Philosophie de la science contemporaine
Institution:
Paris 12Disciplines:
Directors:
Abstract EN:
This thesis starts from two observations: as a whole, science to be in good health: some forecasts in quantum mechanics have been verified with an extraordinary precision. In biology, the theory of dna accounts for an impressing number of observations. The mighty power of technology is present in every branch of science. Concurrently, and since more than 70 years, philosophy of science has been either impordyctive or indequate. It was reduced by the supporters of logical emoiricism to a set of linguistic studes, totally disconnected from real science. After which it reacted through stressing its formal sociological aspect, resulting in losing the specifiety of science. On the other hand, regional espistemology studes. Which may be interesting in plysics despite a tendency to keep going over the same topics, are too often in biology influenced by philosophical a priori. My position is that thuis decline in @philosophy of science is not inescapable. On the contrary, science's progress must help its philosophy. Hence, the contribution of this thereis will be an attempt in order to revive a comprehensive philosophy of science. Which 1 hope will be useful to scientists and philosophers. It will include two parts: deals with the great problems: probabilities (and induction); determinism (and free willy); value of the scientific theories; ultilmate ends in knowledge,. . . The second one ins made of application chapters, devoted to important questions of the particular sciences. The author tried hard to stay as close as possible to lodern science.
Abstract FR:
Dans l'ensemble, la science se porte bien: certaines previsions de la physique quantique sont verifiees avec une precision extraordinaire. En biologie, la theorie de l'adn rend compte d'un nombre impressionnant d'observations. La technologie manifeste partout sa puissance. En revanche, depuis plus de 70 ans, la philosophie de la science se revele improductive et peu adaptee a l'evolution de la science. Reduite par les tenants de l'emprisme logique a un ensemble de recherches langagieres deconnectes de la vraie science, elle a ensuite reagi, mais en accentuant son cote sociologique et formel, et en perdant de vue la qpecificite de la science. De leur cote, les etudes d'epistemologie regionale, parfois interessantes en physique malgre une tendance a ressasser les memes sujets. Sont trop souvent en biologie influencees par des a priori philosophiques. Ma position est que ce declin de la philosophie de la science n'est pas ineluctable. Au contraire. Les avancees de la science doivent aider sa philosophie. Ma contribution, dans cette these, sera donc une tentative pour renouer avec une philosophie de la science globale, que nous esperons utile au savant et au philosophe. Elle comportera deux parties: la premiere traite des grands problemes: probabilites (et induction), reductionnisme, determinisle (et liberte), causalite, valeur des theories scientifiques, buts (ultimes) de la connaissance. Etc. . . La deuxieme est composee de chapitres d'application, consacres a des questions importantes des sciences particulieres, et essayant d'en rester tres proches.