The Routledge Companion To Thought Experiments

Author : Michael T Stuart,Yiftach Fehige,James Robert Brown
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 709 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2017-07-20
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781351705516

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The Routledge Companion to Thought Experiments by Michael T Stuart,Yiftach Fehige,James Robert Brown Pdf

Thought experiments are a means of imaginative reasoning that lie at the heart of philosophy, from the pre-Socratics to the modern era, and they also play central roles in a range of fields, from physics to politics. The Routledge Companion to Thought Experiments is an invaluable guide and reference source to this multifaceted subject. Comprising over 30 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Companion covers the following important areas: · the history of thought experiments, from antiquity to the trolley problem and quantum non-locality; · thought experiments in the humanities, arts, and sciences, including ethics, physics, theology, biology, mathematics, economics, and politics; · theories about the nature of thought experiments; · new discussions concerning the impact of experimental philosophy, cross-cultural comparison studies, metaphilosophy, computer simulations, idealization, dialectics, cognitive science, the artistic nature of thought experiments, and metaphysical issues. This broad ranging Companion goes backwards through history and sideways across disciplines. It also engages with philosophical perspectives from empiricism, rationalism, naturalism, skepticism, pluralism, contextualism, and neo-Kantianism to phenomenology. This volume will be valuable for anyone studying the methods of philosophy or any discipline that employs thought experiments, as well as anyone interested in the power and limits of the mind.

Author : Nenad Miscevic
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 130 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2021-09-29
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783030810825

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Thought Experiments by Nenad Miscevic Pdf

This book offers a readable introduction to the main aspects of thought experimenting in philosophy and science (together with related imaginative activities in mathematics and linguistics). It presents the main options in understanding thought experiments, from empiricism to Platonism, and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. However, it also provides some original perspectives on the topic. Firstly, it provides a new definition and analysis of thought experimenting that brings it closer to laboratory experimenting. Secondly, it develops the author’s earlier theory of “mental modelling”, proposed some decades ago by him, and some other researchers in the field as the crucial procedure in thought experimenting. The mental modelling approach links work with thought experimenting to cognitive science and to research on mental simulation which is a hot topic in present-day research. Thirdly, it proposes a principled way to respond to criticism of thought experimenting by “experimental philosophers” as they have been dominating the present-day debates. The response suggests a possible ameliorative, self-help project for thought experimenting. Finally, the book provides a way to systematize the history of important thought experiments in science and philosophy and thus connects, in an original way, the systematic investigation of experimenting to the historical work of famous thought experiments. It is of interest to scholars interested in history of ideas and philosophy of science.

Author : Mélanie Frappier,Letitia Meynell,James Robert Brown
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780415885447

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Thought Experiments in Philosophy, Science, and the Arts by Mélanie Frappier,Letitia Meynell,James Robert Brown Pdf

From Lucretius throwing a spear beyond the boundary of the universe to Einstein racing against a beam of light, thought experiments stand as a fascinating challenge to the necessity of data in the empirical sciences. Are these experiments, conducted uniquely in our imagination, simply rhetorical devices or communication tools or are they an essential part of scientific practice? This volume surveys the current state of the debate and explores new avenues of research into the epistemology of thought experiments.

Author : Martin Curd,Stathis Psillos
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 736 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2013-07-24
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781135011093

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The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science by Martin Curd,Stathis Psillos Pdf

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science is an indispensable reference source and guide to the major themes, debates, problems and topics in philosophy of science. It contains sixty-two specially commissioned entries by a leading team of international contributors. Organized into four parts it covers: historical and philosophical context debates concepts the individual sciences. The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science addresses all of the essential topics that students of philosophy of science need to know - from empiricism, explanation and experiment to causation, observation, prediction and more - and contains many helpful features including chapters on individual sciences (such as biology, chemistry, physics and psychology), further reading and cross-referencing at the end of each chapter. Expanded and revised throughout, this second edition includes new chapters on Conventionalism, Social Epistemology, Computer Simulation, Thought Experiments, Pseudoscience, Species and Taxonomy, and Cosmology.

