Daniel Steel
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195331448
- eISBN:
- 9780199868063
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331448.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
The biological and social sciences often generalize causal conclusions from one context to others that may differ in some relevant respects, as is illustrated by inferences from animal models to ...
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The biological and social sciences often generalize causal conclusions from one context to others that may differ in some relevant respects, as is illustrated by inferences from animal models to humans or from a pilot study to a broader population. Inferences like these are known as extrapolations. How and when extrapolation can be legitimate is a fundamental question for the biological and social sciences that has not received the attention it deserves. This book argues that previous accounts of extrapolation are inadequate and proposes a better approach that is able to answer methodological critiques of extrapolation from animal models to humans.Less
The biological and social sciences often generalize causal conclusions from one context to others that may differ in some relevant respects, as is illustrated by inferences from animal models to humans or from a pilot study to a broader population. Inferences like these are known as extrapolations. How and when extrapolation can be legitimate is a fundamental question for the biological and social sciences that has not received the attention it deserves. This book argues that previous accounts of extrapolation are inadequate and proposes a better approach that is able to answer methodological critiques of extrapolation from animal models to humans.
Andres Rosler
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199251506
- eISBN:
- 9780191602306
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251509.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
It takes exception to the claim that since his political theory addresses legislators and statesmen rather than citizens or subjects, Aristotle is therefore not concerned about the interests of ...
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It takes exception to the claim that since his political theory addresses legislators and statesmen rather than citizens or subjects, Aristotle is therefore not concerned about the interests of citizens and subjects and is thus unimpressed by the issue of political obligation. This chapter argues that once due consideration is given to Aristotle’s adoption of a practical viewpoint in his study of social reality, it is reasonable to conclude that the interests of citizens or free subjects are indeed a concern of his. It also explains that Aristotle’s political theory is not merely descriptive and/or explanatory but also basically normative. Special emphasis is given to the normative subtext of many of his descriptive and explanatory statements.Less
It takes exception to the claim that since his political theory addresses legislators and statesmen rather than citizens or subjects, Aristotle is therefore not concerned about the interests of citizens and subjects and is thus unimpressed by the issue of political obligation. This chapter argues that once due consideration is given to Aristotle’s adoption of a practical viewpoint in his study of social reality, it is reasonable to conclude that the interests of citizens or free subjects are indeed a concern of his. It also explains that Aristotle’s political theory is not merely descriptive and/or explanatory but also basically normative. Special emphasis is given to the normative subtext of many of his descriptive and explanatory statements.
Daniel P. Steel
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195331448
- eISBN:
- 9780199868063
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331448.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter introduces the general methodological challenges that confront extrapolation in the biological and social sciences, and sketches the outlines of the mechanisms approach to those ...
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This chapter introduces the general methodological challenges that confront extrapolation in the biological and social sciences, and sketches the outlines of the mechanisms approach to those challenges that is developed in the rest of the book.Less
This chapter introduces the general methodological challenges that confront extrapolation in the biological and social sciences, and sketches the outlines of the mechanisms approach to those challenges that is developed in the rest of the book.
Mark Bevir and Jason Blakely
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- December 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198832942
- eISBN:
- 9780191871344
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198832942.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Readers are introduced to the major philosophical paradigms shaping social science research today, including hermeneutics and naturalism. The pervasive influence of naturalism on social scientific ...
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Readers are introduced to the major philosophical paradigms shaping social science research today, including hermeneutics and naturalism. The pervasive influence of naturalism on social scientific research is explained and the interpretive alternative is sketched. As part of this, readers are offered an account of the philosophical origins of today’s social science disciplines with a special focus on the case of political science. At the beginning of the twentieth century a modern, ahistorical, and formal paradigm for the study of politics was formed as scholars increasingly rejected the developmental historical narratives and Hegelianism of the nineteenth century. The chapter concludes with a brief overview of the argument of the book.Less
Readers are introduced to the major philosophical paradigms shaping social science research today, including hermeneutics and naturalism. The pervasive influence of naturalism on social scientific research is explained and the interpretive alternative is sketched. As part of this, readers are offered an account of the philosophical origins of today’s social science disciplines with a special focus on the case of political science. At the beginning of the twentieth century a modern, ahistorical, and formal paradigm for the study of politics was formed as scholars increasingly rejected the developmental historical narratives and Hegelianism of the nineteenth century. The chapter concludes with a brief overview of the argument of the book.
Anouk Baberousse, Denis Bonnay, and Mikael Cozic (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190690649
- eISBN:
- 9780190690670
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190690649.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of science studies the methods, theories, and concepts used by scientists. It mainly developed as a field in its own right during the twentieth century and is now a diversified and lively ...
