The Continuum companion to the philosophy of science /

Following an introduction, French (Univ. of Leeds, UK; editor, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science) and Saatsi (Leeds) divide this volume into four parts: the relation of current issues in philosophy of science to metaphysics, epistemology, and the history of science; current research including causality, models, explanation, and Bayesian theory; philosophy of particular sciences; and listings of resources in the field. Unlike Stathis Psillos and Martin Curd's edited The Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Science (CH, Sep'08, 46-0251), emphasizing representative problems, or W. H. Newton-Smith's edited A Companion to the Philosophy of Science (CH, Jun'00, 37-5599), emphasizing short core topics and individual researchers, this Continuum Companion provides a comprehensive approach to the field with uniformly well-written essays. Although several papers organize central issues without much elucidation, the study as a whole is an ably drawn compendium of a wide range of problems, together with a forward-looking perspective on emerging trends in the field. Notable features include a thematic chronology, annotated bibliography, list of Web resources, and explanatory definitions of key terms. This will be an important reference work for all collections in the philosophy of science. See companion website . Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through professionals/practitioners. L. C. Archie Lander University