Author : Martin Curd,Stathis Psillos
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 736 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2013-07-24
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781135011086

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The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science by Martin Curd,Stathis Psillos Pdf

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science is an indispensable reference source and guide to the major themes, debates, problems and topics in philosophy of science. It contains sixty-two specially commissioned entries by a leading team of international contributors. Organized into four parts it covers: historical and philosophical context debates concepts the individual sciences. The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science addresses all of the essential topics that students of philosophy of science need to know - from empiricism, explanation and experiment to causation, observation, prediction and more - and contains many helpful features including chapters on individual sciences (such as biology, chemistry, physics and psychology), further reading and cross-referencing at the end of each chapter. Expanded and revised throughout, this second edition includes new chapters on Conventionalism, Social Epistemology, Computer Simulation, Thought Experiments, Pseudoscience, Species and Taxonomy, and Cosmology.

Author : Tamar Szabo Gendler
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 203 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2014-01-14
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781135706937

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Thought Experiment by Tamar Szabo Gendler Pdf

This book offers a novel analysis of the widely-used but ill-understood technique of thought experiment. The author argues that the powers and limits of this methodology can be traced to the fact that when the contemplation of an imaginary scenario brings us to new knowledge, it does so by forcing us to make sense of exceptional cases.

Author : Manhal Hamdo
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2023-06-28
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783031334801

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Epistemic Thought Experiments and Intuitions by Manhal Hamdo Pdf

This work investigates intuitions' nature, demonstrating how philosophers can best use them in epistemology. First, the author considers several paradigmatic thought experiments in epistemology that depict the appeal to intuition. He then argues that the nature of thought experiment-generated intuitions is not best explained by an a priori Platonism. Second, the book instead develops and argues for a thin conception of epistemic intuitions. The account maintains that intuition is neither a priori nor a posteriori but multi-dimensional. It is an intentional but non-propositional mental state that is also non-conceptual and non-phenomenal in nature. Moreover, this state is individuated by its progenitor, namely, the relevant thought experiment. Third, the author provides an argument for the evidential status of intuitions based on the correct account of the nature of epistemic intuition. The suggestion is the fitting-ness approach: intuition alone has no epistemic status. Rather, intuition has evidentiary value as long as it fits well with other pieces into a whole, namely, the pertinent thought experiment. Finally, the book addresses the key challenges raised by supporters of anti-centrality, according to which philosophers do not regard intuition as central evidence in philosophy. To that end, the author responds to them, showing that they fail to affect the account of intuition developed in this book. This text appeals to students and researchers working in epistemology.

Author : Melanie Frappier,Letitia Meynell,James Robert Brown
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2012-09-10
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781136286001

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Thought Experiments in Science, Philosophy, and the Arts by Melanie Frappier,Letitia Meynell,James Robert Brown Pdf

From Lucretius throwing a spear beyond the boundary of the universe to Einstein racing against a beam of light, thought experiments stand as a fascinating challenge to the necessity of data in the empirical sciences. Are these experiments, conducted uniquely in our imagination, simply rhetorical devices or communication tools or are they an essential part of scientific practice? This volume surveys the current state of the debate and explores new avenues of research into the epistemology of thought experiments.

Author : Yiftach Fehige
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2023-10-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9789004685307

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Thought Experiments, Science, and Theology by Yiftach Fehige Pdf

Did Adam have a navel? Did Adam and Eve have sex? Is God merely a fictional character, like Superman? Without thought experiments like these, the field of science and religion would be severely impoverished. Thought experiments are exercises of the imagination. Like in many other disciplines, the imagination has not received the attention it deserves in theology. This book argues that the imagination must be taken seriously as an engine for progress. It offers a theology of the imagination that is consistent with, and goes beyond, existing discussions about pluralism at the intersection of science and religion.

Author : Vlad Petre Glăveanu
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 1812 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2023-01-25
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9783030909130

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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible by Vlad Petre Glăveanu Pdf

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible represents a comprehensive resource for researchers and practitioners interested in an emerging multidisciplinary area within psychology and the social sciences: the study of how we engage with and cultivate the possible within self, society and culture. Far from being opposed either to the actual or the real, the possible engages with concrete facts and experiences, with the result of transforming them. This encyclopedia examines the notion of the possible and the concepts associated with it from standpoints within psychology, philosophy, sociology, neuroscience and logic, as well as multidisciplinary fields of research including anticipation studies, future studies, complexity theory and creativity research. Presenting multiple perspectives on the possible, the authors consider the distinct social, cultural and psychological processes - e.g., imagination, counterfactual thinking, wonder, play, inspiration, and many others - that define our engagement with new possibilities in domains as diverse as the arts, design and business.

