Contemporary Perspectives in Philosophy and Methodology of Science

Nowadays, philosophy and methodology of science appear as a combination of novelty and continuity. This blend is clear both in the general approaches to science (those thought of as any science) and in the specific perspectives on every science, either formal or empirical. There are new topics for philosophical reflection, such as key issues in philosophy of medicine and central problems raised by neuroscience. Thus, new contents have brought attention to aspects that previously went almost unnoticed. In addition, there are new angles for philosophical study, such as the repercussion of society on scientific activity (in aims, processes, and results). But the background of the main philosophical and methodological trends of the twentieth century is, in many ways, still in place. Wenceslao J. Gonzalez is Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science. He has been a visiting researcher at the Universities of St. Andrews, Münster and London (LSE), as well as Visiting fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh. He has given lectures at the Universities of Pittsburgh, Stanford, Quebec and Helsinki. The conferences in which he has participated include those organized by the Universities of Uppsala, New South Wales, Bologna, and Canterbury (New Zealand). He has edited 21 volumes, among them are Philosophy and Methodology of Economics (1998) and Science, Technology and Society: A Philosophical Perspective (2005). Jesus Alcolea is Reader [Titular Professor] of Logic and Philosophy of Science. He undertook research at Smith College (Northampton, MA) with Th. Tymoczko. His focus of research has been on philosophy of mathematics: Proof as a Way to Increase Understanding (1996), Fallibilism and Realism in Lakatos (1999), Vigencia del Pensamiento filosóficomatemático de Imre Lakatos (2001), and La extensión de los conceptos matemáticos (2005).