David A Liberles (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199299188
- eISBN:
- 9780191714979
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199299188.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Ancestral sequence reconstruction is a technique of growing importance in molecular evolutionary biology and comparative genomics. As a powerful tool for testing evolutionary and ecological ...
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Ancestral sequence reconstruction is a technique of growing importance in molecular evolutionary biology and comparative genomics. As a powerful tool for testing evolutionary and ecological hypotheses, as well as uncovering the link between sequence and molecular phenotype, there are potential applications in almost all fields of applied molecular biology. This book starts with a historical overview of the field, before discussing the potential applications in drug discovery and the pharmaceutical industry. This is followed by a section on computational methodology, which provides a detailed discussion of the available methods for reconstructing ancestral sequences (including their advantages, disadvantages, and potential pitfalls). Purely computational applications of the technique are then covered, including whole proteome reconstruction. Further chapters provide a detailed discussion on taking computationally reconstructed sequences and synthesizing them in the laboratory. The book concludes with a description of the scientific questions where experimental ancestral sequence reconstruction has been utilized to provide insights and inform future research.Less
Ancestral sequence reconstruction is a technique of growing importance in molecular evolutionary biology and comparative genomics. As a powerful tool for testing evolutionary and ecological hypotheses, as well as uncovering the link between sequence and molecular phenotype, there are potential applications in almost all fields of applied molecular biology. This book starts with a historical overview of the field, before discussing the potential applications in drug discovery and the pharmaceutical industry. This is followed by a section on computational methodology, which provides a detailed discussion of the available methods for reconstructing ancestral sequences (including their advantages, disadvantages, and potential pitfalls). Purely computational applications of the technique are then covered, including whole proteome reconstruction. Further chapters provide a detailed discussion on taking computationally reconstructed sequences and synthesizing them in the laboratory. The book concludes with a description of the scientific questions where experimental ancestral sequence reconstruction has been utilized to provide insights and inform future research.
Saint Augustine
R. P. H. Green (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263340
- eISBN:
- 9780191601125
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263341.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This is a completely new translation of the work that Augustine wrote to guide the Christian on how to interpret Scripture and communicate it to others, a kind of do‐it‐yourself manual for ...
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This is a completely new translation of the work that Augustine wrote to guide the Christian on how to interpret Scripture and communicate it to others, a kind of do‐it‐yourself manual for discovering what the Bible teaches and passing it on. Begun at the same time as his famous Confessions, but not completed until some thirty years later, it gives fascinating insight into many sides of his thinking, not least on the value of the traditional education of which the Confessions gives such a poor impression. Augustine begins by relating his theme to the love (and enjoyment) of God and the love of one's neighbour, and then proceeds to develop a theory of signs with which he can analyse the nature of difficulties in scripture. In studying unknown signs, Augustine finds a place for some disciplines enshrined in traditional culture and the school curriculum but not all; as for ambiguous signs, he carefully explores various kinds of problems, such as that of distinguishing the figurative from the literal, and has recourse to the hermeneutic system of the Donatist Tyconius. In the fourth and last book, he discusses how to communicate scriptural teaching, drawing on a lifetime of experience but also making notable use of the writings on rhetoric of Cicero, the classical orator. The translation is equipped with an introduction that discusses the work's aims and circumstances, outlines its contents and significance, commenting briefly on the manuscripts from which the Latin text – which is also provided in this volume – is derived, and also brief explanatory notes. There is a select bibliography of useful and approachable modern criticism of this important work.Less
This is a completely new translation of the work that Augustine wrote to guide the Christian on how to interpret Scripture and communicate it to others, a kind of do‐it‐yourself manual for discovering what the Bible teaches and passing it on. Begun at the same time as his famous Confessions, but not completed until some thirty years later, it gives fascinating insight into many sides of his thinking, not least on the value of the traditional education of which the Confessions gives such a poor impression. Augustine begins by relating his theme to the love (and enjoyment) of God and the love of one's neighbour, and then proceeds to develop a theory of signs with which he can analyse the nature of difficulties in scripture. In studying unknown signs, Augustine finds a place for some disciplines enshrined in traditional culture and the school curriculum but not all; as for ambiguous signs, he carefully explores various kinds of problems, such as that of distinguishing the figurative from the literal, and has recourse to the hermeneutic system of the Donatist Tyconius. In the fourth and last book, he discusses how to communicate scriptural teaching, drawing on a lifetime of experience but also making notable use of the writings on rhetoric of Cicero, the classical orator. The translation is equipped with an introduction that discusses the work's aims and circumstances, outlines its contents and significance, commenting briefly on the manuscripts from which the Latin text – which is also provided in this volume – is derived, and also brief explanatory notes. There is a select bibliography of useful and approachable modern criticism of this important work.
