E. Brian Davies
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199219186
- eISBN:
- 9780191711695
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199219186.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
How do scientific conjectures become laws? Why does proof mean different things in different sciences? Do numbers exist, or were they invented? Why do some laws turn out to be wrong? This book ...
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How do scientific conjectures become laws? Why does proof mean different things in different sciences? Do numbers exist, or were they invented? Why do some laws turn out to be wrong? This book discusses the basis for scientists' claims to knowledge about the world. It looks at science historically, emphasizing not only the achievements of scientists from Galileo onwards, but also their mistakes. The book rejects the claim that all scientific knowledge is provisional, by citing examples from chemistry, biology, and geology. A major feature of the book is its defence of the view that mathematics was invented rather than discovered. While experience has shown that disentangling knowledge from opinion and aspiration is a hard task, this book provides a clear guide to the difficulties. Including many examples and quotations, and with a scope ranging from psychology and evolution to quantum theory and mathematics, this book aims to bring alive issues at the heart of all science.Less
How do scientific conjectures become laws? Why does proof mean different things in different sciences? Do numbers exist, or were they invented? Why do some laws turn out to be wrong? This book discusses the basis for scientists' claims to knowledge about the world. It looks at science historically, emphasizing not only the achievements of scientists from Galileo onwards, but also their mistakes. The book rejects the claim that all scientific knowledge is provisional, by citing examples from chemistry, biology, and geology. A major feature of the book is its defence of the view that mathematics was invented rather than discovered. While experience has shown that disentangling knowledge from opinion and aspiration is a hard task, this book provides a clear guide to the difficulties. Including many examples and quotations, and with a scope ranging from psychology and evolution to quantum theory and mathematics, this book aims to bring alive issues at the heart of all science.
Richard Whitley, Jochen Gläser, and Lars Engwall (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199590193
- eISBN:
- 9780191723445
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199590193.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Public Management, Knowledge Management
The governance of the public sciences has profoundly changed since the Second World War, especially with regard to funding structures, the autonomy, and accountability of public research ...
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The governance of the public sciences has profoundly changed since the Second World War, especially with regard to funding structures, the autonomy, and accountability of public research organizations and universities, and the extent to which research is steered towards societal usefulness. Going beyond previous analyses of these changes in science studies, science policy, and higher education studies, this book presents and applies a novel approach that provides an integrated assessment of changes in public science systems and their impact on scientific innovation. Its basic assumptions are (i) that all changes in public science systems (PSS) affect authority relations — the interests and action capabilities of authoritative agencies in science — and (ii) that the authority relations concerning the selection of goals and approaches in research as well as the integration of research results are the channel through which changes in PSS affect the production of scientific knowledge and particularly scientific innovation. This focus on authority relations as the key interface integrating changes in governance and translating them into changes in the production of scientific knowledge is an important innovation because the effects of governance at the performance level of the science system have been largely neglected by other approaches.Less
The governance of the public sciences has profoundly changed since the Second World War, especially with regard to funding structures, the autonomy, and accountability of public research organizations and universities, and the extent to which research is steered towards societal usefulness. Going beyond previous analyses of these changes in science studies, science policy, and higher education studies, this book presents and applies a novel approach that provides an integrated assessment of changes in public science systems and their impact on scientific innovation. Its basic assumptions are (i) that all changes in public science systems (PSS) affect authority relations — the interests and action capabilities of authoritative agencies in science — and (ii) that the authority relations concerning the selection of goals and approaches in research as well as the integration of research results are the channel through which changes in PSS affect the production of scientific knowledge and particularly scientific innovation. This focus on authority relations as the key interface integrating changes in governance and translating them into changes in the production of scientific knowledge is an important innovation because the effects of governance at the performance level of the science system have been largely neglected by other approaches.
Solomon Schimmel
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195188264
- eISBN:
- 9780199870509
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188264.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines the Islamic belief that the Koran (Qur'an) was authored by Allah and revealed to Muhammad via the angel Gabriel, and dissects the alleged ‘proofs’ for Koranic divinity. The ...
