Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; Preface; One: Two Puzzles about Science: Reflections on Some Crises in Philosophy and Sociology of Science; Two: The Hierarchical Structure of Scientific Debates; Three: Closing the Evaluative Circle: Resolving Disagreements about Cognitive Values; Four: Dissecting the Holist Picture of Scientific Change; Five: A Reticulational Critique of Realist Axiology and Methodology; Epilogue; References; Index
Summary
Laudan constructs a fresh approach to a longtime problem for the philosopher of science: how to explain the simultaneous and widespread presence of both agreement and disagreement in science. Laudan critiques the logical empiricists and the post-positivists as he stresses the need for centrality and values and the interdependence of values, methods, and facts as prerequisites to solving the problems of consensus and dissent in science
