2nd Edition
The Laboratory of the Mind Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences
By James Robert Brown
Copyright 2011
240 Pages
by
Routledge
236 Pages
by
Routledge
240 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Newton's bucket, Einstein's elevator, Schrödinger's cat – these are some of the best-known examples of thought experiments in the natural sciences. But what function do these experiments perform? Are they really experiments at all? Can they help us gain a greater understanding of the natural world? How is it possible that we can learn new things just by thinking?
In this... Read more
Chapter 1 Illustrations from the laboratory of the mind; Chapter 2 The structure of thought experiments; Chapter 3 Counter thought experiments; Chapter 4 Mathematical thinking; Chapter 5 Seeing the laws of nature; Chapter 6 ::; Chapter 7 Einstein’s brand of verificationism; Chapter 8 Quantum mechanics;
Biography
James Robert Brown is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto.
"If thought experiments have extraordinary powers, then they need an extraordinary epistemology. This book is the only serious attempt to provide it."–John Norton, University of Pittsburgh
Praise for the first edition:
"Cogent, lively, enthusiastic ... A wonderfully stimultating book, highly rcommended"
–CHOICE"I recommend this book to anybody interested in the philosophy of science...a fascinating compendium of these testaments to scientific genius."–David Papineau, Times Higher Education Supplement
