Nancy Cartwright Libri

Four distinguished authors have been brought together to produce this elegant study of a much-neglected figure. The book is divided into three Neurath's biographical background and the economic and social context of his ideas; his theory of science; and the development of his role in debates on Marxist concepts of history and his own conception of science. Coinciding with the emerging serious interest in logical positivism, this timely publication will redress a current imbalance in the history and philosophy of science.

In this sequence of philosophical essays about natural science, the author argues that fundamental explanatory laws, the deepest and most admired successes of modern physics, do not in fact describe regularities that exist in nature. Cartwright draws from many real-life examples to propound a novel distinction: that theoretical entities, and the complex and localized laws that describe them, can be interpreted realistically, but the simple unifying laws of basic theory cannot.

Nancy Cartwright exposes the behind-the-scenes world of "The Simpsons" through her own "rather curious" perspective, and charts its stratospheric rise from a tiny slot on the "Tracey Ullman Show" to Emmy award winning status.

Renowned philosopher of science Nancy Cartwright presents an original view on scientific realism.

In this book Nancy Cartwright argues for a patchwork of laws of nature. Combining classic and newly written essays, The Dappled World offers important methodological lessons for both the natural and social sciences, and will interest anyone who wants to understand how modern science works.

`...an interesting and original contribution to the realist argument' The Times Higher Education Supplement.

Causation is explored as a multifaceted concept rather than a singular notion, highlighting the diverse types of causal relationships and their implications. Nancy Cartwright critiques existing philosophical and economic literature on causality, particularly examining Bayes-nets and invariance methods. She identifies a significant gap in understanding the connection between identifying causes and their practical applications. This work appeals to philosophers, economists, and social scientists seeking a deeper comprehension of causality's complexities and its utility in various fields.

Over the last twenty or so years, it has become standard to require policymakers to base their recommendations on evidence. That is now uncontroversial to the point of triviality - of course, policy should be based on the facts. But are the methods that policy makers rely on to gather and analyse evidence the right ones? This book explains that the dominant methods which are in use now - broadly speaking, methods that imitate standard practices in medicine, like randomised control trials - do not work. They fail because they do not enhance our ability to predict if policies will be effective.

The collection presents a groundbreaking perspective on the laws of nature, advocating for a diverse and interconnected approach rather than a singular theory. Each essay contributes to a broader conversation about the complexities of natural laws, encouraging readers to reconsider traditional frameworks and embrace a more nuanced understanding of the universe. Through various viewpoints, the authors challenge established notions and invite exploration of the implications of a patchwork model.

What is science and what can it do? This innovative book uses examples from the physical, life, and social sciences to focus on all the products of science and how they work together. It will interest anyone who thinks about science and how it is practised in our society.