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Philosophy of science studies the methods, theories, and concepts used by scientists. It mainly developed as a field in its own right during the twentieth century and is now a diversified and lively research area. This book surveys the current state of the discipline by focusing on central themes such as confirmation of scientific hypotheses, scientific explanation, causality, the relationship between science and metaphysics, scientific change, the relationship between philosophy of science and science studies, the role of theories and models, and unity of science. These themes define general philosophy of science. The book also presents subdisciplines in the philosophy of science dealing with the main sciences: logic, mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, cognitive science, linguistics, social sciences, and economics. Although it is common to address the specific philosophical problems raised by physics and biology in such a book, the place assigned to the philosophy of special sciences is much more unusual. Most authors collaborate on a regular basis in their research or teaching and share a common vision of philosophy of science and its place within philosophy and academia in general. The chapters have been written in close accordance with the three editors, thus achieving strong unity of style and tone.Less
Philosophy of science studies the methods, theories, and concepts used by scientists. It mainly developed as a field in its own right during the twentieth century and is now a diversified and lively research area. This book surveys the current state of the discipline by focusing on central themes such as confirmation of scientific hypotheses, scientific explanation, causality, the relationship between science and metaphysics, scientific change, the relationship between philosophy of science and science studies, the role of theories and models, and unity of science. These themes define general philosophy of science. The book also presents subdisciplines in the philosophy of science dealing with the main sciences: logic, mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, cognitive science, linguistics, social sciences, and economics. Although it is common to address the specific philosophical problems raised by physics and biology in such a book, the place assigned to the philosophy of special sciences is much more unusual. Most authors collaborate on a regular basis in their research or teaching and share a common vision of philosophy of science and its place within philosophy and academia in general. The chapters have been written in close accordance with the three editors, thus achieving strong unity of style and tone.
Daniel Levine
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199916061
- eISBN:
- 9780199980246
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199916061.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This book bridges two key divides in International Relations. The first is between ‘value-free’ and normative theory. The second is between reflective, philosophically inflected explorations of ...
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This book bridges two key divides in International Relations. The first is between ‘value-free’ and normative theory. The second is between reflective, philosophically inflected explorations of ethics in IR and empirical studies of practical problems in world politics. Featuring a novel, provocative and detailed survey of IR’s development over the second half of the twentieth century, the work draws on early Frankfurt School social theory to suggest a new ethical and methodological foundation for international theory—sustainable critique—which draws these disparate approaches together in light of their common aims, and redacts them in the face of their particular limitations. Understanding the discipline as a vocation as well as a series of academic and methodological practices, sustainable critique views normative and empirical theory both in terms of the knowledge they disclose, and in terms of their respective tendencies to reify. Each, it is argued, must be therefore be sustained in the same intellectual moment: if IR is to meaningfully and responsibly address an increasingly dense, heavily armed, and persistently diverse world.Less
This book bridges two key divides in International Relations. The first is between ‘value-free’ and normative theory. The second is between reflective, philosophically inflected explorations of ethics in IR and empirical studies of practical problems in world politics. Featuring a novel, provocative and detailed survey of IR’s development over the second half of the twentieth century, the work draws on early Frankfurt School social theory to suggest a new ethical and methodological foundation for international theory—sustainable critique—which draws these disparate approaches together in light of their common aims, and redacts them in the face of their particular limitations. Understanding the discipline as a vocation as well as a series of academic and methodological practices, sustainable critique views normative and empirical theory both in terms of the knowledge they disclose, and in terms of their respective tendencies to reify. Each, it is argued, must be therefore be sustained in the same intellectual moment: if IR is to meaningfully and responsibly address an increasingly dense, heavily armed, and persistently diverse world.
Maurizio Ferraris
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190260743
- eISBN:
- 9780190277772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190260743.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
The aim of this paper is to redefine the role of media in contemporary society, in the light of the theories of new realism and documentality. The chapter starts by refuting the view that everything ...
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The aim of this paper is to redefine the role of media in contemporary society, in the light of the theories of new realism and documentality. The chapter starts by refuting the view that everything is socially constructed and that the media actually produce reality (postmodernism). It argues that, instead, both media and social reality emerge from a solid ground of reality that is independent of thought (new realism). The chapter also claims that (contrary to Searle’s view) the fundamental rule of social reality is that of documentality: that is to say, documents produce social reality as a whole, including media. Finally, it posits that human thought (and, therefore, social reality, which is one of its sophisticated products) ultimately does not only depend on being, but also emerges out of it.Less
The aim of this paper is to redefine the role of media in contemporary society, in the light of the theories of new realism and documentality. The chapter starts by refuting the view that everything is socially constructed and that the media actually produce reality (postmodernism). It argues that, instead, both media and social reality emerge from a solid ground of reality that is independent of thought (new realism). The chapter also claims that (contrary to Searle’s view) the fundamental rule of social reality is that of documentality: that is to say, documents produce social reality as a whole, including media. Finally, it posits that human thought (and, therefore, social reality, which is one of its sophisticated products) ultimately does not only depend on being, but also emerges out of it.
