History and philosophy of science

The history and philosophy of science (HPS) is an academic discipline that encompasses the philosophy of science and the history of science. Although many scholars in the field are trained primarily as historians or philosophers, there are degree-granting departments of HPS at several prominent universities (see below).

Related Topics:
Philosophy of science - History of science

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While it may seem an umbrella term, people in the field of HPS consider this fusion of history of science with philosophy of science to be perfectly natural, as epitomised by Norwood Russell Hanson, "history of science without philosophy of science is blind, and that philosophy of science without history of science is empty" (recasting Kant's famous quotation "Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind.").

Related Topics:
Norwood Russell Hanson - Kant's

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The origin of this hybrid approach can be seen in the career of Thomas Kuhn. His first permanant appointment, at the University of California, Berkeley, was to a position advertised by the philosophy department but he also taught courses from the history department. When he was promoted to full professor in the history department only, Kuhn was offended at the philosophers' rejection because "I sure as hell wanted to be there, and it was my philosophy students who were working with me, not on philosophy but on history, were nevertheless my more important students"{{fn|1}}. This attitude is also reflected in his historicist approach, as outlined in Kuhn's seminal Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962, 2nd ed. 1970), wherein philosophical questions about scientific theories and, especially, theory change are understood in historical terms, employing concepts such as paradigm shift.

Related Topics:
Thomas Kuhn - University of California, Berkeley - Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Paradigm shift

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More recently the sociology of science and technology studies have become popular topics and a few HPS departments have become Science Studies departments, e.g., the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of New South Wales was known as the School of Science and Technology Studies (STS) from the mid-1980s until 2001. For this reason it can be argued that the fields are identical and that the difference is only one of emphasis. While it may seem that STS is a broader concept, leaving room for other approaches to science such as sociology of science, HPS departments are not usually as exclusive as a literal interpretation of the name might imply.

Related Topics:
Sociology of science - Technology studies - Science Studies - University of New South Wales

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