Author : Amy Kind
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 503 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2016-01-22
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781317329459

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The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Imagination by Amy Kind Pdf

Imagination occupies a central place in philosophy, going back to Aristotle. However, following a period of relative neglect there has been an explosion of interest in imagination in the past two decades as philosophers examine the role of imagination in debates about the mind and cognition, aesthetics and ethics, as well as epistemology, science and mathematics. This outstanding Handbook contains over thirty specially commissioned chapters by leading philosophers organised into six clear sections examining the most important aspects of the philosophy of imagination, including: Imagination in historical context: Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Husserl, and Sartre What is imagination? The relation between imagination and mental imagery; imagination contrasted with perception, memory, and dreaming Imagination in aesthetics: imagination and our engagement with music, art, and fiction; the problems of fictional emotions and ‘imaginative resistance’ Imagination in philosophy of mind and cognitive science: imagination and creativity, the self, action, child development, and animal cognition Imagination in ethics and political philosophy, including the concept of 'moral imagination' and empathy Imagination in epistemology and philosophy of science, including learning, thought experiments, scientific modelling, and mathematics. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Imagination is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of mind and psychology, aesthetics, and ethics. It will also be a valuable resource for those in related disciplines such as psychology and art.

Author : Chris Gavaler,Nathaniel Goldberg
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781609386559

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Superhero Thought Experiments by Chris Gavaler,Nathaniel Goldberg Pdf

"What if there's an alternative universe with a different moral code? What if we are being deceived by an evil genius? Examining the deep philosophical topics addressed in superhero comics, this entertaining book reads plot lines for the complex "thought experiments" they contain and analyzes their implications as if the comic authors were philosophers. In doing so, authors Chris Gavaler and Nathaniel Goldberg--a comics expert and a philosophy scholar, respectively--find that superhero comics often depict philosophical thought experiments more fully than philosophers do, and with surprising results. For example, René Descartes briefly worries that we are being deceived by an evil genius, but Marvel Comics explores this concern--and its consequences--over decades. Similarly, in a few paragraphs philosophers Terry Horgan and Mark Timmons imagine a "moral twin earth" with deviant morality, while DC Comics dedicates multiple comics to different moral twin earths in which readers see multiple deviant moralities play out"--

Author : Peg Tittle
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2016
Category : PHILOSOPHY
ISBN : 1315509334

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What If... by Peg Tittle Pdf

Author : Anders Blok,Ignacio Farias,Celia Roberts
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 680 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2019-06-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781351619721

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The Routledge Companion to Actor-Network Theory by Anders Blok,Ignacio Farias,Celia Roberts Pdf

This companion explores ANT as an intellectual practice, tracking its movements and engagements with a wide range of other academic and activist projects. Showcasing the work of a diverse set of ‘second generation’ ANT scholars from around the world, it highlights the exciting depth and breadth of contemporary ANT and its future possibilities. The companion has 38 chapters, each answering a key question about ANT and its capacities. Early chapters explore ANT as an intellectual practice and highlight ANT’s dialogues with other fields and key theorists. Others open critical, provocative discussions of its limitations. Later sections explore how ANT has been developed in a range of social scientific fields and how it has been used to explore a wide range of scales and sites. Chapters in the final section discuss ANT’s involvement in ‘real world’ endeavours such as disability and environmental activism, and even running a Chilean hospital. Each chapter contains an overview of relevant work and introduces original examples and ideas from the authors’ recent research. The chapters orient readers in rich, complex fields and can be read in any order or combination. Throughout the volume, authors mobilise ANT to explore and account for a range of exciting case studies: from wheelchair activism to parliamentary decision-making; from racial profiling to energy consumption monitoring; from queer sex to Korean cities. A comprehensive introduction by the editors explores the significance of ANT more broadly and provides an overview of the volume. The Routledge Companion to Actor-Network Theory will be an inspiring and lively companion to academics and advanced undergraduates and postgraduates from across many disciplines across the social sciences, including Sociology, Geography, Politics and Urban Studies, Environmental Studies and STS, and anyone wishing to engage with ANT, to understand what it has already been used to do and to imagine what it might do in the future.

Author : Chris Edwards
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 127 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2021-04-14
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781475860764

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Thought Experiments by Chris Edwards Pdf

Thought experiments are responsible for several major intellectual revolutions throughout history. Given their importance it is surprising that they are not used more frequently as teaching tools. The history of thought experiments, their applications to disciplines across academia, and their practical classroom uses are examined in this book.