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Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science (BSPS, volume 199)
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Table of contents (10 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Introduction: Constructivism, Postmodernism, and Science
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Back Matter
About this book
He begins with detailed studies of four episodes from the history of modern physics: (1) the early attempts to detect gravity waves, (2) how the physics community decided that a proposed new elementary particle, 17-keV neutrino, did not exist, (3) a sequence of experiments on K meson decay, and (4) the origins of the Fifth Force hypothesis, a proposed modification of Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation.
The case studies are then used to examine issues such as how discord between experimental results is resolved, calibration of an experimental apparatus and its legitimate use in validating an experimental result, and how experimental results provide reasonable grounds for belief in both the truth of physical theories and in the existence of the entities involved in those theories.
This book is a challenge to the critics of science, both postmodern and constructivist, to provide convincing alternative explanations of the episodes and issues discussed. It should be of interest to philosophers, historians, and sociologists of science, and to scientists themselves.
Authors and Affiliations
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University of Colorado, USA
Allan Franklin
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Can that be Right?
Book Subtitle: Essays on Experiment, Evidence, and Science
Authors: Allan Franklin
Series Title: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5334-8
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
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eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1999
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-7923-5464-2Published: 30 November 1998
Softcover ISBN: 978-94-010-6242-8Published: 11 October 2012
eBook ISBN: 978-94-011-5334-8Published: 06 December 2012
Series ISSN: 0068-0346
Series E-ISSN: 2214-7942
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: IX, 318
Topics: Philosophy of Science, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, History, general