One new to the history and philosophy of science might reasonably wonder whether philosophy has anything substantive to do with science (§1).

In this introductory essay, we will have a chance to explore a number of examples from science, and in each case we will find that it does not take long to uncover difficult and substantive philosophical issues. In many cases, these philosophical issues directly affect the day-to-day workings of science, such as confirmation, falsification, realism/instrumentalism, and underdetermination (§2). In other cases, the questions are more inherently philosophical in nature, such as scientific explanation, laws of nature, and inductive reasoning (§3). This essay provides an introduction to these topics, laying foundations for discussions that will recur through­out the volume.

1.