Natural Kinds And Conceptual Change

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Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change

Joseph LaPorte
Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change Book PDF

Author : Joseph LaPorte
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2003-12-08
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781107320406

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Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change by Joseph LaPorte Pdf

According to the received tradition, the language used to to refer to natural kinds in scientific discourse remains stable even as theories about these kinds are refined. In this illuminating book, Joseph LaPorte argues that scientists do not discover that sentences about natural kinds, like 'Whales are mammals, not fish', are true rather than false. Instead, scientists find that these sentences were vague in the language of earlier speakers and they refine the meanings of the relevant natural-kind terms to make the sentences true. Hence, scientists change the meaning of these terms, This conclusions prompts LaPorte to examine the consequences of this change in meaning for the issue of incommensurability and for the progress of science. This book will appeal to students and professional in the philosophy of science, the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of language.

The Semantics and Metaphysics of Natural Kinds

Helen Beebee,Nigel Sabbarton-Leary
The Semantics and Metaphysics of Natural Kinds Book PDF

Author : Helen Beebee,Nigel Sabbarton-Leary
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 509 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2010-05-05
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781136975769

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The Semantics and Metaphysics of Natural Kinds by Helen Beebee,Nigel Sabbarton-Leary Pdf

Essentialism--roughly, the view that natural kinds have discrete essences, generating truths that are necessary but knowable only a posteriori--is an increasingly popular view in the metaphysics of science. At the same time, philosophers of language have been subjecting Kripke’s views about the existence and scope of the necessary a posteriori to rigorous analysis and criticism. Essentialists typically appeal to Kripkean semantics to motivate their radical extension of the realm of the necessary a posteriori; but they rarely attempt to provide any semantic arguments for this extension, or engage with the critical work being done by philosophers of language. This collection brings authors on both sides together in one volume, thus helping the reader to see the connections between views in philosophy of language on the one hand and the metaphysics of science on the other. The result is a book that will have a significant impact on the debate about essentialism, encouraging essentialists to engage with debates about the semantic presuppositions that underpin their position, and, encouraging philosophers of language to engage with the metaphysical presuppositions enshrined in Kripkean semantics.

Concepts, Kinds, and Cognitive Development

Frank C. Keil
Concepts Kinds and Cognitive Development Book PDF

Author : Frank C. Keil
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 1992-01-30
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 0262610760

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Concepts, Kinds, and Cognitive Development by Frank C. Keil Pdf

In Concepts, Kinds, and Cognitive Development, Frank C. Keil provides a coherent account of how concepts and word meanings develop in children, adding to our understanding of the representational nature of concepts and word meanings at all ages. Keil argues that it is impossible to adequately understand the nature of conceptual representation without also considering the issue of learning. Weaving together issues in cognitive development, philosophy, and cognitive psychology, he reconciles numerous theories, backed by empirical evidence from nominal kinds studies, natural-kinds studies, and studies of fundamental categorical distinctions. He shows that all this evidence, when put together, leads to a better understanding of semantic and conceptual development. The book opens with an analysis of the problems of modeling qualitative changes in conceptual development, investigating how concepts of natural kinds, nominal kinds, and artifacts evolve. The studies on nominal kinds document a powerful and unambiguous developmental pattern indicating a shift from a reliance on global tabulations of characteristic features to what appears to be a small set of defining ones. The studies on natural kinds document an analogous shift toward a core theory instead of simple definition. Both sets of studies are strongly supported by cross cultural data. While these patterns seem to suggest that the young child organizes concepts according to characteristic features, Keil argues that there is a framework of conceptual categories and causal beliefs that enables even very young children to understand kinds at a deeper, theoretically guided, level. This account suggests a new way of understanding qualitative change and carries strong implications for how concepts are represented at any point in development. A Bradford Book

Conceptual Change

G.A. Pearce,P. Maynard
Conceptual Change Book PDF

Author : G.A. Pearce,P. Maynard
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 297 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789401025485

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Conceptual Change by G.A. Pearce,P. Maynard Pdf

During Hallowe'en of 1970, the Department of Philosophy of the Univer sity of Western Ontario held its annual fall colloquium at London, On tario. The general topic of the sessions that year was conceptual change. The thirteen papers composing this volume stem more or less directly from those meetings; six of them are printed here virtually as delivered, while the remaining seven were subsequently written by invitation. The programme of the colloquium was to have consisted of major papers delivered by Professors Wilfrid Sellars, Stephan Korner, Paul Ziff and Hilary Putnam, with shorter commentary thereupon by Professors Robert Binkley, Joseph Ullian, Jerry Fodor and Robert Barrett, respec tively. And that is the way it happened, with one important exception: at the eleventh hour, Sellars and Binkley exchanged roles. This gave Binkley the rather unusual and challenging task of providing a suitable Sellarsian answer to a question not of his own asking - for Binkley's paper was written under Sellars' original title. Sellars' own contribution to the vo lume is perhaps more nearly what he would have presented as main speaker than a direct response to Binkley. However, it has seemed best, on balance, to attempt no further stylistic accommodation of the one paper to the other; their mutual philosophical relevance will be evident in any case. The editors would here like to extend special thanks to both Sellars and Binkley for their extraordinary efforts under the circumstances.

