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Inconsistency in Science

  • Book
  • © 2002

Overview

Editors:
  1. Joke Meheus

    1. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

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Part of the book series: Origins: Studies in the Sources of Scientific Creativity (ORIN, volume 2)

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
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  2. From Copernicus to Ptolemy: Inconsistency and Method

    • Thomas Nickles
    Pages 1-33

  3. Inconsistent Reasoning Toward Consistent Theories

    • Arthur I. Miller
    Pages 35-41

  4. Inconsistencies in the History of Mathematics

    • Jean Paul van Bendegem
    Pages 43-57

  5. Mathematical Change and Inconsistency

    • Otávio Bueno
    Pages 59-79

  6. Approximate Truth

    • Bryson Brown
    Pages 81-103

  7. Inconsistency in Science: A Partial Perspective

    • Newton da Costa, Steven French
    Pages 105-118

  8. Inconsistency and the Empirical Sciences

    • Graham Priest
    Pages 119-128

  9. In Defence of a Programme for Handling Inconsistencies

    • Diderik Batens
    Pages 129-150

  10. How to Reason Sensibly Yet Naturally from Inconsistencies

    • Joke Meheus
    Pages 151-164

  11. Why the Logic of Explanation is Inconsistency-Adaptive

    • Erik Weber, Kristof de Clercq
    Pages 165-184

  12. A Paradox in Newtonian Gravitation Theory II

    • John D. Norton
    Pages 185-195

  13. Inconsistency, Generic Modeling, and Conceptual Change in Science

    • Nancy J. Nersessian
    Pages 197-211

  14. Back Matter

    Pages 213-223
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Keywords

About this book

For centuries, inconsistencies were seen as a hindrance to good reasoning, and their role in the sciences was ignored. In recent years, however, logicians as well as philosophers and historians have showed a growing interest in the matter. Central to this change were the advent of paraconsistent logics, the shift in attention from finished theories to construction processes, and the recognition that most scientific theories were at some point either internally inconsistent or incompatible with other accepted findings. The new interest gave rise to important questions. How is `logical anarchy' avoided? Is it ever rational to accept an inconsistent theory? In what sense, if any, can inconsistent theories be considered as true?
The present collection of papers is the first to deal with this kind of questions. It contains case studies as well as philosophical analyses, and presents an excellent overview of the different approaches in the domain.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Joke Meheus

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