William Talbott
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195173475
- eISBN:
- 9780199835331
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195173473.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
In this book, William Talbott builds on the work of J.S. Mill, John Rawls, and Jürgen Habermas to develop a new equilibrium model for moral reasoning, in which moral reasoning is primarily bottom-up, ...
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In this book, William Talbott builds on the work of J.S. Mill, John Rawls, and Jürgen Habermas to develop a new equilibrium model for moral reasoning, in which moral reasoning is primarily bottom-up, from judgments about particular actual and hypothetical cases to norms or principles that best explain the particular judgments. Employing the equilibrium model, Talbott builds on the work of John Rawls, Amartya Sen, and Henry Shue to explain how, over the course of history, human beings have learned to adopt a distinctively moral standpoint from which it is possible to make reliable, though not infallible, universal judgments of right and wrong. He explains how this distinctively moral standpoint has led to the discovery of the moral importance of nine basic human rights. The book is constructed around pivotal examples. Talbott uses the example of Bartolomé de Las Casas and his opposition to the Spanish colonists’ treatment of the American natives in the 16th century to illustrate the possibility of attaining a universal moral standpoint. He uses the example of the development of women's rights as a microcosm of the development of basic human rights. He argues that assertions of basic human rights are almost always a response to oppressive norms justified by self-reinforcing paternalism. Talbott uses examples from Marxist dictatorships to show the importance of basic human rights in solving what he refers to as the reliable feedback problem and the appropriate responsiveness problem for governments. He uses Sen’s research on famines and psychological research on the ultimatum game and other related games to explain how individual fairness judgments from the moral standpoint make rights-respecting democracies self-improving self-regulating systems that become more just over time. Undoubtedly, the most controversial issue raised by the claim of universal human rights is the issue of moral relativism. How can the advocate of universal rights avoid being a moral imperialist? In this book, Talbott shows how to defend basic individual rights from a universal moral point of view that is not imperialistic. Talbott avoids moral imperialism, first, by insisting that all of us, himself included, have moral blindspots and that we usually depend on others to help us to identify those blindspots; second, by emphasizing the importance of avoiding moral paternalism. In the book, Talbott develops a new consequentialist account of the importance of the basic human rights, which he employs to augment the more familiar nonconsequentialist accounts.Less
In this book, William Talbott builds on the work of J.S. Mill, John Rawls, and Jürgen Habermas to develop a new equilibrium model for moral reasoning, in which moral reasoning is primarily bottom-up, from judgments about particular actual and hypothetical cases to norms or principles that best explain the particular judgments. Employing the equilibrium model, Talbott builds on the work of John Rawls, Amartya Sen, and Henry Shue to explain how, over the course of history, human beings have learned to adopt a distinctively moral standpoint from which it is possible to make reliable, though not infallible, universal judgments of right and wrong. He explains how this distinctively moral standpoint has led to the discovery of the moral importance of nine basic human rights. The book is constructed around pivotal examples. Talbott uses the example of Bartolomé de Las Casas and his opposition to the Spanish colonists’ treatment of the American natives in the 16th century to illustrate the possibility of attaining a universal moral standpoint. He uses the example of the development of women's rights as a microcosm of the development of basic human rights. He argues that assertions of basic human rights are almost always a response to oppressive norms justified by self-reinforcing paternalism. Talbott uses examples from Marxist dictatorships to show the importance of basic human rights in solving what he refers to as the reliable feedback problem and the appropriate responsiveness problem for governments. He uses Sen’s research on famines and psychological research on the ultimatum game and other related games to explain how individual fairness judgments from the moral standpoint make rights-respecting democracies self-improving self-regulating systems that become more just over time. Undoubtedly, the most controversial issue raised by the claim of universal human rights is the issue of moral relativism. How can the advocate of universal rights avoid being a moral imperialist? In this book, Talbott shows how to defend basic individual rights from a universal moral point of view that is not imperialistic. Talbott avoids moral imperialism, first, by insisting that all of us, himself included, have moral blindspots and that we usually depend on others to help us to identify those blindspots; second, by emphasizing the importance of avoiding moral paternalism. In the book, Talbott develops a new consequentialist account of the importance of the basic human rights, which he employs to augment the more familiar nonconsequentialist accounts.
