Sabina Alkire
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199245796
- eISBN:
- 9780191600838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245797.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. The issue ...
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Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. The issue of this second chapter is how one ‘specifies’ the dimensions of valuable functioning or capability. Martha Nussbaum's work on central human capabilities and John Finnis's work on basic human reasons for action are both presented, and then alternative accounts of universal human needs and values are briefly considered. The theoretical conception of basic human values that has been developed by Finnis is proposed as being a conception that enables and requires participatory dialogue in application, has objective foundations, and can also coherently engage with and be refined by the large and growing empirical literatures on happiness, subjective well‐being, quality of life indicators, and views of the poor—which have not been well‐integrated with poverty reduction approaches. This conception can also mesh well with methodological literatures on participation, and be used by persons with diverse philosophical approaches and opinions. Ends with a table listing the dimensions of human development from 39 different disciplines.Less
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. The issue of this second chapter is how one ‘specifies’ the dimensions of valuable functioning or capability. Martha Nussbaum's work on central human capabilities and John Finnis's work on basic human reasons for action are both presented, and then alternative accounts of universal human needs and values are briefly considered. The theoretical conception of basic human values that has been developed by Finnis is proposed as being a conception that enables and requires participatory dialogue in application, has objective foundations, and can also coherently engage with and be refined by the large and growing empirical literatures on happiness, subjective well‐being, quality of life indicators, and views of the poor—which have not been well‐integrated with poverty reduction approaches. This conception can also mesh well with methodological literatures on participation, and be used by persons with diverse philosophical approaches and opinions. Ends with a table listing the dimensions of human development from 39 different disciplines.
David R. Law
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263364
- eISBN:
- 9780191682506
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263364.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book is concerned with Kierkegaard's ‘apophaticism’, i.e. with those elements of Kierkegaard's thought that emphasize the incapacity of human reason and the hiddenness of God. Apophaticism is an ...
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This book is concerned with Kierkegaard's ‘apophaticism’, i.e. with those elements of Kierkegaard's thought that emphasize the incapacity of human reason and the hiddenness of God. Apophaticism is an important underlying strand in Kierkegaard's thought and colours many of his key concepts. Despite its importance, however, it has until now been largely ignored by Kierkegaardian scholarship. The book argues that apophatic elements can be detected in every aspect of Kierkegaard's thought and that, despite proceeding from different presuppositions, he can therefore be regarded as a negative theologian. Indeed, the book concludes by arguing that Kierkegaard's refusal to make the transition from the via negative to the via mystica means that he is more apophatic than the negative theologians themselves.Less
This book is concerned with Kierkegaard's ‘apophaticism’, i.e. with those elements of Kierkegaard's thought that emphasize the incapacity of human reason and the hiddenness of God. Apophaticism is an important underlying strand in Kierkegaard's thought and colours many of his key concepts. Despite its importance, however, it has until now been largely ignored by Kierkegaardian scholarship. The book argues that apophatic elements can be detected in every aspect of Kierkegaard's thought and that, despite proceeding from different presuppositions, he can therefore be regarded as a negative theologian. Indeed, the book concludes by arguing that Kierkegaard's refusal to make the transition from the via negative to the via mystica means that he is more apophatic than the negative theologians themselves.
Mike Oaksford and Nick Chater (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199233298
- eISBN:
- 9780191696602
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233298.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
The conditional, if…then, is probably the most important term in natural language and forms the core of systems of logic and mental representation. It occurs in all human languages and allows people ...