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This chapter examines the Islamic belief that the Koran (Qur'an) was authored by Allah and revealed to Muhammad via the angel Gabriel, and dissects the alleged ‘proofs’ for Koranic divinity. The chapter presents nine arguments against this belief, among which are the Koran's internal contradictions, obvious dependence on Judaism, and Jewish and Christian traditions, factual errors, superstitious beliefs, and inclusion of unethical and immoral teachings. The chapter discusses the danger posed to democratic societies and values by fundamentalist Muslims who seek to impose Qur'anic and Sharia law and values on non‐Muslim societies, while noting that some Muslims advocate democracy and religious freedom. The chapter discusses the absurd claim of some Muslims that the Koran contains scientific knowledge that was not discovered in the West until recently, and the belief in Koranic inimitability (Ijaz al Koran), and analyzes the psychology of Muslims who make irrational claims and profess irrational beliefs.Less
This chapter examines the Islamic belief that the Koran (Qur'an) was authored by Allah and revealed to Muhammad via the angel Gabriel, and dissects the alleged ‘proofs’ for Koranic divinity. The chapter presents nine arguments against this belief, among which are the Koran's internal contradictions, obvious dependence on Judaism, and Jewish and Christian traditions, factual errors, superstitious beliefs, and inclusion of unethical and immoral teachings. The chapter discusses the danger posed to democratic societies and values by fundamentalist Muslims who seek to impose Qur'anic and Sharia law and values on non‐Muslim societies, while noting that some Muslims advocate democracy and religious freedom. The chapter discusses the absurd claim of some Muslims that the Koran contains scientific knowledge that was not discovered in the West until recently, and the belief in Koranic inimitability (Ijaz al Koran), and analyzes the psychology of Muslims who make irrational claims and profess irrational beliefs.
Mark R. Wynn
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199560387
- eISBN:
- 9780191721175
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560387.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter introduces the main themes of the book and explains its structure. It notes how the concerns of the book can be related to two other bodies of literature: first, the literature in ...
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This chapter introduces the main themes of the book and explains its structure. It notes how the concerns of the book can be related to two other bodies of literature: first, the literature in religious epistemology, which has sought to compare knowledge of God to ordinary perceptual or scientific kinds of knowledge; and second, the literature on divine omnipresence. By contrast with the first literature, this book takes knowledge of place as an analogue for knowledge of God, and by contrast with the second, it supposes that God's relationship to place is not simply uniform, or at any rate, it supposes that there is differentiation in the religious meaning of place.Less
This chapter introduces the main themes of the book and explains its structure. It notes how the concerns of the book can be related to two other bodies of literature: first, the literature in religious epistemology, which has sought to compare knowledge of God to ordinary perceptual or scientific kinds of knowledge; and second, the literature on divine omnipresence. By contrast with the first literature, this book takes knowledge of place as an analogue for knowledge of God, and by contrast with the second, it supposes that God's relationship to place is not simply uniform, or at any rate, it supposes that there is differentiation in the religious meaning of place.
C. D. C. REEVE
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198235651
- eISBN:
- 9780191679094
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198235651.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Aristotle's ethical epistemology — his account of ethical knowledge — has two major components. The first explains the nature of our knowledge of ethical universals such as justice, moderation, and ...
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Aristotle's ethical epistemology — his account of ethical knowledge — has two major components. The first explains the nature of our knowledge of ethical universals such as justice, moderation, and eudaimonia. The second explains how, for example, we are able to use such knowledge in order to determine what justice requires of us in a given particular situation and how to accomplish it. This chapter focuses on the first of these components. It begins by examining Aristotle's conception of unconditional scientific knowledge or epistēmē haplōs. This will allow us to explain why some knowledge of ethical universals holds only hōs epi to polu or for the most part (NE l094b 14–22), and to explore the differences and the no less illuminating similarities that hold between ethical knowledge and scientific-knowledge.Less
Aristotle's ethical epistemology — his account of ethical knowledge — has two major components. The first explains the nature of our knowledge of ethical universals such as justice, moderation, and eudaimonia. The second explains how, for example, we are able to use such knowledge in order to determine what justice requires of us in a given particular situation and how to accomplish it. This chapter focuses on the first of these components. It begins by examining Aristotle's conception of unconditional scientific knowledge or epistēmē haplōs. This will allow us to explain why some knowledge of ethical universals holds only hōs epi to polu or for the most part (NE l094b 14–22), and to explore the differences and the no less illuminating similarities that hold between ethical knowledge and scientific-knowledge.
