Explanation in the Sciences
Emile Meyerson's writings on the philosophy of science are a rich source of ideas and information concerning many philosophical and historical aspects of the development of modem science. Meyerson's works are not widely read or cited today by philosophers
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BOSTON STUDIES IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Editor ROBERT S. COHEN, Boston University
Editorial Advisory Board ADOLF GRONBAUM, University of Pittsburgh SYLVAN S. SCHWEBER, Brandeis University JOHN J. STACHEL, Boston University MARX W. WARTOFSKY, Baruch College of
the City University of New York
VOLUME 128
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... "II'\) 8a'tEpO'\) qroffiV u'\)cr~l1C'tOV oucra'\) rl~ 'tau'tov ~'\)vap~6't'trov /3ta. Plato, Timaeus
EMILE MEYERSON (dessin de A. Bilis) All rights reserved Copyright Editions Denoel et Steele
EMILE MEYERSON
EXPLANATION INTRE SCIENCES Translated from the French by Mary-Alice and David A. Sipfle
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
Library of Congress CataIoging-in-Publication Data Meyerson. Emlle. 1859-1933. [De I'expllcatlon dans les sclences. Engllsh] Explanatlon In the sclences I Emlle Meyerson ; translated from the French by Mary-Allce and David A. Slpfle ; wlth an Introductlon by p. cm. -- (Boston studies In the phllosophy of sclence ; v. 128) Translatlon of: De I'expllcation dans les sclences. Includes blbllographlcal references. ISBN 978-94-010-5511-6 ISBN 978-94-011-3414-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-3414-9
1. Sclence--Methodology. 2. Sclence--Phllosophy. 4. Logic. 1. Tltle. II. Serles. 0174.B67 voI. 128 [0175] 501 s--dc20 [501]
3. Explanatlon.
90-28236
ISBN 978-94-010-5511-6
printed on acid-free paper AII Rights Reserved
© 1991 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1991 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1991 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD BY I. BERNARD COHEN
xxiii
TRANSLATORS' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
xxix
BIBLIOGRAPHIC ABBREVIATIONS
xxxi
COMMENTS ON DOCUMENTATION PREFACE BY EMILE MEYERSON
xxxvii 1
BOOK ONE THE TWO FUNDAMENTAL OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER 1. SCIENCE DEMANDS THE CONCEPT OF THING
Etymology of the tenn explication, 9. - Its customary meaning, 9. - The position of Comte and Mach, 10. - The metaphysics of positivism, 11. - The order of nature, 12. - The mathematical fonn of laws, 12. - Qualitative laws, 13. - The disappearance of genus, 13. - Water, 14. - The elements, according to Soddy, 15. - The ideal gas and crystals, 15. - Gersonides and St. Thomas, 16. - Law, an ideal construct, 17. - The law of inertia and Archimedes' principle, 18. - Relations in relation to us, 18. Positivism and common sense perception, 19. - The "immediate data of consciousness," according to Bergson, 19. - The program of Mill and the true evolution of science, 20. - Physics forbids the intervention of the subject, 21. - Representational theories and abstract theories, 21. - Thennodynamics and kinetic theory, 22. - Thennodynamics and the concept of thing, 23. - Objects created by science, 23. - Theories and the essence of thing
