This selection of essays by Lorenz Krüger (1932-1994) presents exemplary studies on the philosophy of John Locke and Immanuel Kant, on the history of physics and on the scope and limitations of scientific explanation, and a realistic understanding of science and truth. In his treatment of leading currents in 20th century philosophy, Krüger presents new and original arguments for a deeper understanding of the continuity and dynamics of the development of scientific theory. These result in significant consequences for the claim of the sciences that they understand reality in a rational manner. The case studies are complemented by fundamental thoughts on the relationship between philosophy, science, and their common history.

Auteur

Lorenz Krüger (1932-1994) was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, the Free University of Berlin, Germany, and the University of Göttingen, Germany. Since 1992, he was head of the "Centre of the History and Theory of Sciences" in Berlin. Krüger also was a founding director of the Max-Planck-Institute of the History of Sciences, Berlin, Germany.

Contenu

Did Kant Aim to Prove the Completeness of the Table of Judgments? (1968) · Was John Locke an Empiricist? (1970) · Matter For Us and in Itself - What Are Primary Properties? (1989) · Intertheoretic Relations as a Tool for the Rational Reconstruction of Scientific Development (1980) · Reduction as a Problem: Some Remarks on the History of Statistical Mechanics from a Philosophical Point of View (1980) · Are Statistical Explanations Possible? (1976) · Causality and Freedom (1992) · How Philosophy and Science Came to Differ (1988) · Does Progress in Science Lead to Truth? (1991) · Has the Correspondence Theory of Truth Been Refuted? From Gottlob Frege to Donald Davidson (1995) · Why Do We Study the History of Philosophy? (1984)