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The conditional, if…then, is probably the most important term in natural language and forms the core of systems of logic and mental representation. It occurs in all human languages and allows people to express their knowledge of the causal or law-like structure of the world and of others' behaviour. The way in which the conditional is modelled also determines the core of most logical systems. Unsurprisingly, it is also the most-researched expression in the psychology of human reasoning. This book brings together recent developments in the cognitive science and psychology of conditional reasoning. Over the last ten to fifteen years, research on conditionals has come to dominate the psychology of reasoning, providing a rich seam of results that have created new theoretical possibilities. This book shows how these developments have led researchers to view people's conditional reasoning behaviour more as successful probabilistic reasoning rather than as errorful logical reasoning. It shows how the multifarious, and apparently competing, theoretical positions developed over the last fifty years in this area — mental logics, mental models, heuristic approaches, dual process theory, and probabilistic approaches — have responded to these insights. Its organisation reflects the view that an integrative approach is emerging that may need to exploit aspects of all these theoretical positions to explain the rich and complex phenomenon of reasoning with conditionals. It includes an introductory chapter relating the development of the psychology of reasoning to developments in the logic and semantics of the conditional.Less
The conditional, if…then, is probably the most important term in natural language and forms the core of systems of logic and mental representation. It occurs in all human languages and allows people to express their knowledge of the causal or law-like structure of the world and of others' behaviour. The way in which the conditional is modelled also determines the core of most logical systems. Unsurprisingly, it is also the most-researched expression in the psychology of human reasoning. This book brings together recent developments in the cognitive science and psychology of conditional reasoning. Over the last ten to fifteen years, research on conditionals has come to dominate the psychology of reasoning, providing a rich seam of results that have created new theoretical possibilities. This book shows how these developments have led researchers to view people's conditional reasoning behaviour more as successful probabilistic reasoning rather than as errorful logical reasoning. It shows how the multifarious, and apparently competing, theoretical positions developed over the last fifty years in this area — mental logics, mental models, heuristic approaches, dual process theory, and probabilistic approaches — have responded to these insights. Its organisation reflects the view that an integrative approach is emerging that may need to exploit aspects of all these theoretical positions to explain the rich and complex phenomenon of reasoning with conditionals. It includes an introductory chapter relating the development of the psychology of reasoning to developments in the logic and semantics of the conditional.
Mike Oaksford and Nick Chater
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198524496
- eISBN:
- 9780191584923
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524496.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
The idea that a deductive competence theory is central to human cognition both has a long pedigree and is widely held by many leading figures in the psychology of reasoning. This chapter argues ...
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The idea that a deductive competence theory is central to human cognition both has a long pedigree and is widely held by many leading figures in the psychology of reasoning. This chapter argues against this tradition in the psychology of reasoning. It claims that almost no everyday human reasoning can be characterized deductively, or has any significant deductive component. Although many theorists have argued that deduction is at the core of cognition, it is argued that it is at the periphery. The chapter begins by clarifying the meaning of the claim that human reasoning involves deduction by introducing Marr’s levels of description of a computational process.Less
The idea that a deductive competence theory is central to human cognition both has a long pedigree and is widely held by many leading figures in the psychology of reasoning. This chapter argues against this tradition in the psychology of reasoning. It claims that almost no everyday human reasoning can be characterized deductively, or has any significant deductive component. Although many theorists have argued that deduction is at the core of cognition, it is argued that it is at the periphery. The chapter begins by clarifying the meaning of the claim that human reasoning involves deduction by introducing Marr’s levels of description of a computational process.
Stephen Stich
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199733477
- eISBN:
- 9780199949823
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199733477.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Aristotle thought man was a rational animal. From his time to ours, however, there has been a steady stream of writers who have dissented from this sanguine assessment. Recently, however, there have ...