William Talbott
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195173475
- eISBN:
- 9780199835331
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195173473.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
In this chapter, Talbott considers how, if human psychology were different, it could have been discovered that autonomy was a burden for human beings and thus that human beings should not be ...
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In this chapter, Talbott considers how, if human psychology were different, it could have been discovered that autonomy was a burden for human beings and thus that human beings should not be guaranteed autonomy rights. Talbott also explains his metaphysical immodesty with an example of why he believes human rights norms apply universally. Talbott ends with a reminder that, in exercising our judgment and our self-determination, all of us play a role in the bottom-up social-historical process of the discovery and development and implementation of human rights.Less
In this chapter, Talbott considers how, if human psychology were different, it could have been discovered that autonomy was a burden for human beings and thus that human beings should not be guaranteed autonomy rights. Talbott also explains his metaphysical immodesty with an example of why he believes human rights norms apply universally. Talbott ends with a reminder that, in exercising our judgment and our self-determination, all of us play a role in the bottom-up social-historical process of the discovery and development and implementation of human rights.
Peter Achinstein
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195143898
- eISBN:
- 9780199833023
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195143892.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
What is required for a fact to be evidence for a hypothesis? In this book Achinstein introduces four concepts of evidence, which he calls potential, veridical, epistemic‐situation, and subjective. He ...
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What is required for a fact to be evidence for a hypothesis? In this book Achinstein introduces four concepts of evidence, which he calls potential, veridical, epistemic‐situation, and subjective. He defines the last three by reference to the first, and then characterizes potential evidence using a new objective epistemic interpretation of probability. The resulting theory is used to provide solutions to four ”paradoxes of evidence” (grue, ravens, lottery, and old evidence) and to a series of questions, including whether explanations or predictions furnish more evidential weight; whether individual hypotheses or only entire theoretical systems can receive evidential support (the Duhem‐Quine problem); and what counts as a scientific discovery and what evidence it requires. Two historical scientific cases are examined using the theory of evidence developed: Jean Perrin's argument for molecules (did he have noncircular evidence for their existence?), and J.J. Thomson's argument for electrons (what sort of evidence did this argument provide?).Less
What is required for a fact to be evidence for a hypothesis? In this book Achinstein introduces four concepts of evidence, which he calls potential, veridical, epistemic‐situation, and subjective. He defines the last three by reference to the first, and then characterizes potential evidence using a new objective epistemic interpretation of probability. The resulting theory is used to provide solutions to four ”paradoxes of evidence” (grue, ravens, lottery, and old evidence) and to a series of questions, including whether explanations or predictions furnish more evidential weight; whether individual hypotheses or only entire theoretical systems can receive evidential support (the Duhem‐Quine problem); and what counts as a scientific discovery and what evidence it requires. Two historical scientific cases are examined using the theory of evidence developed: Jean Perrin's argument for molecules (did he have noncircular evidence for their existence?), and J.J. Thomson's argument for electrons (what sort of evidence did this argument provide?).
Stephen Gaukroger
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296446
- eISBN:
- 9780191711985
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296446.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Many of the perceived failures of Aristotelian natural philosophy in the late 16th and early 17th centuries were put down to his conception of method. In fact, both defenders of Aristotle and his ...
