Relativism And Realism In Science

Author : R. Nola
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 301 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789400928770

Get Book

Relativism and Realism in Science by R. Nola Pdf

The institutionalization of History and Philosophy of Science as a distinct field of scholarly endeavour began comparatively earl- though not always under that name - in the Australasian region. An initial lecturing appointment was made at the University of Melbourne immediately after the Second World War, in 1946, and other appoint ments followed as the subject underwent an expansion during the 1950s and 1960s similar to that which took place in other parts of the world. Today there are major Departments at the University of Melbourne, the University of New South Wales and the University of Wollongong, and smaller groups active in many other parts of Australia and in New Zealand. "Australasian Studies in History and Philosophy of Science" aims to provide a distinctive publication outlet for Australian and New Zealand scholars working in the general area of history, philosophy and social studies of science. Each volume comprises a group of essays on a connected theme, edited by an Australian or a New Zealander with special expertise in that particular area. Papers address general issues, however, rather than local ones; parochial topics are avoided. Further more, though in each volume a majority of the contributors is from Australia or New Zealand, contributions from elsewhere are by no means ruled out. Quite the reverse, in fact - they are actively encour aged wherever appropriate to the balance of the volume in question.

Author : R Nola
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 1988-07-31
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9400928785

Get Book

Relativism and Realism in Science by R Nola Pdf

Author : Ilkka Niiniluoto
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 1999-12-09
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191519406

Get Book

Critical Scientific Realism by Ilkka Niiniluoto Pdf

Ilkka Niiniluoto comes to the rescue of scientific realism, showing that reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. Philosophical realism holds that the aim of a particular discourse is to make true statements about its subject-matter. Niiniluoto surveys the different varieties of realism in ontology, semantics, epistemology, theory construction, and methodology. He then sets out his own original version, and defends it against competing theories in the philosophy of science. Niiniluoto's critical scientific realism is founded upon the notion of truth as correspondence between language and reality, and characterizes scientific progress in terms of increasing truthlikeness. This makes it possible not only to take seriously, but also to make precise, the troublesome idea that scientific theories typically are false but nevertheless close to the truth.

Author : Robert Kirk
Publisher : Psychology Press
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Realism
ISBN : 0415208165

Get Book

Relativism and Reality by Robert Kirk Pdf

Is reality independent of our thinking, or does it depend on our point of view? Robert Kirk provides a clear account of this debate from the Greek philosophers to Wittgenstein and Rorty.

Author : N. Rescher
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789400939059

Get Book

Scientific Realism by N. Rescher Pdf

The increasingly lively controversy over scientific realism has become one of the principal themes of recent philosophy. 1 In watching this controversy unfold in the rather technical way currently in vogue, it has seemed to me that it would be useful to view these contemporary disputes against the background of such older epistemological issues as fallibilism, scepticism, relativism, and the traditional realism/idealism debate. This, then, is the object of the present book, which will recon sider the newer concerns about scientific realism in the context of these older philosophical themes. Historically, realism concerns itself with the real existence of things that do not "meet the eye" - with suprasensible entities that lie beyond the reach of human perception. In medieval times, discussions about realism focused upon universals. Recognizing that there are physical objects such as cats and triangular objects and red tomatoes, the medievels debated whether such "abstract objects" as cathood and triangularity and redness also exist by way of having a reality indepen dent of the concretely real things that exhibit them. Three fundamen tally different positions were defended: (1) Nominalism. Abstracta have no independent existence as such: they only "exist" in and through the objects that exhibit them. Only particulars (individual substances) exist. Abstract "objects" are existents in name only, mere thought fictions by whose means we address concrete particular things. (2) Realism. Abstracta have an independent existence as such.