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Aristotle thought man was a rational animal. From his time to ours, however, there has been a steady stream of writers who have dissented from this sanguine assessment. Recently, however, there have been rumblings of a reaction brewing—a resurgence of Aristotelian optimism. Those defending the sullied name of human reason have been philosophers, and their weapons have been conceptual analysis and epistemological argument. The central thrust of their defense is the claim that empirical evidence could not possibly support the conclusion that people are systematically irrational. And thus the experiments which allegedly show that they are must be either flawed or misinterpreted. This chapter takes a critical look at these philosophical defenses of rationality. The central thesis is that the philosophical arguments aimed at showing irrationality cannot be experimentally demonstrated are mistaken. Before considering these arguments, this chapter sets out a few illustrations of the sort of empirical studies which allegedly show that people depart from normative standards of rationality in systematic ways.Less
Aristotle thought man was a rational animal. From his time to ours, however, there has been a steady stream of writers who have dissented from this sanguine assessment. Recently, however, there have been rumblings of a reaction brewing—a resurgence of Aristotelian optimism. Those defending the sullied name of human reason have been philosophers, and their weapons have been conceptual analysis and epistemological argument. The central thrust of their defense is the claim that empirical evidence could not possibly support the conclusion that people are systematically irrational. And thus the experiments which allegedly show that they are must be either flawed or misinterpreted. This chapter takes a critical look at these philosophical defenses of rationality. The central thesis is that the philosophical arguments aimed at showing irrationality cannot be experimentally demonstrated are mistaken. Before considering these arguments, this chapter sets out a few illustrations of the sort of empirical studies which allegedly show that people depart from normative standards of rationality in systematic ways.
Mike Oaksford and Nick Chater
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198524496
- eISBN:
- 9780191584923
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524496.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This book seeks to convince the reader that the project of developing a rational analysis of human reasoning based on probability theory has been fruitful, and that it has considerable promise in the ...
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This book seeks to convince the reader that the project of developing a rational analysis of human reasoning based on probability theory has been fruitful, and that it has considerable promise in the future. But, in pursuit of a clear presentation of the authors’ main theses, they have left a range of puzzles and concerns outstanding. This final chapter takes the form of a dialogue between a sceptic and an advocate of the approach. The aim is to give an intuitive sense of the thinking underlying this book and its broader intellectual context, as well as stressing challenges for, and assumptions of, the approach. It hopes some readers may be intrigued enough to take part in the ongoing academic dialogue on rational analysis and human reasoning.Less
This book seeks to convince the reader that the project of developing a rational analysis of human reasoning based on probability theory has been fruitful, and that it has considerable promise in the future. But, in pursuit of a clear presentation of the authors’ main theses, they have left a range of puzzles and concerns outstanding. This final chapter takes the form of a dialogue between a sceptic and an advocate of the approach. The aim is to give an intuitive sense of the thinking underlying this book and its broader intellectual context, as well as stressing challenges for, and assumptions of, the approach. It hopes some readers may be intrigued enough to take part in the ongoing academic dialogue on rational analysis and human reasoning.
Philippa Foot
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198235088
- eISBN:
- 9780191597428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198235089.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Foot considers an objection to the suggestion that the same normative pattern is to be found in plants, animals, and human beings: i.e. human beings, because they are rational creatures, can question ...
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Foot considers an objection to the suggestion that the same normative pattern is to be found in plants, animals, and human beings: i.e. human beings, because they are rational creatures, can question and indeed reject ‘natural goodness’. This is a problem about the rationality of doing what virtue demands. To meet the challenge, Foot embarks on a discussion of practical rationality, or the nature and provenance of human reasoning. Foot argues that an objective theory of morality can establish an intelligible connection between objective moral evaluations and what we have reason to do as individuals. Rational choice is an aspect of human goodness, and at the heart of the virtues, rather than set apart from it as something to which goodness should conform.Less
Foot considers an objection to the suggestion that the same normative pattern is to be found in plants, animals, and human beings: i.e. human beings, because they are rational creatures, can question and indeed reject ‘natural goodness’. This is a problem about the rationality of doing what virtue demands. To meet the challenge, Foot embarks on a discussion of practical rationality, or the nature and provenance of human reasoning. Foot argues that an objective theory of morality can establish an intelligible connection between objective moral evaluations and what we have reason to do as individuals. Rational choice is an aspect of human goodness, and at the heart of the virtues, rather than set apart from it as something to which goodness should conform.