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Many of the perceived failures of Aristotelian natural philosophy in the late 16th and early 17th centuries were put down to his conception of method. In fact, both defenders of Aristotle and his critics took his method of presentation for a method of discovery, the former trying to establish how it could act as a method of discovery, and the latter replacing it with something new. Bacon attempted to provide a radical alternative to Aristotelianism, though in some respects, it was locked into the same programme as Aristotle. Of more immediate significance were disputes over the hypothetical standing of Copernicanism, disputes in which Kepler and Galileo were major players.Less
Many of the perceived failures of Aristotelian natural philosophy in the late 16th and early 17th centuries were put down to his conception of method. In fact, both defenders of Aristotle and his critics took his method of presentation for a method of discovery, the former trying to establish how it could act as a method of discovery, and the latter replacing it with something new. Bacon attempted to provide a radical alternative to Aristotelianism, though in some respects, it was locked into the same programme as Aristotle. Of more immediate significance were disputes over the hypothetical standing of Copernicanism, disputes in which Kepler and Galileo were major players.
Robert E. Goodin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199547944
- eISBN:
- 9780191720116
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547944.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
Deliberative democrats offer ‘talk as a decision procedure’. This chapter argues that it is a good ‘discovery procedure’, particularly because of the way it expands the agenda; but talk is a flawed ...
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Deliberative democrats offer ‘talk as a decision procedure’. This chapter argues that it is a good ‘discovery procedure’, particularly because of the way it expands the agenda; but talk is a flawed ‘decision procedure’ because ‘path dependency’ can render its outcomes indeterminate or arbitrary. A risk of path dependency is inevitable, insofar as talk is a serial process with dynamic updating, as deliberative democrats want it to be. The best way to capture the benefits of ‘talk as a discovery procedure’, while avoiding the risks of ‘talk as a decision procedure’, is to adopt the rule: ‘first talk, then vote’.Less
Deliberative democrats offer ‘talk as a decision procedure’. This chapter argues that it is a good ‘discovery procedure’, particularly because of the way it expands the agenda; but talk is a flawed ‘decision procedure’ because ‘path dependency’ can render its outcomes indeterminate or arbitrary. A risk of path dependency is inevitable, insofar as talk is a serial process with dynamic updating, as deliberative democrats want it to be. The best way to capture the benefits of ‘talk as a discovery procedure’, while avoiding the risks of ‘talk as a decision procedure’, is to adopt the rule: ‘first talk, then vote’.
Richard Swedberg
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691155227
- eISBN:
- 9781400850358
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691155227.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Research and Statistics
In the social sciences today, students are taught theory by reading and analyzing the works of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and other foundational figures of the discipline. What they rarely learn, however, ...
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In the social sciences today, students are taught theory by reading and analyzing the works of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and other foundational figures of the discipline. What they rarely learn, however, is how to actually theorize. This book is a practical guide to doing just that. This user manual for social theorists explains how theorizing occurs in what the book calls the context of discovery, a process in which the researcher gathers preliminary data and thinks creatively about it using tools such as metaphor, analogy, and typology. The book guides readers through each step of the theorist's art, from observation and naming to concept formation and explanation. To theorize well, you also need a sound knowledge of existing social theory. The book introduces readers to the most important theories and concepts, and discusses how to go about mastering them. If you can think, you can also learn to theorize. This book shows you how. The book features helpful examples throughout, and also provides practical exercises that enable readers to learn through doing.Less
In the social sciences today, students are taught theory by reading and analyzing the works of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and other foundational figures of the discipline. What they rarely learn, however, is how to actually theorize. This book is a practical guide to doing just that. This user manual for social theorists explains how theorizing occurs in what the book calls the context of discovery, a process in which the researcher gathers preliminary data and thinks creatively about it using tools such as metaphor, analogy, and typology. The book guides readers through each step of the theorist's art, from observation and naming to concept formation and explanation. To theorize well, you also need a sound knowledge of existing social theory. The book introduces readers to the most important theories and concepts, and discusses how to go about mastering them. If you can think, you can also learn to theorize. This book shows you how. The book features helpful examples throughout, and also provides practical exercises that enable readers to learn through doing.