Author : Larry Laudan
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 196 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2012-08-06
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780226219332

Get Book

Science and Relativism by Larry Laudan Pdf

In recent years, many members of the intellectual community have embraced a radical relativism regarding knowledge in general and scientific knowledge in particular, holding that Kuhn, Quine, and Feyerabend have knocked the traditional picture of scientific knowledge into a cocked hat. Is philosophy of science, or mistaken impressions of it, responsible for the rise of relativism? In this book, Laudan offers a trenchant, wide-ranging critique of cognitive relativism and a thorough introduction to major issues in the philosophy of knowledge.

Author : Dominik Finkelde,Paul M. Livingston
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 332 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2020-05-05
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783110666915

Get Book

Idealism, Relativism, and Realism by Dominik Finkelde,Paul M. Livingston Pdf

Several debates of the last years within the research field of contemporary realism – known under titles such as "New Realism," "Continental Realism," or "Speculative Materialism" – have shown that science is not systematically the ultimate measure of truth and reality. This does not mean that we should abandon the notions of truth or objectivity all together, as has been posited repeatedly within certain currents of twentieth century philosophy. However, within the research field of contemporary realism, the concept of objectivity itself has not been adequately refined. What is objective is supposed to be true outside a subject’s biases, interpretations and opinions, having truth conditions that are met by the way the world is. The volume combines articles of internationally outstanding authors who have published on either Idealism, Epistemic Relativism, or Realism and often locate themselves within one of these divergent schools of thought. As such, the volume focuses on these traditions with the aim of clarifying what the concept objectivity nowadays stands for within contemporary ontology and epistemology beyond the analytic-continental divide. With articles from: Jocelyn Benoist, Ray Brassier, G. Anthony Bruno, Dominik Finkelde, Markus Gabriel, Deborah Goldgaber, Iain Hamilton Grant, Graham Harman, Johannes Hübner, Andrea Kern, Anton F. Koch, Martin Kusch, Paul M. Livingston, Paul Redding, Sebastian Rödl, Dieter Sturma.

Author : Juha Saatsi
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 907 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2017-11-22
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781351362900

Get Book

The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism by Juha Saatsi Pdf

Scientific realism is a central, long-standing, and hotly debated topic in philosophy of science. Debates about scientific realism concern the very nature and extent of scientific knowledge and progress. Scientific realists defend a positive epistemic attitude towards our best theories and models regarding how they represent the world that is unobservable to our naked senses. Various realist theses are under sceptical fire from scientific antirealists, e.g. empiricists and instrumentalists. The different dimensions of the ensuing debate centrally connect to numerous other topics in philosophy of science and beyond. The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism is an outstanding reference source – the first collection of its kind – to the key issues, positions, and arguments in this important topic. Its thirty-four chapters, written by a team of international experts, are divided into five parts: Historical development of the realist stance Classic debate: core issues and positions Perspectives on contemporary debates The realism debate in disciplinary context Broader reflections In these sections, the core issues and debates presented, analysed, and set into broader historical and disciplinary contexts. The central issues covered include motivations and arguments for realism; challenges to realism from underdetermination and history of science; different variants of realism; the connection of realism to relativism and perspectivism; and the relationship between realism, metaphysics, and epistemology. The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of science. It will also be very useful for anyone interested in the nature and extent of scientific knowledge.

Author : Larry Laudan
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 194 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 1990-08-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780226469492

Get Book

Science and Relativism by Larry Laudan Pdf

In recent years, many members of the intellectual community have embraced a radical relativism regarding knowledge in general and scientific knowledge in particular, holding that Kuhn, Quine, and Feyerabend have knocked the traditional picture of scientific knowledge into a cocked hat. Is philosophy of science, or mistaken impressions of it, responsible for the rise of relativism? In this book, Laudan offers a trenchant, wide-ranging critique of cognitive relativism and a thorough introduction to major issues in the philosophy of knowledge.

