Chris Haufe is the Elizabeth M. and William C. Treuhaft Professor of the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University. He works on problems in the history and philosophy of knowledge.

"Chris Haufe has written a very important book about potential fertility, one of the most significant virtues that a scientific theory can possess. A new theory can merit serious attention, despite having severe problems and few accomplishments, because it shows great promise. But how can its promise reasonably be judged? Drawing on a wealth of historical case-studies, Haufe explains how a new theory can provide open-ended tools and apt metaphors for generating solvable problems. Written in a delightfully wry, irreverent style, Haufe's book will prove enormously fruitful."

• 1. In Pursuit Of The Fruit 2. The Puzzle Of Promise 3. The Perception Of Promise 4. The Emergence Of Exemplars 5. Framing Fruitfulness 6. Fruitful Classification 7. The Aptness Alternative 8. Aptness And The Causal Role Of Epistemic Virtues Wrap-Up: Close Shave? References Index

Chris Haufe is the Elizabeth M. and William C. Treuhaft Professor of the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University. He works on problems in the history and philosophy of knowledge.

"Chris Haufe has written a very important book about potential fertility, one of the most significant virtues that a scientific theory can possess. A new theory can merit serious attention, despite having severe problems and few accomplishments, because it shows great promise. But how can its promise reasonably be judged? Drawing on a wealth of historical case-studies, Haufe explains how a new theory can provide open-ended tools and apt metaphors for generating solvable problems. Written in a delightfully wry, irreverent style, Haufe's book will prove enormously fruitful."

• 1. In Pursuit Of The Fruit 2. The Puzzle Of Promise 3. The Perception Of Promise 4. The Emergence Of Exemplars 5. Framing Fruitfulness 6. Fruitful Classification 7. The Aptness Alternative 8. Aptness And The Causal Role Of Epistemic Virtues Wrap-Up: Close Shave? References Index