential?. The Philosophical Quarterly 54: 252–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird A. (2005a) Abductive knowledge and Holmesian inference. In: Gendler T. S., Hawthorne J. (eds) Oxford studies in epistemology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 1–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird A. (2005b) Naturalizing Kuhn. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 105: 109–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird A. (2007a) Inference to the only explanation. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 74: 424–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird A. (2007b) Justified judging. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 74: 81–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird A. (2007c) Underdetermination and evidence. In: Monton B. (eds) Images of empiricism. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 62–82

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bird A. (2007d) What is scientific progress?. Noûs 41: 64–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird A. (2008) Scientific progress as accumulation of knowledge: a reply to Rowbottom. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 39: 279–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird, A. (2009a). Eliminative abduction—examples from medicine. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. (forthcoming).

  • Bird, A. (2009b). Social knowing (Unpublished article).

  • Conan Doyle, A. (1953). The sign of four. In: The complete Sherlock Holmes, (Vol. I). New York: Doubleday.

  • Dunbar K. (1996) How scientists really reason. In: Sternberg R., Davidson J. (eds) The nature of insight. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 365–395

    Google Scholar 

  • Earman J. (1992) Bayes or bust?. Bradford, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitcher P. (1993) The advancement of science. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kornblith H. (2002) Knowledge and its place in nature. Oxford University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn T. S. (1970) The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL

    Google Scholar 

  • Laudan L. (1977) Progress and its problems: Toward a theory of scientific growth. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipton P. (2004) Inference to the best explanation (2nd ed.). Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Maher P. (1996) Subjective and objective confirmation. Philosophy of Science 65: 149–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neta, R. (2007). How to naturalize epistemology. In: New waves in epistemology (pp. 324–353). Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

  • Owens D. J. (2003) Does belief have an aim?. Philosophical Studies 115: 283–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papineau D. (1993) Introduction to philosophical naturalism. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper K. (1959) The logic of scientific discovery. Hutchinson, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper K. (1963) Conjectures and refutations: The growth of scientific knowledge. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard D. (2003) Virtue epistemology and epistemic luck. Metaphilosophy 34: 106–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Psillos S. (1999) Scientific realism: How science tracks truth. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowbottom D. (2008) N-rays and the semantic view of scientific progress. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 39: 277–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanley J., Williamson T. (2001) Knowing how. Journal of Philosophy 98: 411–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velleman, J. D. (2000). On the aim of belief. In: The possibility of practical reason (pp. 244–281). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Walker, D. (2009). A Kuhnian defence of inference to the best explanation. Ph.D. thesis, University of Bristol.

  • Wedgwood R. (2002) The aim of belief. Philosophical Perspectives 16: 267–297

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, B. (1973). Deciding to believe. In: Problems of the self (pp. 136–151). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Williamson T. (2000) Knowledge and its limits. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander Bird.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bird, A. The epistemology of science—a bird’s-eye view. Synthese 175 (Suppl 1), 5–16 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-010-9740-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-010-9740-4

Keywords

Navigation