Helena Sanson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264836
- eISBN:
- 9780191754043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264836.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
Across Europe, as early as the seventeenth century (and even more so in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) women became the target of scientific treatises which aimed to explain new ...
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Across Europe, as early as the seventeenth century (and even more so in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) women became the target of scientific treatises which aimed to explain new scientific knowledge to an unspecialized audience. Women were the privileged recipients of popularizing works of science and literature, and therefore indirectly contributed to introducing the new philosophers. In view of women's limited education, and their ignorance of Latin, works ‘for the ladies’ became synonymous with something adapted so as to become elementary and easy to grasp. Knowledge ‘for the ladies’ extended also to language, with the production across various countries of grammatical works which claimed to be, according to their titles and prefaces, expressly meant for the female sex. In agreement with the viewpoint that saw women as being incapable of real intellectual efforts, authors of these grammars shunned dry, boring, and taxing ways of learning, in favour of quicker and more pleasant and entertaining ones.Less
Across Europe, as early as the seventeenth century (and even more so in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) women became the target of scientific treatises which aimed to explain new scientific knowledge to an unspecialized audience. Women were the privileged recipients of popularizing works of science and literature, and therefore indirectly contributed to introducing the new philosophers. In view of women's limited education, and their ignorance of Latin, works ‘for the ladies’ became synonymous with something adapted so as to become elementary and easy to grasp. Knowledge ‘for the ladies’ extended also to language, with the production across various countries of grammatical works which claimed to be, according to their titles and prefaces, expressly meant for the female sex. In agreement with the viewpoint that saw women as being incapable of real intellectual efforts, authors of these grammars shunned dry, boring, and taxing ways of learning, in favour of quicker and more pleasant and entertaining ones.
Paull Nunez
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195340716
- eISBN:
- 9780199776269
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195340716.003.0008
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Development
This chapter considers the general limits of scientific knowledge, and identifies probability and entropy as important measures of human ignorance; scientific predictions are shown to be severely ...
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This chapter considers the general limits of scientific knowledge, and identifies probability and entropy as important measures of human ignorance; scientific predictions are shown to be severely limited in complex systems. It argues that fundamental limits on computer power may preclude the creation of artificial consciousness, even if natural brains actually do create minds, as assumed by most contemporary scientists.Less
This chapter considers the general limits of scientific knowledge, and identifies probability and entropy as important measures of human ignorance; scientific predictions are shown to be severely limited in complex systems. It argues that fundamental limits on computer power may preclude the creation of artificial consciousness, even if natural brains actually do create minds, as assumed by most contemporary scientists.
Robin M. Leichenko and Karen L. O'Brien
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195177329
- eISBN:
- 9780199869800
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177329.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
This chapter explores different understandings and interpretations of each process of global change. Drawing from discourse analysis and theories about the social construction of scientific ...
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This chapter explores different understandings and interpretations of each process of global change. Drawing from discourse analysis and theories about the social construction of scientific knowledge, it shows that understandings of global environmental change and globalization are each embedded in separated and often competing sets of discourses. As a result, critical linkages and interactions between the two processes often remain unrecognized The chapter also emphasizes that discourses carry political weight and reflect underlying power structures, which give currency and legitimacy to some voices over others, and maintain the interests of some over the well-being and security of others. Discourses about global change influence the research questions that are asked, and prioritize the level or scale of analysis, both of which have profound implications for strategies to address the two processes.Less
This chapter explores different understandings and interpretations of each process of global change. Drawing from discourse analysis and theories about the social construction of scientific knowledge, it shows that understandings of global environmental change and globalization are each embedded in separated and often competing sets of discourses. As a result, critical linkages and interactions between the two processes often remain unrecognized The chapter also emphasizes that discourses carry political weight and reflect underlying power structures, which give currency and legitimacy to some voices over others, and maintain the interests of some over the well-being and security of others. Discourses about global change influence the research questions that are asked, and prioritize the level or scale of analysis, both of which have profound implications for strategies to address the two processes.
