Philosophy Of Psychology And Cognitive Science

GENERAL PREFACE Dov Gabbay, Paul Thagard, and John Woods Whenever science operates at the cutting edge of what is known, it invariably runs into philosophical issues about the nature of knowledge and reality. Scientific controversies raise such questions as the relation of theory and experiment, the nature of explanation, and the extent to which science can approximate to the truth. Within particular sciences, special concerns arise about what exists and how it can be known, for example in physics about the nature of space and time, and in psychology about the nature of consciousness. Hence the philosophy of science is an essential part of the scientific investigation of the world. In recent decades, philosophy of science has become an increasingly central part of philosophy in general. Although there are still philosophers who think that theories of knowledge and reality can be developed by pure reflection, much current philosophical work finds it necessary and valuable to take into account relevant scientific findings. For example, the philosophy of mind is now closely tied to empirical psychology, and political theory often intersects with economics. Thus philosophy of science provides a valuable bridge between philosophical and scientific inquiry. More and more, the philosophy of science concerns itself not just with general issues about the nature and validity of science, but especially with particular issues that arise in specific sciences. Accordingly, we have organized this Handbook into many volumes reflecting the full range of current research in the philosophy of science. We invited volume editors who are fully involved in the specific sciences, and are delighted that they have solicited contributions by scientifically-informed philosophers and (in a few cases) philosophically-informed scientists. The result is the most comprehensive review ever provided of the philosophy of science. Here are the volumes in the Handbook: Philosophy of Science: Focal Issues, edited by Theo Kuipers. Philosophy of Physics, edited by Jeremy Butterfield and John Earman. Philosophy of Biology, edited by Mohan Matthen and Christopher Stephens. Philosophy of Mathematics, edited by Andrew Irvine. Philosophy of Logic, edited by Dale Jacquette. Philosophy of Chemistry and Pharmacology, edited by Andrea Woody and Robin Hendry. vi Dov Gabbay, Paul Thagard, and John Woods Philosophy of Statistics, edited by Prasanta S. Bandyopadhyay and Malcolm Forster. Philosophy of Information, edited by Pieter Adriaans and Johan van Benthem. Philosophy of Technological Sciences, edited by Anthonie Meijers. Philosophy of Complex Systems, edited by Cliff Hooker and John Collier. Philosophy of Earth Systems Science, edited by Bryson Brown and Kent Peacock. Philosophy of Psychology and Cognitive Science, edited by Paul Thagard. Philosophy of Economics, edited by Uskali M a¨ ki. Philosophy of Linguistics, edited by Martin Stokhof and Jeroen Groenendijk. Philos