Murray A. Rae
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269403
- eISBN:
- 9780191683633
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269403.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Christianity contends that the Truth is learned neither by speculation, nor imagination, nor by historical investigation but rather by the virtue of the condition given by God. Receipt of this ...
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Christianity contends that the Truth is learned neither by speculation, nor imagination, nor by historical investigation but rather by the virtue of the condition given by God. Receipt of this condition by an individual affects a radical transformation and a new birth which carries ontological, epistemological and ethical significance. This chapter discusses the logic of transformation in the epistemological sphere. It also aims to show that the account of the matter which is presented in Philosophical Fragments is not a judgement of Johannes Climacus alone but illuminates the broader purpose and structure of Kierkegaard's authorship. In this chapter, Climacus contends that for an individual to experience Christian conversion, a process of letting go of human reasoning must occur so that when the individual is encountered by the God-Man, a new condition of understanding the Truth can occur.Less
Christianity contends that the Truth is learned neither by speculation, nor imagination, nor by historical investigation but rather by the virtue of the condition given by God. Receipt of this condition by an individual affects a radical transformation and a new birth which carries ontological, epistemological and ethical significance. This chapter discusses the logic of transformation in the epistemological sphere. It also aims to show that the account of the matter which is presented in Philosophical Fragments is not a judgement of Johannes Climacus alone but illuminates the broader purpose and structure of Kierkegaard's authorship. In this chapter, Climacus contends that for an individual to experience Christian conversion, a process of letting go of human reasoning must occur so that when the individual is encountered by the God-Man, a new condition of understanding the Truth can occur.
Mike Oaksford and Nick Chater
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198524496
- eISBN:
- 9780191584923
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524496.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
One of the central goals of this book is to show how empirical data on human reasoning can be reconciled with the notion that people are rational. This raises two questions: first, the general ...
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One of the central goals of this book is to show how empirical data on human reasoning can be reconciled with the notion that people are rational. This raises two questions: first, the general theoretical question of how the concept of rationality relates to human behaviour; and, second, the methodological question of how to develop ‘rational’ explanations of behaviour. The answer to the first question will provide a starting point for tackling the second; for which John Anderson’s methodology of rational analysis is advocated. This chapter is divided into two parts. First, it discusses formal and everyday rationality, and various possible relationships between them. Second, it outlines how the programme of rational analysis, which is the framework of the research in this book, leads to a new conception of how formal and everyday rationality are related.Less
One of the central goals of this book is to show how empirical data on human reasoning can be reconciled with the notion that people are rational. This raises two questions: first, the general theoretical question of how the concept of rationality relates to human behaviour; and, second, the methodological question of how to develop ‘rational’ explanations of behaviour. The answer to the first question will provide a starting point for tackling the second; for which John Anderson’s methodology of rational analysis is advocated. This chapter is divided into two parts. First, it discusses formal and everyday rationality, and various possible relationships between them. Second, it outlines how the programme of rational analysis, which is the framework of the research in this book, leads to a new conception of how formal and everyday rationality are related.
Mike Oaksford and Nick Chater
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198524496
- eISBN:
- 9780191584923
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524496.003.0004
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter aims to outline the so-called ‘probabilistic turn’: a move from using logic to using probability theory as a framework for understanding human thought. This probabilistic turn has ...
