Charles S. Chihara
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198239758
- eISBN:
- 9780191597190
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198239750.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
A continuation of the study of mathematical existence begun in Ontology and the Vicious‐Circle Principle (published in 1973); in the present work, Quine's indispensability argument is rebutted by the ...
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A continuation of the study of mathematical existence begun in Ontology and the Vicious‐Circle Principle (published in 1973); in the present work, Quine's indispensability argument is rebutted by the development of a new nominalistic version of mathematics (the Constructibility Theory) that is specified as an axiomatized theory formalized in a many‐sorted first‐order language. What is new in the present work is its abandonment of the predicative restrictions of the earlier work and its much greater attention to the applications of mathematics in science and everyday life. The book also contains detailed discussions of rival views (Mathematical Structuralism, Field's Instrumentalism, Burgess's Moderate Realism, Maddy's Set Theoretical Realism, and Kitcher's Ideal Agent account of mathematics), in which many comparisons with the Constructibility Theory are made.Less
A continuation of the study of mathematical existence begun in Ontology and the Vicious‐Circle Principle (published in 1973); in the present work, Quine's indispensability argument is rebutted by the development of a new nominalistic version of mathematics (the Constructibility Theory) that is specified as an axiomatized theory formalized in a many‐sorted first‐order language. What is new in the present work is its abandonment of the predicative restrictions of the earlier work and its much greater attention to the applications of mathematics in science and everyday life. The book also contains detailed discussions of rival views (Mathematical Structuralism, Field's Instrumentalism, Burgess's Moderate Realism, Maddy's Set Theoretical Realism, and Kitcher's Ideal Agent account of mathematics), in which many comparisons with the Constructibility Theory are made.
Terence Irwin
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195086454
- eISBN:
- 9780199833306
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195086457.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This book is an evolution of Plato’s Moral Theory where Irwin presented for the first time his personal interpretation of Plato’s ethics. The aim of this book is to demonstrate that Plato’s rejection ...
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This book is an evolution of Plato’s Moral Theory where Irwin presented for the first time his personal interpretation of Plato’s ethics. The aim of this book is to demonstrate that Plato’s rejection of Socrates’ instrumentalism is one of the key elements in the development of Plato’s philosophical perspective. The book, which is structured in 20 chapters, is a dialogue by dialogue commentary, which discusses Plato’s ethics in context of his metaphysics and epistemology. The first chapters study how in his early dialogues (Laches, Charmides, and Euthydemus) Plato interprets Socrates’ method and doctrines. Then, from chapter 6 to 9, it is illustrated how in later dialogues (Gorgias, Meno, Protagoras) Plato tries to defend and support Socrates’ theories against some possible critics. The core of the book (chapters 10 through 18) is devoted to a careful analysis of how Plato in the Republic develops his own views, moving away from the positions of his master. Lastly, in the two final chapters how the mature views of the Republic are advanced in the late dialogues (the Philebus, the Statesman, and the Laws) is examined.Less
This book is an evolution of Plato’s Moral Theory where Irwin presented for the first time his personal interpretation of Plato’s ethics. The aim of this book is to demonstrate that Plato’s rejection of Socrates’ instrumentalism is one of the key elements in the development of Plato’s philosophical perspective. The book, which is structured in 20 chapters, is a dialogue by dialogue commentary, which discusses Plato’s ethics in context of his metaphysics and epistemology. The first chapters study how in his early dialogues (Laches, Charmides, and Euthydemus) Plato interprets Socrates’ method and doctrines. Then, from chapter 6 to 9, it is illustrated how in later dialogues (Gorgias, Meno, Protagoras) Plato tries to defend and support Socrates’ theories against some possible critics. The core of the book (chapters 10 through 18) is devoted to a careful analysis of how Plato in the Republic develops his own views, moving away from the positions of his master. Lastly, in the two final chapters how the mature views of the Republic are advanced in the late dialogues (the Philebus, the Statesman, and the Laws) is examined.
Charles S. Chihara
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198239758
- eISBN:
- 9780191597190
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198239750.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
Focuses on Hartry Field's Instrumentalism. The ‘Conservation Theorems’, upon which Field bases so much of his form of Instrumentalism, are examined in detail, as is Field's attempt to ‘nominalize’ ...
