Scientific Representation

Bas van Fraassen is McCosh Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University (Emeritus after July 2008) and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, San Francisco State University. His research interests straddle philosophical logic and philosophy of science, with special interests in empiricism, (anti-)realism, probability, foundations of relativity and quantum physics, and philosophy of literature. Born in the Netherlands, he studied and taught in Canada and thereafter in the USA; he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and of the Netherlands Royal Academy of Sciences. Though concentrating on philosophy of science he makes occasional forays into philosophy of literature and the connections between art, literature, and science.

Although... Scientific Representation began life as a series of lectures, it is far more than that. Indeed, I regard it as the true successor to The Scientific Image, an even more mature exposition of an empiricist philosophy of science for a philosophical audience much broader than technical philosophers of science. It is a book rich in historical and contemporary insights which makes even greater breaks with the past than its influential predecessor. And the ever elegant style makes it a joy to read.

• PART ONE: REPRESENTATION; PART TWO. WINDOWS, ENGINES, AND MEASUREMENT; PART THREE. STRUCTURE AND PERSPECTIVE; PART FOUR. APPEARANCE AND REALITY