Wittgenstein's Beetle and Other Classic Thought Experiments

Beschreibung

Wittgenstein's Beetle and Other Classic ThoughtExperiments invites readers to participate actively indiscovering the surprisingly powerful and fruitful tradition of"thought experiments." * * Gives a lively presentation of an "A to Z" of 26 fascinatingand influential thought experiments from philosophy andscience * Presents vivid and often humorous discussion of theexperiments, including strengths and weaknesses, historicalcontext, and contemporary uses * Provides a "how to" section for engaging in thoughtexperiments * Includes illustrations, mini-biographies, and suggestions forfurther reading.

Autor*in

Martin Cohen

Themen in »Wittgenstein's Beetle and Other Classic Thought Experiments«

Geschichte Geschichte der Medizin u. Naturwissenschaften History History of Science & Medicine Philosophie Philosophy Wittgenstein

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"Martin Cohen's book is a delight to the intellect. His discussionof historically important thought experiments displays considerableerudition, permeated by wit and occasionally farcical inventionwhich embellish the philosophical value of his treatment." Zenon Stavrinides, University of Bradford "Cohen's book is packed with wit and scurrilous remarks aboutmainstream philosophers. His inimitable writing style, whichentertains as it instructs, is directed towards makingphilosophical ideas immediately accessible to the generalreader." George MacDonald Ross, University of Leeds "One of the fun things about philosophy is that you can sit backin your armchair, set up a laboratory in your own head and calmlyobserve the results of mixing x with y. This is the grand traditionof the "thought experiment", to which Cohen provides a zippyalphabetical guide. Cohen's explanations of the problems are lucid,and he defends the tradition against killjoys who argue thatthought experiments cannot ever give reliable conclusions. At itsbest the thought experiment can be a highly compressed,conceptually fruitful marriage of science and literature." Steven Poole on Wittgenstein's Beetle Saturday November 20, 2004 The Guardian "The value of this little book is that it collects a wide rangeof thought experiments and presents them in an accessible way. Itis a good place to start, and it will be especially useful forthose who teach courses on the topic and want to introduce it to anew generation of students." James Robert Brown, University of Toronto "There are several books of philosophical thought experimentscurrently in print... Cohen's A-Z are mostly of historicsignificance to science. They are wittily presented..." Times Literary Supplement"Martin Cohen's book is a delight to the intellect. His discussionof historically important thought experiments displays considerableerudition, permeated by wit and occasionally farcical inventionwhich embellish the philosophical value of his treatment." Zenon Stavrinides, University of Bradford "Cohen's book is packed with wit and scurrilous remarks aboutmainstream philosophers. His inimitable writing style, whichentertains as it instructs, is directed towards makingphilosophical ideas immediately accessible to the generalreader." George MacDonald Ross, University of Leeds "One of the fun things about philosophy is that you can sit backin your armchair, set up a laboratory in your own head and calmlyobserve the results of mixing x with y. This is the grand traditionof the "thought experiment", to which Cohen provides a zippyalphabetical guide. Cohen's explanations of the problems are lucid,and he defends the tradition against killjoys who argue thatthought experiments cannot ever give reliable conclusions. At itsbest the thought experiment can be a highly compressed,conceptually fruitful marriage of science and literature." Steven Poole on Wittgenstein's Beetle Saturday November 20, 2004 The Guardian "The value of this little book is that it collects a wide rangeof thought experiments and presents them in an accessible way. Itis a good place to start, and it will be especially useful forthose who teach courses on the topic and want to introduce it to anew generation of students." James Robert Brown, University of Toronto "Wittily presented." Times Literary Supplement
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