Understanding Evolution

Kostas Kampourakis
Understanding Evolution Book PDF

Author : Kostas Kampourakis
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 275 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2014-04-03
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781107034914

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Understanding Evolution by Kostas Kampourakis Pdf

Bringing together conceptual obstacles and core concepts of evolutionary theory, this book presents evolution as straightforward and intuitive.

Converging Perspectives on Conceptual Change

Tamer G. Amin,Olivia Levrini
Converging Perspectives on Conceptual Change Book PDF

Author : Tamer G. Amin,Olivia Levrini
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 474 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2017-11-13
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781315467115

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Converging Perspectives on Conceptual Change by Tamer G. Amin,Olivia Levrini Pdf

Conceptual change, how conceptual understanding is transformed, has been investigated extensively since the 1970s. The field has now grown into a multifaceted, interdisciplinary effort with strands of research in cognitive and developmental psychology, education, educational psychology, and the learning sciences. Converging Perspectives on Conceptual Change brings together an extensive team of expert contributors from around the world, and offers a unique examination of how distinct lines of inquiry can complement each other and have converged over time. Amin and Levrini adopt a new approach to assembling the diverse research on conceptual change: the combination of short position pieces with extended synthesis chapters within each section, as well as an overall synthesis chapter at the end of the volume, provide a coherent and comprehensive perspective on conceptual change research. Arranged over five parts, the book covers a number of topics including: the nature of concepts and conceptual change representation, language, and discourse in conceptual change modeling, explanation, and argumentation in conceptual change metacognition and epistemology in conceptual change identity and conceptual change. Throughout this wide-ranging volume, the editors present researchers and practitioners with a more internally consistent picture of conceptual change by exploring convergence and complementarity across perspectives. By mapping features of an emerging paradigm, they challenge newcomers and established scholars alike to embrace a more programmatic orientation towards conceptual change.

Natural Kinds and Classification in Scientific Practice

Catherine Kendig
Natural Kinds and Classification in Scientific Practice Book PDF

Author : Catherine Kendig
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 268 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2015-12-22
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781317215431

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Natural Kinds and Classification in Scientific Practice by Catherine Kendig Pdf

This edited volume of 13 new essays aims to turn past discussions of natural kinds on their head. Instead of presenting a metaphysical view of kinds based largely on an unempirical vantage point, it pursues questions of kindedness which take the use of kinds and activities of kinding in practice as significant in the articulation of them as kinds. The book brings philosophical study of current and historical episodes and case studies from various scientific disciplines to bear on natural kinds as traditionally conceived of within metaphysics. Focusing on these practices reveals the different knowledge-producing activities of kinding and processes involved in natural kind use, generation, and discovery. Specialists in their field, the esteemed group of contributors use diverse empirically responsive approaches to explore the nature of kindhood. This groundbreaking volume presents detailed case studies that exemplify kinding in use. Newly written for this volume, each chapter engages with the activities of kinding across a variety of disciplines. Chapter topics include the nature of kinds, kindhood, kinding, and kind-making in linguistics, chemical classification, neuroscience, gene and protein classification, colour theory in applied mathematics, homology in comparative biology, sex and gender identity theory, memory research, race, extended cognition, symbolic algebra, cartography, and geographic information science. The volume seeks to open up an as-yet unexplored area within the emerging field of philosophy of science in practice, and constitutes a valuable addition to the disciplines of philosophy and history of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Elucidating Law

Julie Dickson,Professor of Legal Philosophy University of Oxford Julie Dickson
Elucidating Law Book PDF

Author : Julie Dickson,Professor of Legal Philosophy University of Oxford Julie Dickson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2022-05-12
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780198727767

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Elucidating Law by Julie Dickson,Professor of Legal Philosophy University of Oxford Julie Dickson Pdf

What are the aims of legal philosophy? Which questions should it seek to address? How should legal philosophers approach and engage with their subject-matter, and what constraints are incumbent on them as they do so? What are the criteria of success of theories of law, and how do we know if they have been met? Can there be progress in legal philosophy? In Elucidating Law, Julie Dickson addresses these and other questions concerning the methodology, or the philosophy, of legal philosophy and offers her own distinctive response to them. The book advocates that legal philosophers should espouse an approach that Dickson terms 'Indirectly Evaluative Legal Philosophy.' This distinctive approach can facilitate legal philosophers' understanding of aspects of the nature of law, whilst avoiding prematurely or inappropriately regarding law as inherently morally valuable. Law is a powerful, systemic, and institutionalized social tool. It should be understood in a manner appropriate to its character.

