How We Got From There To Here

This book is an introductory real analysis textbook, presented through the lens of history. That is, it proposes that an effective way to motivate the highly non-intuitve definitions and theorems encountered in an introductory, college level Real Analysis course is via one of the stories (there are many) of the historical development of the subject, from its intuitive beginnings to modern rigor. The definitions and techniques are motivated by the actual difficulties encountered by the intuitive approach and are presented in their historical context.

A little girl and her family have just moved across the country by train. Their new neighborhood in the city of Toronto is very different from their home in the Saskatchewan bush, and at first everything about “there” seems better than “here.” The little girl’s dad has just finished building a dam across the Saskatchewan River, and his new project is to build a highway through Toronto. In Saskatchewan, he would come home for lunch every day, but now he doesn’t come until supper. The family used to love to look at the stars, and the northern lights dancing in the night sky. But in the city, all they can see is the glare from the streetlights. All the kids used to run and play together, but now older brother Doug has his own friends. Then one day there is a knock on the door. It is Anne, who lives kitty-corner and is also eight, going on nine, and suddenly living in Toronto takes on a whole new light. Laurel Croza and Matt James have beautifully captured the voice and intense feelings of a young child who, in the midst of upheaval, finds hope in her new surroundings.

For over two decades Wesley Salmon has helped to shape the course of debate in philosophy of science. He is a major contributor to the philosophical discussion of problems associated with causality and the author of two influential books on scientific explanation. This long-awaited volume collects twenty- six of Salmon's essays, including seven that have never before been published and others difficult to find. Part I comprises five introductory essays that presuppose no formal training in philosophy of science and form a background for subsequent essays. Parts II and III contain Salmon's seminal work on scientific explanation and causality. Part IV offers survey articles that feature advanced material but remain accessible to those outside philosophy of science. Essays in Part V address specific issues in particular scientific disciplines, namely, archaeology and anthropology, astrophysics and cosmology, and physics. Clear, compelling, and essential, this volume offers a superb introduction to philosophy of science for nonspecialists and belongs on the bookshelf of all who carry out work in this exciting field. Wesley Salmon is renowned for his seminal contributions to the philosophy of science. He has powerfully and permanently shaped discussion of such issues as lawlike and probabilistic explanation and the interrelation of explanatory notions to causal notions. This unique volume brings together twenty-six of his essays on subjects related to causality and explanation, written over the period 1971-1995. Six of the essays have never been published before and many others have only appeared in obscure venues. The volume includes a section of accessible introductory pieces, as well as more advanced and technical pieces, and will make essential work in the philosophy of science readily available to both scholars and students.

The stories he tells here were written at random over a period of several months, appearing as layers peeled off a consciousness onion, never knowing which ones would "arise" next. Eventually they were arranged into a chronology which resulted in a rather unusual autobiographical form. Each story is complete and essentially stands alone, yet together all blend into one encompassing and distinct story. As new stories continue to take shape, and more old ones emerge from the onion, these may serve the possibility for future stories. The acclaim Rock's stories have begun to receive is evidenced by one having already been selected for reading over National Public Radio, June past of this year within only one week of submittal the Striped Pen story.

The novel is a semi-fictionalized roman a clef in which the author describes in great detail, and through the eyes of others, his protagonist, Peter Wyse. The almost 70-year storyline begins in 1937 and ends in 2005, with the scene shifting from New York to Oklahoma, on to West Virginia, and then to Houston and Harris County, Texas. Peter's story starts with his childhood (and a brutal rape), continuing through his school years and into college, where he meets his true love, Sarah. Letters between the lovers tell of their courtship and engagement. An unintended pregnancy threatens Peter's medical school career, while severe depression challenges his marriage and results in a suicide attempt. Along the way, Peter and Sarah raise four children and share many happy memories. Each chapter tells a fascinating story, until deceit, betrayal, and infidelity culminate in divorce. A thorough vetting of the legal process adds fury to the situation. The tragic deaths of Peter's two medical partners, life post-divorce and through remarriage are all explored. From There to Here is not all serious, however. As in life, there is humor, pathos and discovery, and the book ends with a truly surprising conclusion.

Within a split second, life can change forever. The comforts, conveniences, and relationships we take for granted can be lost without warning. Trauma comes to us all at some point in our lives, whether as a sudden shift or a slow erosion of trust, but God’s plan for our lives—our divine destiny—will stand firm. We can be victorious through trauma and come out on the other side more whole and complete than ever before. With God leading us, trauma isn’t the end of our story … it’s just the beginning!

Scientific Explanation was first published in 1962. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. Is a new consensus emerging in the philosophy of science? The nine distinguished contributors to this volume apply that question to the realm of scientific explanation and, although their conclusions vary, they agree in one respect: there definitely was an old consensus. Co-editor Wesley Salmon's opening essay, "Four Decades of Scientific Explanation," grounds the entire discussion. His point of departure is the founding document of the old consensus: a 1948 paper by Carl G. Hempel and Paul Oppenheim, "Studies in the Logic of Explanation," that set forth, with remarkable clarity, a mode of argument that came to be known as the deductive-nomological model. This approach, holding that explanation dies not move beyond the sphere of empirical knowledge, remained dominant during the hegemony of logical empiricism from 1950 to 1975. Salmon traces in detail the rise and breakup of the old consensus, and examines the degree to which there is, if not a new consensus, at least a kind of reconciliation on this issue among contemporary philosophers of science and clear agreement that science can indeed tell us why. The other contributors, in the order of their presentations, are: Peter Railton, Matti Sintonen, Paul W. Humphreys, David Papineau, Nancy Cartwright, James Woodward, Merrilee H. Salmon, and Philip Kitcher.