Marcia Cavell
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199287086
- eISBN:
- 9780191603921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199287082.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Self-knowledge is supposed to be transforming. Yet ordinarily, knowledge by itself has no effect on the object known. This chapter discusses the phenomenon of first-person authority; ‘the ocular ...
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Self-knowledge is supposed to be transforming. Yet ordinarily, knowledge by itself has no effect on the object known. This chapter discusses the phenomenon of first-person authority; ‘the ocular view’ of self-knowledge and an alternative account; and self-knowledge with regard to beliefs and to emotions. It argues that self-discovery often requires a dialectic between the first-person and the third-person points of view in relation to one’s self.Less
Self-knowledge is supposed to be transforming. Yet ordinarily, knowledge by itself has no effect on the object known. This chapter discusses the phenomenon of first-person authority; ‘the ocular view’ of self-knowledge and an alternative account; and self-knowledge with regard to beliefs and to emotions. It argues that self-discovery often requires a dialectic between the first-person and the third-person points of view in relation to one’s self.
Alcino J. Silva, Anthony Landreth, and John Bickle
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199731756
- eISBN:
- 9780199367658
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199731756.001.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Systems, Techniques
Science is growing at a vertiginous pace. This is no less true of neuroscience than any other discipline. It is no longer possible for anyone either to keep up with relevant literature or fully ...
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Science is growing at a vertiginous pace. This is no less true of neuroscience than any other discipline. It is no longer possible for anyone either to keep up with relevant literature or fully understand its implications. Ambiguity about what is known, what is uncertain and what has been disproven is especially problematic for research planning. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop strategies and tools to address this growing problem. Engineering the Next Revolution in Neuroscience describes a framework and a set of principles for organizing and simplifying the published record that can be used not only to understand the implications of published data, but also to inform research decisions. The authors use studies of learning and memory to illustrate how the framework and principles introduced were derived from implicit and explicit research practices in neuroscience. The authors then describe how these principles and framework can be used to generate maps of experimental research. This book shows how, armed with these research maps, scientists can determine more efficiently what their fields have accomplished, and where the unexplored territories still reside. The authors argue that the technology to automate the generation of these maps is at hand and that these maps will have a transformative, revolutionary impact on science.Less
Science is growing at a vertiginous pace. This is no less true of neuroscience than any other discipline. It is no longer possible for anyone either to keep up with relevant literature or fully understand its implications. Ambiguity about what is known, what is uncertain and what has been disproven is especially problematic for research planning. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop strategies and tools to address this growing problem. Engineering the Next Revolution in Neuroscience describes a framework and a set of principles for organizing and simplifying the published record that can be used not only to understand the implications of published data, but also to inform research decisions. The authors use studies of learning and memory to illustrate how the framework and principles introduced were derived from implicit and explicit research practices in neuroscience. The authors then describe how these principles and framework can be used to generate maps of experimental research. This book shows how, armed with these research maps, scientists can determine more efficiently what their fields have accomplished, and where the unexplored territories still reside. The authors argue that the technology to automate the generation of these maps is at hand and that these maps will have a transformative, revolutionary impact on science.
Željko Ivezi, Andrew J. Connolly, Jacob T. VanderPlas, Alexander Gray, Željko Ivezi, Andrew J. Connolly, Jacob T. VanderPlas, and Alexander Gray
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151687
- eISBN:
- 9781400848911
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151687.003.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
This chapter begins by discussing the meaning of data mining, machine learning, and knowledge discovery. Data mining, machine learning, and knowledge discovery refer to research areas which can all ...
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This chapter begins by discussing the meaning of data mining, machine learning, and knowledge discovery. Data mining, machine learning, and knowledge discovery refer to research areas which can all be thought of as outgrowths of multivariate statistics. Their common themes are analysis and interpretation of data, often involving large quantities of data, and even more often resorting to numerical methods. The chapter then presents an incomplete survey of the relevant literature following by an introduction to the Python programming language and the Git code management tool. Next, it describes the surveys and data sets used in examples, plotting and visualizing the data in this book, and how to efficiently use this book.Less
This chapter begins by discussing the meaning of data mining, machine learning, and knowledge discovery. Data mining, machine learning, and knowledge discovery refer to research areas which can all be thought of as outgrowths of multivariate statistics. Their common themes are analysis and interpretation of data, often involving large quantities of data, and even more often resorting to numerical methods. The chapter then presents an incomplete survey of the relevant literature following by an introduction to the Python programming language and the Git code management tool. Next, it describes the surveys and data sets used in examples, plotting and visualizing the data in this book, and how to efficiently use this book.