Natural Categories and Human Kinds

Muhammad Ali Khalidi
Natural Categories and Human Kinds Book PDF

Author : Muhammad Ali Khalidi
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 267 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2013-05-16
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781107244597

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Natural Categories and Human Kinds by Muhammad Ali Khalidi Pdf

The notion of 'natural kinds' has been central to contemporary discussions of metaphysics and philosophy of science. Although explicitly articulated by nineteenth-century philosophers like Mill, Whewell and Venn, it has a much older history dating back to Plato and Aristotle. In recent years, essentialism has been the dominant account of natural kinds among philosophers, but the essentialist view has encountered resistance, especially among naturalist metaphysicians and philosophers of science. Informed by detailed examination of classification in the natural and social sciences, this book argues against essentialism and for a naturalist account of natural kinds. By looking at case studies drawn from diverse scientific disciplines, from fluid mechanics to virology and polymer science to psychiatry, the author argues that natural kinds are nodes in causal networks. On the basis of this account, he maintains that there can be natural kinds in the social sciences as well as the natural sciences.

Probabilities, Laws, and Structures

Dennis Dieks,Wenceslao J. Gonzalez,Stephan Hartmann,Michael Stöltzner,Marcel Weber
Probabilities Laws and Structures Book PDF

Author : Dennis Dieks,Wenceslao J. Gonzalez,Stephan Hartmann,Michael Stöltzner,Marcel Weber
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 505 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2012-02-02
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789400730304

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Probabilities, Laws, and Structures by Dennis Dieks,Wenceslao J. Gonzalez,Stephan Hartmann,Michael Stöltzner,Marcel Weber Pdf

This volume, the third in this Springer series, contains selected papers from the four workshops organized by the ESF Research Networking Programme "The Philosophy of Science in a European Perspective" (PSE) in 2010: Pluralism in the Foundations of Statistics Points of Contact between the Philosophy of Physics and the Philosophy of Biology The Debate on Mathematical Modeling in the Social Sciences Historical Debates about Logic, Probability and Statistics The volume is accordingly divided in four sections, each of them containing papers coming from the workshop focussing on one of these themes. While the programme's core topic for the year 2010 was probability and statistics, the organizers of the workshops embraced the opportunity of building bridges to more or less closely connected issues in general philosophy of science, philosophy of physics and philosophy of the special sciences. However, papers that analyze the concept of probability for various philosophical purposes are clearly a major theme in this volume, as it was in the previous volumes of the same series. This reflects the impressive productivity of probabilistic approaches in the philosophy of science, which form an important part of what has become known as formal epistemology - although, of course, there are non-probabilistic approaches in formal epistemology as well. It is probably fair to say that Europe has been particularly strong in this area of philosophy in recent years.​

Conceptual and Ethical Challenges of Evolutionary Medicine

Ozan Altinok
Conceptual and Ethical Challenges of Evolutionary Medicine Book PDF

Author : Ozan Altinok
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 197 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2023-12-13
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9783031457661

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Conceptual and Ethical Challenges of Evolutionary Medicine by Ozan Altinok Pdf

This book analyses the concept of disease, as defined in the context of evolutionary medicine. Upon introducing the reader to evolutionary medicine in its current form and describing its approach to disease instances, the book leverages thoughts and instruments of knowledge of epistemology, social sciences, and ethics to answer the question: “How can we build a timely and appropriate concept of disease?” At first, it looks at the social concerns of medicalization, for example focusing on the suffering of people who have not been diagnosed, or whose suffering is not caused by certain elements that falls under the definitions of disease. In turn, it merges different, both conceptual and empirical considerations in one comprehensive analysis, with the aim of fostering a multidisciplinary understanding of the phenomenon of disease. This book also highlights certain kinds of epistemic injustices that are taking place in the healthcare system, as this is currently conceived in post-industrial societies, thus offering a timely contribution to the current debate around social justice in healthcare.

