Key papers in History and Philosophy of Science
Pofolia’s corpus holds 67 papers from the History and Philosophy of Science subfield (2012–2025). The list below starts with the most cited.
Most cited
Ranked by citation count. Because citations accumulate over time, this list naturally leans towards work published a few years ago; for where the field is now, see “recently added”.
The Logic of Scientific Discovery
2013 · FWCI 4033.50 · 7,809 citations
Karl Popper's "The Logic of Scientific Discovery" introduced the influential doctrine of falsificationism, fundamentally altering how science and knowledge are understood.
Phenomenology of Perception
2013 · FWCI 233.37 · 4,750 citations
This is a new translation of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's seminal 1945 work, "Phénoménologie de la perception," making a landmark of 20th-century thought accessible to a new generation.
Adaptation and Natural Selection: A Critique of Some Current Evolutionary Thought
2018 · FWCI 636.26 · 2,798 citations
This classic 1966 work by Williams delivered a foundational critique against the concept of group selection, strongly advocating for individual-level natural selection as the primary driver of evolution.
Scientific Explanation and the Causal Structure of the World
Princeton University Press eBooks · 2020 · FWCI 81.47 · 2,014 citations
This work proposes a new philosophical theory of scientific explanation, centered on a novel, statistically-aligned treatment of causality, defending a causal/mechanical model.
The Strategy of the Genes
2014 · FWCI 109.66 · 1,962 citations
This seminal 1957 work bridged analytical and theoretical biology, offering a conceptual framework for understanding biological organization, its generative processes, and evolution.
What is this thing called science?
Choice Reviews Online · 2014 · 1,581 citations
This book offers a comprehensive historical and philosophical overview of scientific methodology, tracing the evolution of thought from early empirical observation to modern approaches like falsificationism and Bayesianism.
Diffracting Diffraction: Cutting Together-Apart
Parallax · 2014 · Q1 · FWCI 248.11 · 1,443 citations
This paper introduces 'diffracting diffraction' as a new conceptual and methodological approach for understanding complex phenomena, moving beyond traditional analytical methods.
A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive
2023 · FWCI 248.84 · 1,442 citations
Experiment is presented as a significant extension of observation, allowing researchers to actively create specific variations in circumstances to uncover causal laws, a capability nature rarely provides.
Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research
2016 · FWCI 1359.30 · 1,417 citations
This article debunks five common misconceptions about case-study research, arguing that single-case studies can contribute to scientific development and theory building, not just hypothesis generation.
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Philosophical Psychology · 2013 · Q1 · FWCI 340.63 · 1,410 citations
This paper critiques Jonathan Haidt's "The Righteous Mind," arguing that while his aim to explain political and religious divides through distinct moral views is noble, his key explanations and prescriptions are flawed.
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2013 · FWCI 73.75 · 1,354 citations
Charles Darwin's 1872 monograph systematically studied human and animal facial expressions, challenging prior assumptions that these muscles were unique to humans for expression.
Proofs and Refutations: The Logic of Mathematical Discovery
2015 · FWCI 526.06 · 1,278 citations
Imre Lakatos's "Proofs and Refutations" argues that mathematics grows through a dynamic process of proposing proofs, critiquing them, and improving upon them, rather than being a static collection of truths.
3. Of Mimicry and Man: The Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse
2019 · FWCI 475.32 · 1,218 citations
Colonial discourse, particularly from post-Enlightenment England, is characterized by a "forked tongue" that simultaneously asserts authority and undermines itself through mimicry. This inherent ambivalence is evident in influential texts that attempt to reform colonial subjects.
The Possibility of Naturalism
2013 · FWCI 51.12 · 1,001 citations
This philosophical work, first published in 1979, is a foundational text for critical realism, offering a significant alternative to positivist and post-positivist approaches in philosophy of science and social science.
Evolution in Four Dimensions
The MIT Press eBooks · 2014 · FWCI 77.98 · 986 citations
This book proposes a pluralistic extension to evolutionary theory, arguing that heredity involves four dimensions beyond genes: genetic, epigenetic, behavioral, and symbolic inheritance systems.
Realism and the Aim of Science
2013 · FWCI 42.64 · 916 citations
Karl Popper's "Realism and the Aim of Science" presents his non-justificationist theory of knowledge, asserting that science aims for true explanatory theories but can never definitively prove them true.
Mind and Cosmos
Oxford University Press eBooks · 2012 · FWCI 80.08 · 915 citations
Philosopher Thomas Nagel argues that the dominant scientific worldview of materialist naturalism is inadequate to explain consciousness and other mind-related aspects of reality.
Science and Hypothesis
2024 · FWCI 6.33 · 828 citations · Open access
Henri Poincaré's foundational work, 'Science and Hypothesis,' argues that scientific certainty is not absolute, emphasizing the crucial role of hypotheses as necessary tools for both experimenters and mathematicians.
The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
2018 · FWCI 989.04 · 684 citations
Judea Pearl's work on causality has revolutionized scientific inquiry, moving beyond mere correlation to enable claims about what causes what.
Representation in Cognitive Science
2018 · FWCI 74.33 · 675 citations
This book proposes a novel, pluralistic account of how subpersonal mental representations acquire their content, combining naturalistic resources with insights from teleosemantics.
Recently added
Die Hermeneutik als Allgemeine Methodik der Geisteswissenschaften
Mohr Siebeck eBooks · 2025 · 445 citations
This work presents hermeneutics as the foundational, universal methodology for all humanistic disciplines.
Allgemeine Auslegungslehre als Methodik der Geisteswissenschaften
Mohr Siebeck eBooks · 2025 · FWCI 8.79 · 413 citations
This work presents Emilio Betti's General Theory of Interpretation as a foundational methodology for the humanities, emphasizing its systematic approach to understanding texts and cultural phenomena.
Science and Hypothesis
2024 · FWCI 6.33 · 828 citations · Open access
Henri Poincaré's foundational work, 'Science and Hypothesis,' argues that scientific certainty is not absolute, emphasizing the crucial role of hypotheses as necessary tools for both experimenters and mathematicians.
The Historian's Craft
Manohar Publishers & Distributors eBooks · 2024 · 381 citations
Marc Bloch's "The Historian's Craft" introduces a new approach to history, emphasizing the historian's active role in interpreting the past through critical analysis and comparative methods.
A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive
2023 · FWCI 248.84 · 1,442 citations
Experiment is presented as a significant extension of observation, allowing researchers to actively create specific variations in circumstances to uncover causal laws, a capability nature rarely provides.
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