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This chapter aims to outline the so-called ‘probabilistic turn’: a move from using logic to using probability theory as a framework for understanding human thought. This probabilistic turn has occurred primarily over the last ten to fifteen years across a range of disciplines. The chapter begins by considering the probabilistic turn in the semantics of natural language, i.e. the project of specifying a formal theory of meaning for natural language statements, and thus specifying which inferences follow from such statements. It considers how probabilistic approaches have become prevalent in the three areas that were considered in relation to logic-based methods. In each of these areas — theories of scientific inference, artificial intelligence, and psychology — the discussion will be broadened to consider relevant research across related disciplines. The chapter thus provides historical and technical background for the development of the specific probabilistic theories of performance on the three key areas of human reasoning: conditional reasoning, the selection task, and syllogistic reasoning.Less
This chapter aims to outline the so-called ‘probabilistic turn’: a move from using logic to using probability theory as a framework for understanding human thought. This probabilistic turn has occurred primarily over the last ten to fifteen years across a range of disciplines. The chapter begins by considering the probabilistic turn in the semantics of natural language, i.e. the project of specifying a formal theory of meaning for natural language statements, and thus specifying which inferences follow from such statements. It considers how probabilistic approaches have become prevalent in the three areas that were considered in relation to logic-based methods. In each of these areas — theories of scientific inference, artificial intelligence, and psychology — the discussion will be broadened to consider relevant research across related disciplines. The chapter thus provides historical and technical background for the development of the specific probabilistic theories of performance on the three key areas of human reasoning: conditional reasoning, the selection task, and syllogistic reasoning.
Chandran Kukathas
- Published in print:
- 1989
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198273264
- eISBN:
- 9780191684029
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198273264.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter examines Hayek's claims about the nature and significance of the limits of human reason. It outlines Hayek's account of the nature of mind and knowledge and his critique of ...
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This chapter examines Hayek's claims about the nature and significance of the limits of human reason. It outlines Hayek's account of the nature of mind and knowledge and his critique of ‘constructivism’. It also examines the relationship between his attack on constructivism and his theory of justice by comparing his thought with that of Rawls. Hayek's theory of knowledge emphasizes that the limitations of human rationality make it impossible to construct rules of justice from some transcendental or Archimedean perspective. The nature of knowledge counsels against attempts to derive any rationalist defence of a particular conception of just distribution and also suggests that practical efforts to enforce distributive patterns cannot succeed. This view leads Hayek to reject the kind of individualist defence of liberal justice offered by Rawls.Less
This chapter examines Hayek's claims about the nature and significance of the limits of human reason. It outlines Hayek's account of the nature of mind and knowledge and his critique of ‘constructivism’. It also examines the relationship between his attack on constructivism and his theory of justice by comparing his thought with that of Rawls. Hayek's theory of knowledge emphasizes that the limitations of human rationality make it impossible to construct rules of justice from some transcendental or Archimedean perspective. The nature of knowledge counsels against attempts to derive any rationalist defence of a particular conception of just distribution and also suggests that practical efforts to enforce distributive patterns cannot succeed. This view leads Hayek to reject the kind of individualist defence of liberal justice offered by Rawls.
Stephen Stich
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199733477
- eISBN:
- 9780199949823
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199733477.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This volume collects the best and most influential work on knowledge, rationality, and morality that Stephen Stich has published in the last forty years. All of the chapters here are concerned, in ...
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This volume collects the best and most influential work on knowledge, rationality, and morality that Stephen Stich has published in the last forty years. All of the chapters here are concerned, in one way or another, with the ways in which findings and theories in the cognitive sciences can contribute to, and sometimes reshape traditional philosophical conversations and debates. A central theme in the chapters on epistemology and rationality is the philosophical significance of empirical work on human reasoning done by researchers in the “heuristics and biases” tradition, and by their critics in evolutionary psychology. In the chapters on morality, a wide range of empirical work is explored, including studies of the psychological foundations of norms, work on the moral/conventional distinction, and empirical attempts to determine whether humans ever act on altruistic motives. Stich was one of the pioneers in the experimental philosophy movement, and work in experimental philosophy plays a prominent role in many of these works presented here. The volume includes a new introductory chapter that offers an overview of the rest of the book and traces the history of how the themes emerged.Less
This volume collects the best and most influential work on knowledge, rationality, and morality that Stephen Stich has published in the last forty years. All of the chapters here are concerned, in one way or another, with the ways in which findings and theories in the cognitive sciences can contribute to, and sometimes reshape traditional philosophical conversations and debates. A central theme in the chapters on epistemology and rationality is the philosophical significance of empirical work on human reasoning done by researchers in the “heuristics and biases” tradition, and by their critics in evolutionary psychology. In the chapters on morality, a wide range of empirical work is explored, including studies of the psychological foundations of norms, work on the moral/conventional distinction, and empirical attempts to determine whether humans ever act on altruistic motives. Stich was one of the pioneers in the experimental philosophy movement, and work in experimental philosophy plays a prominent role in many of these works presented here. The volume includes a new introductory chapter that offers an overview of the rest of the book and traces the history of how the themes emerged.
