The Rise of Science and the Philosophy of Science

Abstract The nineteenth century saw rapid and substantial scientific advance, many of which introduced fundamental shifts in our conception of reality, and the chapter begins by considering two such cases of John Dalton and Michael Faraday. Given the substantial growth in scientific discovery and in the development of its methodology, it is hardly surprising that, as the century progressed, all this should issue in a new focus on philosophy of science. This reached its high point in the debate between William Whewell and John Stuart Mill. In order to examine this pivotal episode, the chapter looks first at the conceptions of science favoured by these two philosophers individually, before exploring more closely the points of difference between them and, finally, noting Herbert Spencer’s contribution to the dispute. The chapter concludes with an exploration of the evolution of ideas concerning life on other planets.