The Constitutive A Priori

Author : Arthur Sullivan
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 203 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2018-04-06
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781498547123

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The Constitutive A Priori by Arthur Sullivan Pdf

The question of the a priori—can an adequate epistemology be developed without appeal to a non-empirical source of justification?—is a core issue running throughout the history of philosophy, and recent decades have seen some provocative and potentially epochal work on the issue. Arthur Sullivan provides a clear-headed evaluation of the upshot of these developments. He argues that the notion of the constitutive a priori provides the best means, all things considered, of accommodating these recent developments into a coherent, compelling view. The constitutive a priori is most commonly known as a position within the philosophy of science, holding that one of Kant’s signature moves provides the means to incorporate unforeseen drastic shocks into existing theory. This book shows that this notion of the constitutive a priori provides not merely a satisfactory epistemological framework, but, further, a compelling way to accommodate and integrate some of the most significant lessons learned in twentieth century philosophy. Its distinctive contribution lies in the case it builds for taking this constitutive a priori orientation as a good means of integrating and consolidating certain epochal insights of Wittgenstein, Carnap, Quine, Kripke, and Kaplan.

Author : David J. Stump
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 194 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2015-05-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781317495383

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Conceptual Change and the Philosophy of Science by David J. Stump Pdf

In this book, David Stump traces alternative conceptions of the a priori in the philosophy of science and defends a unique position in the current debates over conceptual change and the constitutive elements in science. Stump emphasizes the unique epistemological status of the constitutive elements of scientific theories, constitutive elements being the necessary preconditions that must be assumed in order to conduct a particular scientific inquiry. These constitutive elements, such as logic, mathematics, and even some fundamental laws of nature, were once taken to be a priori knowledge but can change, thus leading to a dynamic or relative a priori. Stump critically examines developments in thinking about constitutive elements in science as a priori knowledge, from Kant’s fixed and absolute a priori to Quine’s holistic empiricism. By examining the relationship between conceptual change and the epistemological status of constitutive elements in science, Stump puts forward an argument that scientific revolutions can be explained and relativism can be avoided without resorting to universals or absolutes.

Author : Boris D. Grozdanoff
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 195 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2014-06-19
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781443861762

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A Priori Revisability in Science by Boris D. Grozdanoff Pdf

The most influential rationalist model of scientific knowledge is arguably the one formulated recently by Michael Friedman. The central epistemic claim of the model concerns the character of its fundamental principles which are said to be independent from experience. Friedman’s position faces the modern empiricist challenge: he has to explain how the principles could still be a priori if they change under empirical pressure. This book provides a contemporary account of the epistemic character of the principles, addressing recent work on the a priori in modern analytic epistemology. Its main thesis is that at least some principles within natural science are not empirically but a priori revisable. A Priori Revisability in Science formulates a general notion of epistemic revisability and extracts two kinds of specific revisabilities: the traditional empirical one and the suggested novel a priori revisability. It presents the argument that the latter is as vital as the former and even so within natural science. To demonstrate this, the author analyzes two case studies – one from the history of geometry and one from the history of physics – and shows that the revisions were a priori. The result of this is two-fold. First, a genuine alternative of empirical revisability is developed, and not just for traditional a priori domains like mathematics, but for the natural sciences as well. Second, a new mechanism for the dynamics of science is suggested, the a priori dynamics, at the core of which the scientific knowledge sometimes evolves through non-empirical moves.

Author : Michael J. Shaffer,Michael L. Veber
Publisher : Open Court
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2011-03-11
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780812697414

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What Place for the A Priori? by Michael J. Shaffer,Michael L. Veber Pdf

This book deals with questions about the nature of a priori knowledge and its relation to empirical knowledge. Until the twentieth century, it was more or less taken for granted that there was such a thing as a priori knowledge, that is, knowledge whose source is in reason and reflection rather than sensory experience. With a few notable exceptions, philosophers believed that mathematics, logic and philosophy were all a priori. Although the seeds of doubt were planted earlier on, by the early twentieth century, philosophers were widely skeptical of the idea that there was any nontrivial existence of a priori knowledge. By the mid to late twentieth century, it became fashionable to doubt the existence of any kind of a priori knowledge at all. Since many think that philosophy is an a priori discipline if it is any kind of discipline at all, the questions about a priori knowledge are fundamental to our understanding of philosophy itself.

