Excerpt from Experience and Prediction: An Analysis of the Foundations and the Structure of KnowledgeThe conviction that the key to an understanding of sci entific method is contained within the probability problem grew stronger and stronger with me in the face of such basic mistakes. This is the reason why, for a long time, I renounced a comprehensive report of my epistemological views, although my special investigations into different problems of epistemology demanded a construction of foundations different from those constructed by some of my philosophical friends. I concentrated my inquiry on the problem of probability which demanded at the same time a mathematical and a logical analysis. It is only after having traced out a logistic theory of probability, includ ing a solution of the problem of induction, that I turn now to an application of these ideas to questions of a more gen eral epistemological character. As my theory of probabil ity has been published for some years, it was not necessary to present it with all mathematical details once more in the present book; the fifth chapter, however, gives an ah breviated report of this theory - a report which seemed necessary as the probability book has been published in German only.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Experience and prediction: an analysis of the foundations and the structure of knowledge

Literature & Fiction

Reichenbach, Hans.

History & Criticism

University of Chicago Press

Experience and Prediction: An Analysis of the Foundations and the Structure of Knowledge

Hans Reichenbach (1891–1953) was a formidable figure in early-twentieth-century philosophy of science. Educated in Germany, he was influential in establishing the so-called Berlin Circle, a companion group to the Vienna Circle founded by his colleague Rudolph Carnap. The movement they founded―usually known as "logical positivism," although it is more precisely known as "scientific philosophy" or "logical empiricism"―was a form of epistemology that privileged scientific over metaphysical truths. Reichenbach, like other young philosophers of the exact sciences of his generation, was deeply impressed by the far-reaching changes in physics brought about by Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Reichenbach responded to scientific advances by doing fundamental work in space-time theories, in quantum mechanics, in statistical mechanics, and in the development of probability theory―making him the most important philosopher of physics in the first generation of logical empiricism. Forced from his academic position by the Nazi race laws in 1933, Reichenbach wrote Experience and Prediction at the University of Istanbul, where had had fled, expressly to introduce logical positivism to English speakers. In the two decades following World War II, during the explosion of scientific advances in North America, logical positivism was the reigning theory of the philosophy of science and Reichenbach was at the peak of his career. But, inevitably, support for logical positivism began to wane as it became obvious that the justification of scientific theories could not be entirely resolved by relying on strictly formal, technical processes. The growth of the discipline of the history of philosophy of science, which has created an audience of scholars eager for seminal classics in scientific philosophy, and the evidence supporting a historicist paradigm within logical positivism are two important reasons to make Experience and Prediction available once again.

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

University of Notre Dame Press

Modern philosophy of science: Selected essays

Science & Math

Greenwood Press

FROM COPERNICUS TO EINSTEIN

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

History

Franklin Classics

One of the most highly regarded popular accounts of Einstein’s theory of relativity. Simply yet authoritatively, the text traces the consequences of Copernican astronomy and advances in the study of light and electricity, then precisely describes the development of the Special and General Theories of Relativity. Reprint of 1942 ed.

From Copernicus to Einstein

History & Philosophy

Dover Publications

Elements of Symbolic Logic [Apr 01, 1980] Reichenbach, Hans

Elements of Symbolic Logic

Mathematics

Dover Pubns

Rise of Scientific Philosophy

University of California Press

This book represents a new approach to philosophy. It treats philosophy as not a collection of systems, but as a study of problems. It recognizes in traditional philosophical systems the historical function of having asked questions rather than having given solutions. Professor Reichenbach traces the failures of the systems to psychological causes. Speculative philosophers offered answers at a time when science had not yet provided the means to give true answers. Their search for certainty and for moral directives led them to accept pseudo-solutions. Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, and many others are cited to illustrate the rationalist fallacy: reason, unaided by observation, was regarded as a source of knowledge, revealing the physical world and "moral truth." The empiricists could not disprove this thesis, for they could not give a valid account of mathematical knowledge. Mathematical discoveries in the early nineteenth century cleared the way for modern scientific philosophy. Its advance was furthered by discoveries in modern physics, chemistry, biology, and psychology. These findings have made possible a new conception of the universe and of the atom. The work of scientists thus altered philosophy completely and brought into being a philosopher with a new attitude and training. Instead of dictating so-called laws of reason to the scientist, this modern philosopher proceeds by analyzing scientific methods and results. He finds answers to the age-old questions of space, time, causality, and life; of the human observer and the external world. He tells us how to find our way through this world without resorting to unjustifiable beliefs or assuming a supernatural origin for moral standards. Philosophy thus is no longer a battleground of contradictory opinions, but a science discovering truth step by step. Professor Reichenbach, known for his many contributions to logic and the philosophy of science, addresses this book to a wider audience. He writes for those who do not have the leisure or preparation to read in the fields of mathematics, symbolic logic, or physics. Besides showing the principal foundations of the new philosophy, he has been careful to provide the necessary factual background. He has written a philosophical study, not a mere popularization. It contains within its chapters all the necessary scientific material in an understandable form―and, therefore, conveys all the information indispensable to a modern world-view. The late Hans Reichenbach was Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles. His previous books include

The Rise of Scientific Philosophy

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