Fritz Allhoff 
Philosophies of the Sciences 
A Guide

A collection of essays discussing a wide range of sciences and the
central philosophical issues associated with them, presenting the
sciences collectively to encourage a greater understanding of their
associative theoretical foundations, as well as their relationships
to each other.

* Offers a new and unique approach to studying and comparing the
philosophies of a variety of scientific disciplines

* Explores a wide variety of individual sciences, including
mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, sociology and
economics

* The essays are written by leading scholars in a highly
accessible style for the student audience

* Complements more traditional studies of philosophy of
science

Table of Content

Notes on Contributors vii

List of Figures xii

Unit 1: Introduction 1

1 Philosophies of the Sciences 3
Fritz Allhoff

2 Philosophy of Science 9
Richard De Witt

Unit 2: Philosophy of the Exact Sciences 39

3 Philosophy of Logic 41
Otávio Bueno

4 Philosophy of Mathematics 68
Otávio Bueno

5 Philosophy of Probability 92
Aidan Lyon

Unit 3: Philosophy of the Natural Sciences 127

6 Philosophy of Physics 129
Richard De Witt

7 Philosophy of Chemistry 163
Joachim Schummer

8 Philosophy of Biology 184
Matthew H. Haber, Andrew Hamilton, Samir Okasha, and Jay Odenbaugh

9 Philosophy of Earth Science 213
Maarten G. Kleinhans, Chris J.J. Buskes, and Henk W. de Regt

Unit 4: Philosophy of the Behavioral and Social Sciences 237

10 Philosophy of the Cognitive Sciences 239
William Bechtel and Mitchell Herschbach

11 Philosophy of Psychology 262
Edouard Machery

12 Philosophy of Sociology 293
Daniel Little

13 Philosophy of Economics 324
Daniel M. Hausman

Index 356

About the author

Fritz Allhoff, J.D., Ph.D. is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Philosophy at Western Michigan University and Fellow in the Center for Law and Biosciences at Stanford Law School.

He has edited and authored over twenty books, including Philosophy of Science: An Historical Anthology, (co-edited with Timothy Mc Grew and Marc Alspector-Kelly, (Wiley Blackwell, 2009)., and is the Editor of the Wiley Blackwell series Philosophy for Everyone.