Author : Mary Domski,Michael Dickson
Publisher : Open Court Publishing
Page : 864 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780812696622

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Discourse on a New Method by Mary Domski,Michael Dickson Pdf

Addressing a wide range of topics, from Newton to Post-Kuhnian philosophy of science, these essays critically examine themes that have been central to the influential work of philosopher Michael Friedman. Special focus is given to Friedman's revealing study of both history of science and philosophy in his work on Kant, Newton, Einstein, and other major figures. This interaction of history and philosophy is the subject of the editors' "manifesto" and serves to both explain and promote the essential ties between two disciplines usually regarded as unrelated.

Author : Elodie Boublil
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 201 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2023-05-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781793639530

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Reframing Twentieth-Century French Philosophy by Elodie Boublil Pdf

Reframing Twentieth-Century French Philosophy: The Roots of Desire, edited by Elodie Boublil, investigates the works of French philosophers who have been relegated to the margins of the canon, even if their teachings and writings have been recognized as highly influential. The contributions gather around the concept of “desire” to make sense of the French philosophical debate throughout the twentieth century. The first part of the volume investigates the concept of desire by questioning the role of reflexivity in embodiment and self-constitution. It examines specifically the works of three authors—Maine de Biran, Jean Nabert, and Jean-Louis Chrétien—to highlight their specific contribution to twentieth-century French philosophy. The second part of the volume explores desire's pre-reflective and affective dynamics that resist objectification and reflexivity by analyzing the contributions of lesser-known thinkers such as Simone Weil, Sarah Kofman, and Henri Maldiney. The last part of the volume focuses on three philosophical endeavors that aim to positively rethink the foundations of phenomenology and French philosophy: Jacques Garelli, Marc Richir, and Mikel Dufrenne.

Author : Philip P. Hanson,Bruce Hunter
Publisher : Calgary : University of Calgary Press
Page : 348 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : UVA:X002255298

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Return of the a Priori by Philip P. Hanson,Bruce Hunter Pdf

This volume contains ten new essays on a priori knowledge by authors from Canada, the United States, Australia, & Europe Topics addressed include the nature, explanation, & indispensability of a priori knowledge, its connection with analytic truth, its place in mathematics, in logic, & in empirical theory, & the contribution of Kant & Quine to these topics. The focus is on twentieth-century contributions to these issues, but most essays also address earlier discussions at some length, & the essays that focus on Kant also relate his views to more recent discussions. Contents: Introduction. A Rationalist Manifesto. Analyticity, Undeniability, & Truth. Analyticity & the A Priori. The Doubtful A Priori. Some Remarks on Indiscernibility. The Constitutive A Priori. Kant's A Priori Methods for Recognising Necessary Truths. EPR as A Priori Science. Gaps, Gluts, & Paradox. An Essay on Material Necessity.

Author : William McKenna,Robert M. Harlan,Laurence E. Winters
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 266 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 1981
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9024723752

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Apriori and World by William McKenna,Robert M. Harlan,Laurence E. Winters Pdf

Author : Frederique Janssen-Lauret
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2020-10-22
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780198864288

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Quine, Structure, and Ontology by Frederique Janssen-Lauret Pdf

W.V. Quine, a champion of philosophical naturalism and pioneer of mathematical logic, was one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century. This volume provides a full picture of the development of Quine's views on structure and how it permeates and shapes his attitude to a range of philosophical questions.

Author : J Tyler Friedman,Sebastian Luft
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 481 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2015-06-16
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783110421835

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The Philosophy of Ernst Cassirer by J Tyler Friedman,Sebastian Luft Pdf

This volume brings Cassirer’s work into the arena of contemporary debates both within and outside of philosophy. All articles offer a fresh and contemporary look at one of the most prolific and important philosophers of the 20th century. The papers are authored by a wide array of scholars working in different areas, such as epistemology, philosophy of culture, sociology, psychopathology, philosophy of science and aesthetics.

Author : Andreas Follesdal,Reidar Maliks
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2013-11-12
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781135079383

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Kantian Theory and Human Rights by Andreas Follesdal,Reidar Maliks Pdf

Human rights and the courts and tribunals that protect them are increasingly part of our moral, legal, and political circumstances. The growing salience of human rights has recently brought the question of their philosophical foundation to the foreground. Theorists of human rights often assume that their ideal can be traced to the philosophy of Immanuel Kant and his view of humans as ends in themselves. Yet, few have attempted to explore exactly how human rights should be understood in a Kantian framework. The scholars in this book have gathered to fill this gap. At the center of Kant’s theory of rights is a view of freedom as independence from domination. The chapters explore the significance of this theory for the nature of human rights, their justification, and the legitimacy of international human rights courts.