Michael A Bishop and J. D. Trout
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195162295
- eISBN:
- 9780199835539
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195162293.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter offers a framework for understanding significance that tolerates our incomplete knowledge of the conditions for human well-being. Topics discussed include the role of significance in ...
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This chapter offers a framework for understanding significance that tolerates our incomplete knowledge of the conditions for human well-being. Topics discussed include the role of significance in Strategic Reliabilism, a reason-based approach to significance, and the potential unavailability of objective reasons. It is argued that a proper understanding of the notion of epistemic significance is a core problem for any epistemological theory that claims to be able to guide reason, and that any epistemological view that gives a central place to the notion of significance is bound to be deeply empirical.Less
This chapter offers a framework for understanding significance that tolerates our incomplete knowledge of the conditions for human well-being. Topics discussed include the role of significance in Strategic Reliabilism, a reason-based approach to significance, and the potential unavailability of objective reasons. It is argued that a proper understanding of the notion of epistemic significance is a core problem for any epistemological theory that claims to be able to guide reason, and that any epistemological view that gives a central place to the notion of significance is bound to be deeply empirical.
Michael A Bishop and J. D. Trout
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195162295
- eISBN:
- 9780199835539
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195162293.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter uses Strategic Reliabilism to resolve two debates about whether certain experimental findings demonstrate deep and systematic failures of human reasoning. It illustrates one of the main ...
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This chapter uses Strategic Reliabilism to resolve two debates about whether certain experimental findings demonstrate deep and systematic failures of human reasoning. It illustrates one of the main benefits of the current approach to epistemology: it can be used to adjudicate disputes that arise in psychology that are, at bottom, normative epistemological disputes about the nature of good reasoning.Less
This chapter uses Strategic Reliabilism to resolve two debates about whether certain experimental findings demonstrate deep and systematic failures of human reasoning. It illustrates one of the main benefits of the current approach to epistemology: it can be used to adjudicate disputes that arise in psychology that are, at bottom, normative epistemological disputes about the nature of good reasoning.
Hugo Mercier
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199856800
- eISBN:
- 9780199301508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199856800.003.0027
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience
The frequent flaws in human reasoning are well documented. This chapter seeks to provide a general explanation based on the role of argumentation both in contemporary society and during the ...
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The frequent flaws in human reasoning are well documented. This chapter seeks to provide a general explanation based on the role of argumentation both in contemporary society and during the evolutionary emergence of the species. The author invokes the dual process framework that distinguishes between automatic or intuitive mental processes and memory-based, reflective processes, arguing that their functional relationship undermines the effectiveness of classical reasoning. The hyper-communicative social environment of humans has magnified the importance of argumentation, proposed here as the main driving force for the evolutionary development of reasoning. This view leads to new interpretations of phenomena like the confirmation bias—strengthening one’s argument in response to those of rivals—which may prove beneficial in decision making at the group level. Moral reasoning is mainly thought to be post-hoc rationalizing of intuitions, but here too views can be altered through argumentation.Less
The frequent flaws in human reasoning are well documented. This chapter seeks to provide a general explanation based on the role of argumentation both in contemporary society and during the evolutionary emergence of the species. The author invokes the dual process framework that distinguishes between automatic or intuitive mental processes and memory-based, reflective processes, arguing that their functional relationship undermines the effectiveness of classical reasoning. The hyper-communicative social environment of humans has magnified the importance of argumentation, proposed here as the main driving force for the evolutionary development of reasoning. This view leads to new interpretations of phenomena like the confirmation bias—strengthening one’s argument in response to those of rivals—which may prove beneficial in decision making at the group level. Moral reasoning is mainly thought to be post-hoc rationalizing of intuitions, but here too views can be altered through argumentation.