Michael Ward
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195313871
- eISBN:
- 9780199871964
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195313871.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
Reasons why Lewis's critics were not looking for a secret layer of meaning. Reasons why Lewis's critics were not interested in astrology. The extent to which Lewis knew about astronomy. The extent to ...
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Reasons why Lewis's critics were not looking for a secret layer of meaning. Reasons why Lewis's critics were not interested in astrology. The extent to which Lewis knew about astronomy. The extent to which he believed in astrology. The circumstances in which the donegalitarian discovery was made.Less
Reasons why Lewis's critics were not looking for a secret layer of meaning. Reasons why Lewis's critics were not interested in astrology. The extent to which Lewis knew about astronomy. The extent to which he believed in astrology. The circumstances in which the donegalitarian discovery was made.
Frederick Grinnell
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195064575
- eISBN:
- 9780199869442
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195064575.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Chapter 1 presents an overview of the two central activities of the scientific process: discovery (learning new things about the world) and credibility (convincing other researchers that the new ...
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Chapter 1 presents an overview of the two central activities of the scientific process: discovery (learning new things about the world) and credibility (convincing other researchers that the new findings are correct). According to the linear model of research found in science textbooks, these activities are carried out by dispassionate investigators who are guided at every step by objectivity and logic in accordance with the scientific method. By contrast, everyday practice is far more ambiguous. Researchers are influenced by personality and biography; success requires intuition and passion as well as objectivity and logic. Objectivity ultimately depends on individual researchers transcending their subjectivity by turning to the scientific community with the goal of achieving knowledge that is correct for anyone, anywhere, anytime. Diversity in how scientists think and work enhances scientific exploration. When science education focuses solely on the linear model of research, the excitement and adventure of everyday practice are left out.Less
Chapter 1 presents an overview of the two central activities of the scientific process: discovery (learning new things about the world) and credibility (convincing other researchers that the new findings are correct). According to the linear model of research found in science textbooks, these activities are carried out by dispassionate investigators who are guided at every step by objectivity and logic in accordance with the scientific method. By contrast, everyday practice is far more ambiguous. Researchers are influenced by personality and biography; success requires intuition and passion as well as objectivity and logic. Objectivity ultimately depends on individual researchers transcending their subjectivity by turning to the scientific community with the goal of achieving knowledge that is correct for anyone, anywhere, anytime. Diversity in how scientists think and work enhances scientific exploration. When science education focuses solely on the linear model of research, the excitement and adventure of everyday practice are left out.
Frederick Grinnell
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195064575
- eISBN:
- 9780199869442
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195064575.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Chapter 2 describes discovery in science: exploration at the frontiers of knowledge, becoming first to know something new, and establishing intellectual ownership by making public a discovery claim. ...
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Chapter 2 describes discovery in science: exploration at the frontiers of knowledge, becoming first to know something new, and establishing intellectual ownership by making public a discovery claim. Every scientist faces Plato's paradox — the tendency to find that for which one is looking. Noticing the unexpected frequently provides the key to transcending this paradox, and unintended experiments often provide the opportunities. Each researcher has a unique thought style that depends on education, experience, and temperament and influences every aspect of discovery: what to study, what experiments to do, what distinguishes data from background noise. Thought styles explain the researcher's courage to pursue convictions despite community skepticism and experimental difficulties. Discovery transforms the researcher's thought style and world view. Collaboration among researchers and introduction of new research technologies enhance possibilities for this transformation to occur.Less
Chapter 2 describes discovery in science: exploration at the frontiers of knowledge, becoming first to know something new, and establishing intellectual ownership by making public a discovery claim. Every scientist faces Plato's paradox — the tendency to find that for which one is looking. Noticing the unexpected frequently provides the key to transcending this paradox, and unintended experiments often provide the opportunities. Each researcher has a unique thought style that depends on education, experience, and temperament and influences every aspect of discovery: what to study, what experiments to do, what distinguishes data from background noise. Thought styles explain the researcher's courage to pursue convictions despite community skepticism and experimental difficulties. Discovery transforms the researcher's thought style and world view. Collaboration among researchers and introduction of new research technologies enhance possibilities for this transformation to occur.