Author : Howard Sankey
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2018-12-24
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780429776113

Get Book

Rationality, Relativism and Incommensurability by Howard Sankey Pdf

First published in 1997, this volume brings together a series of essays on the philosophy of science and responds to the "crisis of rationality" which evolved from the denial of both a stable methodology and a common language for science. Howard Sankey holds that important insights about scientific methodology and rationality may be gleaned from the historical approach, from which the existence of profound conceptual change in science, as well as the absence of a neutral observation language, are important findings. Half of Sankey’s essays concentrate specifically on the thesis that alternative scientific theories are incommensurable due to semantic differences between the vocabulary in which they are expressed. Several others seek to derive a new way of thinking about scientific rationality from the historical critique of the idea of a fixed scientific method. Still others demonstrate how some seemingly relativistic themes of the historical approach may be embraced in a non-relativistic manner within the context of a pluralistic and naturalistic theory of scientific methodology and rationality.

Author : Edward Pols
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 1992
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 080142710X

Get Book

Radical Realism by Edward Pols Pdf

In this eloquent and original book, Edward Pols challenges the linguistic consensus that has dominated Anglo-American philosophy in this century. Against the consensus assumption that the only reality question is about the relation between language and the real, he argues that philosophy is about the world and not merely about the propositional structures we use to interpret the world. The heart of his "radical realism" is that the relation between the knower and the real is prior to the relation between language and the real, and that in this prior relation we are capable of knowing directly a reality independent of the human mind.

Author : Martin Kusch
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 154 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2021-01-28
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781108981378

Get Book

Relativism in the Philosophy of Science by Martin Kusch Pdf

'Relativism versus absolutism' is one of the fundamental oppositions that have dominated reflections about science for much of its (modern) history. Often these reflections have been inseparable from wider social-political concerns regarding the position of science in society. Where does this debate stand in the philosophy and sociology of science today? And how does the 'relativism question' relate to current concerns with 'post truth' politics? In Relativism in the Philosophy of Science, Martin Kusch examines some of the most influential relativist proposals of the last fifty years, and the controversies they have triggered. He argues that defensible forms of relativism all deny that any sense can be made of a scientific result being absolutely true or justified, and that they all reject 'anything goes' – that is the thought that all scientific results are epistemically on a par. Kusch concludes by distinguishing between defensible forms of relativism and post-truth thinking.

Author : Paul Hoyningen-Huene,H. Sankey
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 363 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2013-04-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789401596800

Get Book

Incommensurability and Related Matters by Paul Hoyningen-Huene,H. Sankey Pdf

Incommensurability and Related Matters draws together some of the most distinguished contributors to the critical literature on the problem of the incommensurability of scientific theories. It addresses all the various problems raised by the problem of incommensurability, such as meaning change, reference of theoretical terms, scientific realism and anti-realism, rationality of theory choice, cognitive aspects of conceptual change, as well as exploring the broader implications of incommensurability for cultural difference. While it offers new work, and new directions of discussion, on the topic of incommensurability, the book also recapitulates the history of the discussion of the topic that has taken place within the literature on incommensurability.

Author : Christian Kanzian,Sebastian Kletzl,Josef Mitterer,Katharina Neges
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 459 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2017-06-12
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783110523423

Get Book

Realism - Relativism - Constructivism by Christian Kanzian,Sebastian Kletzl,Josef Mitterer,Katharina Neges Pdf

The book presents papers from leading proponents of realist, relativist, and constructivist positions in epistemology and the philosophy of language and ethics.

Author : Richard Schantz,Markus Seidel
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Page : 235 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2013-05-02
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783110325904

Get Book

The Problem of Relativism in the Sociology of (Scientific) Knowledge by Richard Schantz,Markus Seidel Pdf

This volume comprises original articles by leading authors – from philosophy as well as sociology – in the debate around relativism in the sociology of (scientific) knowledge. Its aim has been to bring together several threads from the relevant disciplines and to cover the discussion from historical and systematic points of view. Among the contributors are Maria Baghramian, Barry Barnes, Martin Endreß, Hubert Knoblauch, Richard Schantz and Harvey Siegel.