Cheryl B. Welch
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198781318
- eISBN:
- 9780191695414
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198781318.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter situates Tocqueville among a set of problems and writers in post-revolutionary France in order to give the reader a sense of both the idiosyncrasy of Tocqueville's project in his own ...
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This chapter situates Tocqueville among a set of problems and writers in post-revolutionary France in order to give the reader a sense of both the idiosyncrasy of Tocqueville's project in his own environment and its political relevance. As a theorist and a writer with a cause, Tocqueville aimed to write books that would inspire leaders to direct French political culture along new paths. However, his solitary manner of argument disregarded what is considered the norm of his own time. The chapter places him in the changing patterns of his time: the search for a social science that would save the French from the results of their disastrous experiments in revolutionary politics, the rise of historical consciousness, and the widespread desire to understand a spiritualized version of human reason.Less
This chapter situates Tocqueville among a set of problems and writers in post-revolutionary France in order to give the reader a sense of both the idiosyncrasy of Tocqueville's project in his own environment and its political relevance. As a theorist and a writer with a cause, Tocqueville aimed to write books that would inspire leaders to direct French political culture along new paths. However, his solitary manner of argument disregarded what is considered the norm of his own time. The chapter places him in the changing patterns of his time: the search for a social science that would save the French from the results of their disastrous experiments in revolutionary politics, the rise of historical consciousness, and the widespread desire to understand a spiritualized version of human reason.
Justin E. H. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153643
- eISBN:
- 9781400866311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153643.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter focuses on the life and work of Anton Wilhelm Amo, who was active in Germany in the period between Leibniz and Kant. It shows how Amo's identity as an African in Europe helped to shape ...
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This chapter focuses on the life and work of Anton Wilhelm Amo, who was active in Germany in the period between Leibniz and Kant. It shows how Amo's identity as an African in Europe helped to shape both his philosophy and its reception, and what lessons may have been drawn in the era for thinking about the relationship between human racial diversity, on the one hand, and the universality of human reason, on the other. Finally, the chapter argues that the position occupied by Amo in the philosophical landscape of early eighteenth-century Germany reveals the likely influence of Leibniz, who had provided a model for a nonracial philosophical anthropology for which he has generally not been given much credit.Less
This chapter focuses on the life and work of Anton Wilhelm Amo, who was active in Germany in the period between Leibniz and Kant. It shows how Amo's identity as an African in Europe helped to shape both his philosophy and its reception, and what lessons may have been drawn in the era for thinking about the relationship between human racial diversity, on the one hand, and the universality of human reason, on the other. Finally, the chapter argues that the position occupied by Amo in the philosophical landscape of early eighteenth-century Germany reveals the likely influence of Leibniz, who had provided a model for a nonracial philosophical anthropology for which he has generally not been given much credit.
Mike Oaksford and Nick Chater
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198524496
- eISBN:
- 9780191584923
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524496.003.0005
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter shows how a probabilistic perspective can resolve many of the outstanding issues in reasoning research. The goal is to show that many of the errors and biases seen in experiments on ...