C. D. C. Reeve
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198235651
- eISBN:
- 9780191679094
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198235651.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This book provides an exploration of the epistemological, metaphysical, and psychological foundations of the Nicomachean Ethics. Rejecting current orthodoxy, this book argues that ...
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This book provides an exploration of the epistemological, metaphysical, and psychological foundations of the Nicomachean Ethics. Rejecting current orthodoxy, this book argues that scientific-knowledge (episteme) is possible in ethics, that dialectic and understanding (nous) play essentially the same role in ethics as in an Aristotelian science, and that the distinctive role of practical wisdom (phronēsis) is to use the knowledge of universals provided by science, dialectic, and understanding so as best to promote happiness (eudaimonia) in particular circumstances and to ensure a happy life. Turning to happiness itself, the book develops a new account of Aristotle's views on ends and functions, exposing their twofold nature. It argues that the activation of theoretical wisdom is primary happiness, and that the activation of practical wisdom — when it is for the sake of primary happiness — is happiness of a second kind. He concludes with an account of the virtues of character, external goods, and friends, and their place in the happy life.Less
This book provides an exploration of the epistemological, metaphysical, and psychological foundations of the Nicomachean Ethics. Rejecting current orthodoxy, this book argues that scientific-knowledge (episteme) is possible in ethics, that dialectic and understanding (nous) play essentially the same role in ethics as in an Aristotelian science, and that the distinctive role of practical wisdom (phronēsis) is to use the knowledge of universals provided by science, dialectic, and understanding so as best to promote happiness (eudaimonia) in particular circumstances and to ensure a happy life. Turning to happiness itself, the book develops a new account of Aristotle's views on ends and functions, exposing their twofold nature. It argues that the activation of theoretical wisdom is primary happiness, and that the activation of practical wisdom — when it is for the sake of primary happiness — is happiness of a second kind. He concludes with an account of the virtues of character, external goods, and friends, and their place in the happy life.
Jr. Henry E. Kyburg
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195062533
- eISBN:
- 9780199853038
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195062533.003.0017
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
It has been manifested over the past few centuries that science provides superbly powerful tools and methods for modifying the natural world. Many people would agree that it has also offered ...
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It has been manifested over the past few centuries that science provides superbly powerful tools and methods for modifying the natural world. Many people would agree that it has also offered explanation and understanding. But it is still unclear that these tools and methodology can propel us to solve all of the cognitive dilemmas that exist. It has been assumed, for example, that scientific knowledge and religious knowledge are so different that they cannot even clash with one another. But the recent arguments about creation and evolution show that perhaps they can come into conflict after all.Less
It has been manifested over the past few centuries that science provides superbly powerful tools and methods for modifying the natural world. Many people would agree that it has also offered explanation and understanding. But it is still unclear that these tools and methodology can propel us to solve all of the cognitive dilemmas that exist. It has been assumed, for example, that scientific knowledge and religious knowledge are so different that they cannot even clash with one another. But the recent arguments about creation and evolution show that perhaps they can come into conflict after all.
Ronald N. Giere
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199753628
- eISBN:
- 9780199950027
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753628.003.0004
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology
The question that frames this chapter is how humans have managed to learn such amazing things as the age of the universe. After briefly reviewing logical, methodological, historical, and social ...
