English
1966
ISBN: 0465056636
DJVU
pages: 309

This book grew out of a seminar that I have given many times, with varying content and form. It was called "Philosophical foundations of physics" or "Concepts, theories, and methods of the physical sciences." Although the content often changed, the general philosophical point of view remained constant; the course emphasized the logical analysis of the concepts, statements, and theories of science, rather than metaphysical speculation.
The idea of presenting the substance of my (rather informal) seminar talks in a book was suggested by Martin Gardner, who had attended my course in 1946 at the University of Chicago. He inquired in 1958 whether a typescript of the seminar existed or could be made; if so, he offered to edit it for publication. I have never had typescripts of my lectures or seminar talks, and I was not willing to take the time to write one. It just happened that this course was announced for the next semester, Fall 1958, at the University of California at Los Angeles. It was suggested that my talks and the discussions be recorded. Conscious of the enormous distance between the spoken word and a formulation suitable for publication, I was first rather skeptical about the plan. But my friends urged me to do it, because not many of my views on problems in the philosophy of science had been published. The decisive encouragement came from my wife, who volunteered to record the whole semester course on tape and transcribe it. She did this and also gave me invaluable help in the later phases of the working process. The book owes much to her; but she did not live to see it published.

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