Frederick Grinnell
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195064575
- eISBN:
- 9780199869442
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195064575.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Chapter 3 describes how, through the credibility process, the individual's mine, here, now transforms into the community's anyone, anywhere, anytime. The possibility of credible knowledge represents ...
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Chapter 3 describes how, through the credibility process, the individual's mine, here, now transforms into the community's anyone, anywhere, anytime. The possibility of credible knowledge represents a fundamental belief of science that originates in the repeatability, continuity, and intersubjectivity of everyday life experience. The credibility process involves insiders and outsiders with respect to every discovery claim. Interaction and confrontation of their respective thought styles becomes the dialectic of this process. Discovery claims made credible will be incorporated into and refashion the community's prevailing thought style — the more novel a discovery claim, the greater its potential impact. Novelty also challenges intersubjectivity, and highly novel discovery claims sometimes are received with skepticism by the research community. What appears credible one day may be viewed as error the next, and vice versa, hence the self-correcting feature of science.Less
Chapter 3 describes how, through the credibility process, the individual's mine, here, now transforms into the community's anyone, anywhere, anytime. The possibility of credible knowledge represents a fundamental belief of science that originates in the repeatability, continuity, and intersubjectivity of everyday life experience. The credibility process involves insiders and outsiders with respect to every discovery claim. Interaction and confrontation of their respective thought styles becomes the dialectic of this process. Discovery claims made credible will be incorporated into and refashion the community's prevailing thought style — the more novel a discovery claim, the greater its potential impact. Novelty also challenges intersubjectivity, and highly novel discovery claims sometimes are received with skepticism by the research community. What appears credible one day may be viewed as error the next, and vice versa, hence the self-correcting feature of science.
Marcus Giaquinto
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199285945
- eISBN:
- 9780191713811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199285945.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
This chapter shows how, using basic beliefs, one can go on to make a geometrical discovery by visual means in a non-empirical manner. It focuses on a simple example in order to illustrate the general ...
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This chapter shows how, using basic beliefs, one can go on to make a geometrical discovery by visual means in a non-empirical manner. It focuses on a simple example in order to illustrate the general possibility of what Kant would call synthetic a priori judgements in geometry. It attempts to show how such a judgement can be knowledge. It is commonly asserted that diagrams have no non-redundant role in a proof, even in a geometric proof.Less
This chapter shows how, using basic beliefs, one can go on to make a geometrical discovery by visual means in a non-empirical manner. It focuses on a simple example in order to illustrate the general possibility of what Kant would call synthetic a priori judgements in geometry. It attempts to show how such a judgement can be knowledge. It is commonly asserted that diagrams have no non-redundant role in a proof, even in a geometric proof.
Marcus Giaquinto
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199285945
- eISBN:
- 9780191713811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199285945.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
Presentations of geometric proofs are often accompanied by diagrams for quick and easy comprehension. But to many people, it seems clear that diagrammatic reasoning cannot be a part of the argument ...
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Presentations of geometric proofs are often accompanied by diagrams for quick and easy comprehension. But to many people, it seems clear that diagrammatic reasoning cannot be a part of the argument itself, otherwise it would be prey to the very insecurity that we want to eliminate — insecurity from visual thinking — and so the argument would not be able to justify its conclusion; it would not be a proof. This is the line of thought that most strongly supports the widespread belief that diagrams can have no epistemological role in proof. The main aim of this chapter is to investigate this negative view and the argument for it presented in this book.Less
Presentations of geometric proofs are often accompanied by diagrams for quick and easy comprehension. But to many people, it seems clear that diagrammatic reasoning cannot be a part of the argument itself, otherwise it would be prey to the very insecurity that we want to eliminate — insecurity from visual thinking — and so the argument would not be able to justify its conclusion; it would not be a proof. This is the line of thought that most strongly supports the widespread belief that diagrams can have no epistemological role in proof. The main aim of this chapter is to investigate this negative view and the argument for it presented in this book.