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Focuses on Hartry Field's Instrumentalism. The ‘Conservation Theorems’, upon which Field bases so much of his form of Instrumentalism, are examined in detail, as is Field's attempt to ‘nominalize’ physics. Doubts are raised about the adequacy of Field's views of mathematics and physics, and a detailed comparison with the Constructibility Theory is presented.Less
Focuses on Hartry Field's Instrumentalism. The ‘Conservation Theorems’, upon which Field bases so much of his form of Instrumentalism, are examined in detail, as is Field's attempt to ‘nominalize’ physics. Doubts are raised about the adequacy of Field's views of mathematics and physics, and a detailed comparison with the Constructibility Theory is presented.
Terence Irwin
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195086454
- eISBN:
- 9780199833306
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195086457.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
The aim of this chapter is to discuss the moral relevance of the theory of the division of soul. Firstly, it is examined why it is impossible to reconcile this doctrine with instrumentalism. ...
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The aim of this chapter is to discuss the moral relevance of the theory of the division of soul. Firstly, it is examined why it is impossible to reconcile this doctrine with instrumentalism. Secondly, how the desires of the three different parts of the soul may be harmonised is investigated. Thirdly, after an elaborate study of the different parts of the soul, the reasons for this tripartition of the soul are introduced. Finally, it is examined whether or not the partition of the soul results in different kinds of happiness.Less
The aim of this chapter is to discuss the moral relevance of the theory of the division of soul. Firstly, it is examined why it is impossible to reconcile this doctrine with instrumentalism. Secondly, how the desires of the three different parts of the soul may be harmonised is investigated. Thirdly, after an elaborate study of the different parts of the soul, the reasons for this tripartition of the soul are introduced. Finally, it is examined whether or not the partition of the soul results in different kinds of happiness.
Terence Irwin
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195086454
- eISBN:
- 9780199833306
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195086457.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
Chapter 4 focuses on the Euthydemus to discuss Socrates’ theories of happiness and wisdom. Firstly, it is pointed out that Socrates may be labelled as “eudamonist” because of the claim he makes in ...
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Chapter 4 focuses on the Euthydemus to discuss Socrates’ theories of happiness and wisdom. Firstly, it is pointed out that Socrates may be labelled as “eudamonist” because of the claim he makes in the Euthydemus that happiness is a general and not a particular virtue. Secondly, Socrates’ instrumentalist view according to which the different virtues may be means to one end, i.e., happiness, is examined. Thirdly, several arguments are discussed according to which Socrates demonstrates that wisdom is the only good.Less
Chapter 4 focuses on the Euthydemus to discuss Socrates’ theories of happiness and wisdom. Firstly, it is pointed out that Socrates may be labelled as “eudamonist” because of the claim he makes in the Euthydemus that happiness is a general and not a particular virtue. Secondly, Socrates’ instrumentalist view according to which the different virtues may be means to one end, i.e., happiness, is examined. Thirdly, several arguments are discussed according to which Socrates demonstrates that wisdom is the only good.
Terence Irwin
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195086454
- eISBN:
- 9780199833306
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195086457.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
The core of the fifth chapter is the study of the problems that appear to be involved in Socrates’ prospective. After a consideration of the difficulties that seem to emerge from Socrates’ ...
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The core of the fifth chapter is the study of the problems that appear to be involved in Socrates’ prospective. After a consideration of the difficulties that seem to emerge from Socrates’ instrumentalist approach to happiness, attention is devoted to the role played by the craft analogy. According to this analogy, virtue is similar to a craft since a knowledge of the means is necessary for a separate end. This doctrine is illustrated making reference to Aristotle because, although used by Socrates, the craft analogy is never defined in the dialogues.Less
The core of the fifth chapter is the study of the problems that appear to be involved in Socrates’ prospective. After a consideration of the difficulties that seem to emerge from Socrates’ instrumentalist approach to happiness, attention is devoted to the role played by the craft analogy. According to this analogy, virtue is similar to a craft since a knowledge of the means is necessary for a separate end. This doctrine is illustrated making reference to Aristotle because, although used by Socrates, the craft analogy is never defined in the dialogues.
Terence Irwin
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195086454
- eISBN:
- 9780199833306
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195086457.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
The core argument of chapter 9 is the thesis that the epistemological distinction between knowledge and beliefs introduced in the Meno plays a crucial role in the consideration of virtues. Thanks to ...
