The Logical Leap: Induction in Physics

 Posted by on 11 February 2010 at 3:00 pm  Announcements
Feb 112010
 

Here’s another bit of good news: David Harriman’s book The Logical Leap: Induction in Physics will be released on July 6th. (He tells me that publishers love pre-orders!)

Here’s the text from the back cover:

A groundbreaking solution to the problem of induction,
based on Ayn Rand’s theory of concepts

Inspired by and expanding on a series of lectures by Leonard Peikoff, David Harriman presents a fascinating answer to the problem of induction–that is, the epistemological question of how we know the truth of inductive generalizations.

Ayn Rand presented her revolutionary theory of concepts in her book Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. As Dr. Peikoff subsequently explored inductive reasoning, he sought out David Harriman, a physicist who has taught philosophy, for his expert knowledge of the scientific discovery process.

Here, Harriman presents the result of collaboration between scientist and philosopher. Beginning with a detailed discussion of the role of mathematics and experiment in validating generalizations in physics–looking closely at the reasoning of scientists such as Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Lavoisier, and Maxwell–Harriman skillfully identifies the method by which we discover laws of nature. Refuting the skepticism that is epidemic in contemporary philosophy of science, Harriman offers demonstrable evidence of the power of reason. He then argues that philosophy itself is an inductive science–the science that teaches the scientist how to be scientific.

You can pre-order the book on Amazon. Also, don’t forget that John Lewis’ book Nothing Less Than Victory will be available soon… in just a few days, according to Amazon. (You can also order it from the Ayn Rand Bookstore.)

   
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