EPSA11 Perspectives and Foundational Problems in Philosophy of Science

Vassilios Karakostas,Dennis Dieks
EPSA11 Perspectives and Foundational Problems in Philosophy of Science Book PDF

Author : Vassilios Karakostas,Dennis Dieks
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 489 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2013-12-16
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783319013060

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EPSA11 Perspectives and Foundational Problems in Philosophy of Science by Vassilios Karakostas,Dennis Dieks Pdf

This book contains a selection of original conference papers covering all major fields in the philosophy of science, that have been organized into themes. The first section of this volume begins with the formal philosophy of science, moves on to idealization, representation and explanation and then finishes with realism, anti-realism and special science laws. The second section covers the philosophy of the physical sciences, looking at quantum mechanics, spontaneous symmetry breaking, the philosophy of space and time, linking physics and metaphysics and the philosophy of chemistry. Further themed sections cover the philosophies of the life sciences, the cognitive sciences and the social sciences. Readers will find that this volume provides an excellent overview of the state of the art in the philosophy of science, as practiced in different European countries. ​

Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science: EPSA13 Helsinki

Uskali Mäki,Ioannis Votsis,Stéphanie Ruphy,Gerhard Schurz
Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science EPSA13 Helsinki Book PDF

Author : Uskali Mäki,Ioannis Votsis,Stéphanie Ruphy,Gerhard Schurz
Publisher : Springer
Page : 391 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2015-09-09
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783319230153

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Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science: EPSA13 Helsinki by Uskali Mäki,Ioannis Votsis,Stéphanie Ruphy,Gerhard Schurz Pdf

This volume showcases the best of recent research in the philosophy of science. A compilation of papers presented at the EPSA 13, it explores a broad distribution of topics such as causation, truthlikeness, scientific representation, gender-specific medicine, laws of nature, science funding and the wisdom of crowds. Papers are organised into headings which form the structure of the book. Readers will find that it covers several major fields within the philosophy of science, from general philosophy of science to the more specific philosophy of physics, philosophy of chemistry, philosophy of the life sciences, philosophy of psychology, and philosophy of the social sciences and humanities, amongst others. This volume provides an excellent overview of the state of the art in the philosophy of science, as practiced in different European countries and beyond. ​It will appeal to researchers with an interest in the philosophical underpinnings of their own discipline, and to philosophers who wish to explore the latest work on the themes explored.

Conceptual Flux

M. Perlman
Conceptual Flux Book PDF

Author : M. Perlman
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 452 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2013-04-17
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9789401594622

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Conceptual Flux by M. Perlman Pdf

How can one think about a thing, think something false about it, and still be thinking about that thing at all? If a concept is applied to something outside its meaning, how are we to say it does not mean that thing as well? The problem of misrepresentation is one of the central issues in contemporary philosophy of mind. Here, Mark Perlman criticizes the way all contemporary theories of mental representation seek to account for misrepresentation, concluding that it cannot be explained naturistically. Specifically, Perlman evaluates and criticizes the theories of mental content proposed by Fodor, Dretske, Millikan, Block, Harman and others, as well as examining verificationist approaches to meaning of Quine, Davidson and Stich. The book goes much further than criticism, however: Perlman formulates a naturalistic theory of representation that reluctantly accepts the unfortunate conclusion that there is no misrepresentation. He adds a pragmatic theory of content, which explains apparent misrepresentation as concept change. Mental representations can be good or bad in specific contexts and for specific purposes, but their correctness is not a matter of truth and falsity. The pragmatic approach to mental content has implications for epistemology, theories of truth, metaphysics, psychology, and AI (specifically connectionist networks). Readership: One of the most thorough examinations of mental representation and meaning holism available, this book should be read by everyone interested in the mind and how ideas can have meaning. It crosses boundaries from philosophy into psychology, linguistics, AI and cognitive science.

Philosophy of Chemistry

Andrea Woody,Robin Findlay Hendry,Paul Needham
Philosophy of Chemistry Book PDF

Author : Andrea Woody,Robin Findlay Hendry,Paul Needham
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 561 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9780444516756

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Philosophy of Chemistry by Andrea Woody,Robin Findlay Hendry,Paul Needham Pdf

Philosophy of Chemistry investigates the foundational concepts and methods of chemistry, the science of the nature of substances and their transformations. This groundbreaking collection, the most thorough treatment of the philosophy of chemistry ever published, brings together philosophers, scientists and historians to map out the central topics in the field. The 33 articles address the history of the philosophy of chemistry and the philosophical importance of some central figures in the history of chemistry; the nature of chemical substances; central chemical concepts and methods, including the chemical bond, the periodic table and reaction mechanisms; and chemistry's relationship to other disciplines such as physics, molecular biology, pharmacy and chemical engineering. This volume serves as a detailed introduction for those new to the field as well as a rich source of new insights and potential research agendas for those already engaged with the philosophy of chemistry. Provides a bridge between philosophy and current scientific findings Encourages multi-disciplinary dialogue Covers theory and applications