Perception and discovery

Norwood Russell Hanson ranks among the most significant philosophers of science of the decades after the Second World War. Drawing on Wittgenstein's approach of ordinary language philosophy, he examined the concepts that science relies on, and his work on observation, discovery, and the way scientific facts are shaped by theory still anchors the field. Colleagues also remembered him for his wit and warmth, qualities that show clearly throughout this book.

First published in 1969 and issued after Hanson's death, the book serves as his textbook in the philosophy of science. Its central argument is that philosophy is essential to how scientists think. It contains Hanson's fullest and most mature statement on theory-laden observation, along with an exploration of the boundaries between concepts and logic and a close study of the epistemology behind scientific research and reasoning.

The book is aimed mainly at scholars of the philosophy of science, especially those interested in Hanson's own ideas and in how the discipline developed in the middle of the twentieth century. Yet it remains valuable for any reader curious about science, roughly fifty years after Hanson's early death.