Marcus Giaquinto
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199285945
- eISBN:
- 9780191713811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199285945.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
This chapter explores the vexed question of visual thinking in analysis. Is visualizing in analysis just a facilitator? Or can it have a non-redundant role in discovering truths of analysis? It is ...
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This chapter explores the vexed question of visual thinking in analysis. Is visualizing in analysis just a facilitator? Or can it have a non-redundant role in discovering truths of analysis? It is argued that its role in discovery is necessarily highly restricted; but several other important functions are fulfilled by visual means in analysis. The chapter also discusses Rolle's Theorem and Bolzano's Theorem.Less
This chapter explores the vexed question of visual thinking in analysis. Is visualizing in analysis just a facilitator? Or can it have a non-redundant role in discovering truths of analysis? It is argued that its role in discovery is necessarily highly restricted; but several other important functions are fulfilled by visual means in analysis. The chapter also discusses Rolle's Theorem and Bolzano's Theorem.
Marcus Giaquinto
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199285945
- eISBN:
- 9780191713811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199285945.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
This chapter explores the nature and uses of visual thinking with symbols in mathematics. It examines visual symbolic thinking, which is more varied than one might expect, to see how it can ...
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This chapter explores the nature and uses of visual thinking with symbols in mathematics. It examines visual symbolic thinking, which is more varied than one might expect, to see how it can contribute to discovery, security, illumination, and generality. It also looks at the roles of symbolic thinking in certain algebraic examples.Less
This chapter explores the nature and uses of visual thinking with symbols in mathematics. It examines visual symbolic thinking, which is more varied than one might expect, to see how it can contribute to discovery, security, illumination, and generality. It also looks at the roles of symbolic thinking in certain algebraic examples.
William F. Bristow
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199290642
- eISBN:
- 9780191710421
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290642.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter argues that Hegel's return to the standpoint of Kantian criticism turns on his belated recognition that the epistemological demand expressed in that project — namely, that we establish ...
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This chapter argues that Hegel's return to the standpoint of Kantian criticism turns on his belated recognition that the epistemological demand expressed in that project — namely, that we establish the possibility of metaphysical knowledge in a subjective reflection on our cognitive criteria as a condition of the possibility of metaphysics itself — is grounded in the independence (Selbständigkeit) of the knowing subject. Whereas Hegel earlier rejects distinctively modern epistemological projects — prominently Kant's criticism — as inherently subjectivistic, he comes to recognize that the epistemological demand expressed in these projects cannot be dismissed, insofar as it is backed by a distinctively modern self-discovery, the discovery of the individual subject as self-standing. Kant contributes essentially to this discovery with his articulation of the knowing and acting subject as the author of the highest principles of its epistemic and practical activity. With this recognition, Hegel comes to see that modern dualisms and subjectivism cannot be evaded by returning to an ancient model of epistemology that is yet innocent of these.Less
This chapter argues that Hegel's return to the standpoint of Kantian criticism turns on his belated recognition that the epistemological demand expressed in that project — namely, that we establish the possibility of metaphysical knowledge in a subjective reflection on our cognitive criteria as a condition of the possibility of metaphysics itself — is grounded in the independence (Selbständigkeit) of the knowing subject. Whereas Hegel earlier rejects distinctively modern epistemological projects — prominently Kant's criticism — as inherently subjectivistic, he comes to recognize that the epistemological demand expressed in these projects cannot be dismissed, insofar as it is backed by a distinctively modern self-discovery, the discovery of the individual subject as self-standing. Kant contributes essentially to this discovery with his articulation of the knowing and acting subject as the author of the highest principles of its epistemic and practical activity. With this recognition, Hegel comes to see that modern dualisms and subjectivism cannot be evaded by returning to an ancient model of epistemology that is yet innocent of these.