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The core argument of chapter 9 is the thesis that the epistemological distinction between knowledge and beliefs introduced in the Meno plays a crucial role in the consideration of virtues. Thanks to this distinction, Plato can indeed dismiss the theory according to which virtues are only instrumental. Therefore, it is demonstrated that the theory of virtue of the early dialogues is the result of having knowledge of the importance of virtues but not a proper and true knowledge of them.Less
The core argument of chapter 9 is the thesis that the epistemological distinction between knowledge and beliefs introduced in the Meno plays a crucial role in the consideration of virtues. Thanks to this distinction, Plato can indeed dismiss the theory according to which virtues are only instrumental. Therefore, it is demonstrated that the theory of virtue of the early dialogues is the result of having knowledge of the importance of virtues but not a proper and true knowledge of them.
Larry A. Hickman
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823228416
- eISBN:
- 9780823235544
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823228416.003.0014
- Subject:
- Philosophy, American Philosophy
This chapter discusses the differences between philosophers John Dewey and Max Scheler in relation to the homo faber doctrine. This doctrine was originally conceived by ...
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This chapter discusses the differences between philosophers John Dewey and Max Scheler in relation to the homo faber doctrine. This doctrine was originally conceived by Henri Bergson and expounded by Dewey. Scheler criticized the primary features of the doctrine that considers humankind as uniquely a sign-making animal. The irony of Scheler's position with respect to the Instrumentalism of Dewey and Sidney Hook is that he took the continuity between human beings and the higher primates much more seriously in concrete terms than they did, thereby admitting the involvement of the higher primates in symbolic behavior and their use of simple forms of language.Less
This chapter discusses the differences between philosophers John Dewey and Max Scheler in relation to the homo faber doctrine. This doctrine was originally conceived by Henri Bergson and expounded by Dewey. Scheler criticized the primary features of the doctrine that considers humankind as uniquely a sign-making animal. The irony of Scheler's position with respect to the Instrumentalism of Dewey and Sidney Hook is that he took the continuity between human beings and the higher primates much more seriously in concrete terms than they did, thereby admitting the involvement of the higher primates in symbolic behavior and their use of simple forms of language.
Connor J. Fitzmaurice and Brian J. Gareau
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300199451
- eISBN:
- 9780300224856
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300199451.003.0009
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter addresses some of the big issues consumers and scholars assume, even implicitly, matter to committed organic movement farmers: the environment and health. Certainly, these concerns play ...
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This chapter addresses some of the big issues consumers and scholars assume, even implicitly, matter to committed organic movement farmers: the environment and health. Certainly, these concerns play a role in organic practices. However, this chapter shows that they are rarely explicitly addressed. Instead, such issues take on an instrumentalism and practicality in everyday experiences. Concerns about health and the environment were directly related to visceral experiences of farming, like experiencing the simple pleasure of eating a sun-warmed tomato off the vine. The big issues of sustainability acquire a taken-for-granted character, propagated in farmers’ networks of relationships. This chapter shows, once again, the centrality of lifestyle considerations in the making of organic practices. However, lifestyle concerns can also thwart more sustainable practices. For some farmers, the pursuit of a comfortable lifestyle required abandoning hallmarks of organic practice, like fallow periods for their fields in order to increase the amount of land under cultivation. As farmers struggle for livelihoods, they can become caught in a cycle of intensification that gradually erodes alternative practices. The chapter also discusses how the ability to remain alternative in light of such pressures is necessarily tied to forms of privilege—especially access to land and consumers.Less
This chapter addresses some of the big issues consumers and scholars assume, even implicitly, matter to committed organic movement farmers: the environment and health. Certainly, these concerns play a role in organic practices. However, this chapter shows that they are rarely explicitly addressed. Instead, such issues take on an instrumentalism and practicality in everyday experiences. Concerns about health and the environment were directly related to visceral experiences of farming, like experiencing the simple pleasure of eating a sun-warmed tomato off the vine. The big issues of sustainability acquire a taken-for-granted character, propagated in farmers’ networks of relationships. This chapter shows, once again, the centrality of lifestyle considerations in the making of organic practices. However, lifestyle concerns can also thwart more sustainable practices. For some farmers, the pursuit of a comfortable lifestyle required abandoning hallmarks of organic practice, like fallow periods for their fields in order to increase the amount of land under cultivation. As farmers struggle for livelihoods, they can become caught in a cycle of intensification that gradually erodes alternative practices. The chapter also discusses how the ability to remain alternative in light of such pressures is necessarily tied to forms of privilege—especially access to land and consumers.
Aaron George Jakes
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780748670123
- eISBN:
- 9781474405973
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748670123.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
Histories of British rule in Egypt have long construed colonial public works projects simply in terms of the revenue they generated for debt repayment. This chapter focuses on one such project—the ...