Author : Michael Friedman
Publisher : Stanford Univ Center for the Study
Page : 141 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2001-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1575862921

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Dynamics of Reason by Michael Friedman Pdf

This book introduces a new approach to the issue of radical scientific revolutions, or "paradigm-shifts," given prominence in the work of Thomas Kuhn. The book articulates a dynamical and historicized version of the conception of scientific a priori principles first developed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. This approach defends the Enlightenment ideal of scientific objectivity and universality while simultaneously doing justice to the revolutionary changes within the sciences that have since undermined Kant's original defense of this ideal. Through a modified Kantian approach to epistemology and philosophy of science, this book opposes both Quinean naturalistic holism and the post-Kuhnian conceptual relativism that has dominated recent literature in science studies. Focussing on the development of "scientific philosophy" from Kant to Rudolf Carnap, along with the parallel developments taking place in the sciences during the same period, the author articulates a new dynamical conception of relativized a priori principles. This idea applied within the physical sciences aims to show that rational intersubjective consensus is intricately preserved across radical scientific revolutions or "paradigm-shifts and how this is achieved.

Author : Sally Sedgwick
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2012-03-29
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191629259

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Hegel's Critique of Kant by Sally Sedgwick Pdf

Sally Sedgwick presents a fresh account of Hegel's critique of Kant's theoretical philosophy. She argues that Hegel offers a compelling critique of and alternative to the conception of cognition that Kant defended in his 'Critical' period. The book examines key features of what Kant identifies as the 'discursive' character of our mode of cognition, and considers Hegel's reasons for arguing that these features condemn Kant's theoretical philosophy to scepticism as well as dualism. Sedgwick goes on to present in a sympathetic light Hegel's claim to derive from certain Kantian doctrines clues to a superior form of idealism, a form of idealism that better captures the nature of our cognitive powers and their relation to objects.

Author : Chiara Russo Krauss,Luigi Laino
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 207 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2023-09-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783031364983

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Philosophers and Einstein's Relativity by Chiara Russo Krauss,Luigi Laino Pdf

This book offers an up-to-date insight into the early philosophical debate on Einsteinian relativity. The essays explore the reception and interpretation of Einstein’s ideas by some of the most important philosophical schools of the time, such as logical positivism (Reichenbach), neo-Kantianism (Cassirer, Natorp), critical realism (Sellars), and radical empiricism (Mach). The book is aimed at physicists and historians of science researching the epistemological implications of the theory of relativity, as well as to scholars in philosophy interested in understanding how leading philosophical figures of the early twentieth century reacted to the relativistic revolution.

Author : Penelope Maddy
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 461 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2007-04-19
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9780199273669

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Second Philosophy by Penelope Maddy Pdf

Many philosophers these days consider themselves naturalists, but it's doubtful any two of them intend the same position by the term. In this book, Penelope Maddy describes and practises a particularly austere form of naturalism called 'Second Philosophy'. Without a definitive criterion for what counts as 'science' and what doesn't, Second Philosophy can't be specified directly - 'trust only the methods of science!' or some such thing - so Maddy proceeds instead by illustratingthe behaviours of an idealized inquirer she calls the 'Second Philosopher'. This Second Philosopher begins from perceptual common sense and progresses from there to systematic observation, active experimentation, theory formation and testing, working all the while to assess, correct and improve hermethods as she goes. Second Philosophy is then the result of the Second Philosopher's investigations.Maddy delineates the Second Philosopher's approach by tracing her reactions to various familiar skeptical and transcendental views (Descartes, Kant, Carnap, late Putnam, van Fraassen), comparing her methods to those of other self-described naturalists (especially Quine), and examining a prominent contemporary debate (between disquotationalists and correspondence theorists in the theory of truth) to extract a properly second-philosophical line of thought. She then undertakes to practise SecondPhilosophy in her reflections on the ground of logical truth, the methodology, ontology and epistemology of mathematics, and the general prospects for metaphysics naturalized.