On the Metaphysics of Experimental Physics

KARL ROGERS studied physics and philosophy at Lancaster University. He received his PhD in the philosophy of science from the University of Bath. He is a Research Fellow in Science Studies at Bath and is currently a visiting lecturer in Buenos Aries, where he lives with his wife and son.

• PART 1: ENTERING THE CAVE OF THE SHADOW PUPPETEERS The Cave of the Shadow Puppeteers How are Science and Technology Related? Technology, Knowledge and Truth PART 2: THE SPIRIT OF THE ENTERPRISE Bhaskar's Realist Theory of Science The Inadequacy of Empirical Adequacy Bhaskar's Transcendental Argument PART 3: THE MATHEMATICAL PROJECTION OF SIX SIMPLE MACHINES Galileo and the Mathematical Projection of the Six Simple Machines Mechanical Realism and the Mechanical World-View PART 4: THE 'MAKING' OF THE GROUND PLAN OF NATURE Setting-up the Ground Plan Construals, Technographe, Exoframing and Mathematial Practices 'Making' the Ground Plan of Nature The Theory of the Real PART 5: THE ANVIL OF PRACTICE AND THE ART OF EXPERIMENTATION Models, Metaphors and Machine Performances The Technological Framework of Experimental Physics Technology, Truth and Experimental Physics PART 6: WHAT ENABLES US TO BUILD MACHINES? Whence the Resistance? What Enables Us to Build Machines? Leaving the Cave of the Shadow Puppeteers Notes and References Index