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Histories of British rule in Egypt have long construed colonial public works projects simply in terms of the revenue they generated for debt repayment. This chapter focuses on one such project—the construction of thousands of kilometres of unpaved dirt roads during the 1890s—to resituate such new public works at the centre of the occupation’s efforts to render the imagined difference between “Oriental despotism” and “British justice” palpable at the level of everyday experience in the countryside. By following the category of “public utility” from ministerial debates into peasant petitions and onto the pages of the Egyptian press, the chapter shows how this spectacular elaboration of agrarian infrastructures contributed to new understandings of the state as an instrument or machine that could be seized and manipulated by particular interests. In this way, public works forged the material terrain upon which subsequent critical engagements with British rule would unfold.Less
Histories of British rule in Egypt have long construed colonial public works projects simply in terms of the revenue they generated for debt repayment. This chapter focuses on one such project—the construction of thousands of kilometres of unpaved dirt roads during the 1890s—to resituate such new public works at the centre of the occupation’s efforts to render the imagined difference between “Oriental despotism” and “British justice” palpable at the level of everyday experience in the countryside. By following the category of “public utility” from ministerial debates into peasant petitions and onto the pages of the Egyptian press, the chapter shows how this spectacular elaboration of agrarian infrastructures contributed to new understandings of the state as an instrument or machine that could be seized and manipulated by particular interests. In this way, public works forged the material terrain upon which subsequent critical engagements with British rule would unfold.
Peter Zachar
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780262027045
- eISBN:
- 9780262322270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262027045.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Clinical Psychology
Instrumental nominalism is the view that it is important to conceptualize what collections of particulars have in common, but as the collections grow larger and the concepts more abstract (e.g., ...
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Instrumental nominalism is the view that it is important to conceptualize what collections of particulars have in common, but as the collections grow larger and the concepts more abstract (e.g., Truth), they become increasingly obscure and applied to a contradictory list of instances. There are three ways of making sense of such abstractions. They can be compared with contrast concepts, decomposed into component concepts, and stratified into more homogeneous sets of cases. Instrumental nominalism is inspired by Charles Peirce's pragmatist view that we are never at the beginning or end of inquiry, but always in the middle. We cannot divest ourselves of all assumptions, including abstract metaphysical assumptions, but we can temporarily isolate and critically analyze any assumption in order to make conceptual progress. The chapter closes by articulating a pragmatist perspective on the coherence and correspondence theories of truth.Less
Instrumental nominalism is the view that it is important to conceptualize what collections of particulars have in common, but as the collections grow larger and the concepts more abstract (e.g., Truth), they become increasingly obscure and applied to a contradictory list of instances. There are three ways of making sense of such abstractions. They can be compared with contrast concepts, decomposed into component concepts, and stratified into more homogeneous sets of cases. Instrumental nominalism is inspired by Charles Peirce's pragmatist view that we are never at the beginning or end of inquiry, but always in the middle. We cannot divest ourselves of all assumptions, including abstract metaphysical assumptions, but we can temporarily isolate and critically analyze any assumption in order to make conceptual progress. The chapter closes by articulating a pragmatist perspective on the coherence and correspondence theories of truth.
Paul Dixon
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- February 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190876050
- eISBN:
- 9780190942953
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190876050.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
The concept of sectarianism is often problematic because it leads to simplistic analysis and fails to take into account a range of other factors such as power politics in understanding conflict. The ...
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The concept of sectarianism is often problematic because it leads to simplistic analysis and fails to take into account a range of other factors such as power politics in understanding conflict. The term itself carries derogatory connotations and is often used expansively to denote a range of in-group/out-group associations. Primordialist, Ethnonationalist and Instrumentalist explanations for sectarianism posit grand narratives that are often generalized and too deterministic. A useful lens, therefore, is Constructivist Realism that focuses on processes whereby particular identities, such as sect, become more or less salient. Constructivist Realism strikes the appropriate balance between structure and agency, acknowledging that actors make their own history but not in circumstances of their making.Less
The concept of sectarianism is often problematic because it leads to simplistic analysis and fails to take into account a range of other factors such as power politics in understanding conflict. The term itself carries derogatory connotations and is often used expansively to denote a range of in-group/out-group associations. Primordialist, Ethnonationalist and Instrumentalist explanations for sectarianism posit grand narratives that are often generalized and too deterministic. A useful lens, therefore, is Constructivist Realism that focuses on processes whereby particular identities, such as sect, become more or less salient. Constructivist Realism strikes the appropriate balance between structure and agency, acknowledging that actors make their own history but not in circumstances of their making.
