ESCP Europe

This book is an introduction to the philosophy of natural science, organized around the central theme of scientific realism. It has two parts: "Representing" deals with the different philosophical accounts of scientific objectivity and the reality of scientific entities ; "Intervening" presents the first sustained treatment of experimental science for many years and uses it to give a new direction to debates about realism. The author illustrates how experimentation often has a life independent of theory. He argues that although the philosophical problems of scientific realism can not be resolved when put in terms of theory alone, a sound philosophy of experiment provides compelling grounds for a realistic attitude.