This Is the Work of Govind Shukla

Science Technology And Society

Assignment 3 Solutions

Govind Shukla (201301088)

September 2, 2016

1.

Question 1 Solution

Nancy Cartwright’s Philosophy of Science is an excellent collection of thought-provoking

essays on Cartwright’s many and varied contributions to philosophy of science. Cartwright

is without doubt one of the most influential philosophers of science writing today and a

volume like the present one has long been overdue. Her contributions have been seminal

in many different areas: her work on models and idealizations, for example, played an

important role in the development of an entire sub-discipline in philosophy of science

focusing on the role of models in application driven science, and her widely-cited work on

causal laws and effective strategies has helped frame the contemporary debate on the role

of causation in science. The volume devotes considerable attention to these issues and

many more – with one unfortunate omission. In recent years Cartwright has urged us to

investigate in more depth the connection between science, values, and politics and I was

disappointed to see that there is no examination of this topic in the volume. Yet overall the

book, which includes brief responses by Cartwright to each paper, presents an extremely

valuable resource for both students and researchers and should be required reading for

those interested in Cartwright’s philosophy of science.

Anyone looking for a brief overview of Cartwright’s views should consult Carl Hoefer’s

excellent introduction to the volume. The first set of papers focuses on how theories

and models represent the world, while the second set focuses on causes and capacities.

Ronald Giere’s paper, straddling both issues, provides an especially clear and sympathetic

summary of Cartwright’s account of how models represent reality, while the exchange

between Cartwright and Giere can serve as a useful introduction to Cartwright’s claim

that we need to invoke...