Books by Peter (Professor of Philosophy Achinstein

The 15 essays in this volume by the distinguished philosopher of science Peter Achinstein address three fundamental questions: What is required for a fact to be evidence for a scientific hypothesis? What is involved in giving a scientific explanation of a phenomenon? And should scientific theories be construed as aiming to correctly describe the entire world or only the observable parts of it?

Achinstein explores the question of how something comes to be considered as evidence for a theory, claims that most current theories are too weak to give scientists a good reason to believe in the value of evidence, and ultimately develops his own theory of evidence.

Particles and Waves deploys the analytical rigor Achinstein is justly famous for. Judged against the recent spate of very good historico-philosophical arguments, Achinstein's book stands out as making the most penetrating and profound philosophic contributions.