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This chapter shows how a probabilistic perspective can resolve many of the outstanding issues in reasoning research. The goal is to show that many of the errors and biases seen in experiments on human reasoning are the result of people applying probabilistic strategies used for coping with their uncertain world. In the psychology of reasoning it has been standard to take logic as the normative theory against which performance is assessed. However, standard logic has long been known not to provide an adequate account of reasoning. The key logical term where this issue arises is the conditional, if…then. This simple expression is probably the most important to all systems of reasoning. It has long been observed in the philosophy of language and logic that there is a mismatch between how logic treats the conditional and how it is used in natural language and everyday argument. The chapter argues that this mismatch suggests a probabilistic approach to the conditional. It shows that adopting this approach allows us to explain much of the data on conditional inference.Less
This chapter shows how a probabilistic perspective can resolve many of the outstanding issues in reasoning research. The goal is to show that many of the errors and biases seen in experiments on human reasoning are the result of people applying probabilistic strategies used for coping with their uncertain world. In the psychology of reasoning it has been standard to take logic as the normative theory against which performance is assessed. However, standard logic has long been known not to provide an adequate account of reasoning. The key logical term where this issue arises is the conditional, if…then. This simple expression is probably the most important to all systems of reasoning. It has long been observed in the philosophy of language and logic that there is a mismatch between how logic treats the conditional and how it is used in natural language and everyday argument. The chapter argues that this mismatch suggests a probabilistic approach to the conditional. It shows that adopting this approach allows us to explain much of the data on conditional inference.
Michael A Bishop and J. D. Trout
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195162295
- eISBN:
- 9780199835539
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195162293.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Strategic Reliabilism addresses resource allocation considerations within a cost-benefit framework. However, there are serious reasons to worry about the feasibility of a cost-benefit approach to ...
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Strategic Reliabilism addresses resource allocation considerations within a cost-benefit framework. However, there are serious reasons to worry about the feasibility of a cost-benefit approach to epistemology. First, there are serious general objections to cost-benefit analyses; and second, it is not clear how we can identify the costs and benefits of reasoning. This chapter addresses these two concerns. It is argued that although many of the deep general concerns about cost-benefit analysis are legitimate, flawed cost-benefit analyses can be very useful, especially if we are clear about the ways in which such analyses are flawed. It is further argued that there are measurable proxies for the costs and benefits of reasoning we can employ in a cost-benefit approach to epistemology.Less
Strategic Reliabilism addresses resource allocation considerations within a cost-benefit framework. However, there are serious reasons to worry about the feasibility of a cost-benefit approach to epistemology. First, there are serious general objections to cost-benefit analyses; and second, it is not clear how we can identify the costs and benefits of reasoning. This chapter addresses these two concerns. It is argued that although many of the deep general concerns about cost-benefit analysis are legitimate, flawed cost-benefit analyses can be very useful, especially if we are clear about the ways in which such analyses are flawed. It is further argued that there are measurable proxies for the costs and benefits of reasoning we can employ in a cost-benefit approach to epistemology.
Michael A Bishop and J. D. Trout
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195162295
- eISBN:
- 9780199835539
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195162293.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter attempts to consolidate some of the lessons of Ameliorative Psychology with some handy heuristics and illustrative injunctions. It explores the empirical research that shows how to ...
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This chapter attempts to consolidate some of the lessons of Ameliorative Psychology with some handy heuristics and illustrative injunctions. It explores the empirical research that shows how to enhance the accuracy of diagnostic reasoning, reduce overconfidence, avoid the regression fallacy, improve policy assessments, and restrain the unbridled story-telling surrounding rare or unusual events. For problems tractable to voluntary reasoning strategies, the simple strategies recommended in the chapter can improve reasoning at low cost and high fidelity.Less
This chapter attempts to consolidate some of the lessons of Ameliorative Psychology with some handy heuristics and illustrative injunctions. It explores the empirical research that shows how to enhance the accuracy of diagnostic reasoning, reduce overconfidence, avoid the regression fallacy, improve policy assessments, and restrain the unbridled story-telling surrounding rare or unusual events. For problems tractable to voluntary reasoning strategies, the simple strategies recommended in the chapter can improve reasoning at low cost and high fidelity.
