Review by Choice Review
Describing his book's intentions, Ladyman (Univ. of Bristol, UK) does not dismiss the likelihood that readers will not get answers to questions about science, at least of the philosophic kind, that they may not have thought of asking had they not read the book--and indeed he is, for the most part, admirably right! All, i.e., his exposition of the subject--the philosophic questions and controversies surrounding the reasons for the great success of the scientific enterprise--is engagingly lucid, deeply searching, and passionately disinterested. That is, all theories, all relevant points of view are submitted to a probing, equal opportunity skepticism. An in-depth examination of David Hume's critique of induction sets the stage for the treatment of subsequent influential thinkers--Popper, Kuhn, etc. An ongoing and amusing imaginary dialogue between a credulous Alice and a doubting Thomas at the end of each chapter both sums up problems previously discussed and leads to the next effort to remedy them. Part 2 presents a detailed, up-to-date account of the theories of scientific realism. If one had to choose a single book from a crowded, growing field, this might be it. General readers; upper-division undergraduates through faculty. M. Schiff College of Staten Island, CUNY
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