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The question that frames this chapter is how humans have managed to learn such amazing things as the age of the universe. After briefly reviewing logical, methodological, historical, and social approaches to this question, the chapter focuses on contributions of the cognitive study of science. This leads to a comparison of the cognitive study of science and the psychology of science, which study how fundamental cognitive mechanisms operate in the context of generating scientific knowledge. There is, however, a second way humans use their psychological powers in the pursuit of knowledge, namely, by designing material and symbolic artifacts that greatly increase their cognitive powers. The resulting physical-computational-human systems have been incorporated into the cognitive sciences as “distributed cognitive systems.” The chapter proposes adoption of an agent-centered approach, in which ever more ubiquitous distributed cognitive systems can be fully cognitive without being fully computational.Less
The question that frames this chapter is how humans have managed to learn such amazing things as the age of the universe. After briefly reviewing logical, methodological, historical, and social approaches to this question, the chapter focuses on contributions of the cognitive study of science. This leads to a comparison of the cognitive study of science and the psychology of science, which study how fundamental cognitive mechanisms operate in the context of generating scientific knowledge. There is, however, a second way humans use their psychological powers in the pursuit of knowledge, namely, by designing material and symbolic artifacts that greatly increase their cognitive powers. The resulting physical-computational-human systems have been incorporated into the cognitive sciences as “distributed cognitive systems.” The chapter proposes adoption of an agent-centered approach, in which ever more ubiquitous distributed cognitive systems can be fully cognitive without being fully computational.
L. JONATHAN COHEN
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198236047
- eISBN:
- 9780191679179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198236047.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Philosophy of Science
While a scientific approach can be adopted to look into the laws of nature for attempting to obtain knowledge in a sense that such knowledge entails the acceptance of a particular idea. There is ...
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While a scientific approach can be adopted to look into the laws of nature for attempting to obtain knowledge in a sense that such knowledge entails the acceptance of a particular idea. There is another theory, on the other hand, which entails the belief of a particular idea with respect to a set of given experimental data. These varied concepts of knowledge attempt to resolve the conflict regarding the nature of the guarantee a person must possess so that it may indeed be declared that this person has knowledge of the notion. Holism, in this case, may be better related to acceptance, and the loss of belief is not to be associated with scepticism. This chapter looks into whether belief and acceptance affect the expansion of scientific knowledge.Less
While a scientific approach can be adopted to look into the laws of nature for attempting to obtain knowledge in a sense that such knowledge entails the acceptance of a particular idea. There is another theory, on the other hand, which entails the belief of a particular idea with respect to a set of given experimental data. These varied concepts of knowledge attempt to resolve the conflict regarding the nature of the guarantee a person must possess so that it may indeed be declared that this person has knowledge of the notion. Holism, in this case, may be better related to acceptance, and the loss of belief is not to be associated with scepticism. This chapter looks into whether belief and acceptance affect the expansion of scientific knowledge.
Nicholas Maxwell
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199261550
- eISBN:
- 9780191698750
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261550.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This book puts forward a radically new conception of science. According to the orthodox conception, scientific theories are accepted and rejected impartially with respect to evidence, no permanent ...
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This book puts forward a radically new conception of science. According to the orthodox conception, scientific theories are accepted and rejected impartially with respect to evidence, no permanent assumption being made about the world independently of the evidence. The book argues that this orthodox view is untenable. It urges that in its place a new orthodoxy is needed, which sees science as making a hierarchy of metaphysical assumptions about the comprehensibility and knowability of the universe, these assumptions asserting less and less as one ascends the hierarchy. This view has significant implications: that it is part of scientific knowledge that the universe is physically comprehensible; that metaphysics and philosophy are central to scientific knowledge; that science possesses a rational, if fallible, method of discovery; that a new understanding of scientific method and rationality is required. The book argues that this new conception makes possible a natural resolution of long-standing philosophical problems about science, regarding simplicity, induction, and progress. The book’s goal is the reform not just of the philosophy of science but of science itself, and the healing of the rift between the two.Less
This book puts forward a radically new conception of science. According to the orthodox conception, scientific theories are accepted and rejected impartially with respect to evidence, no permanent assumption being made about the world independently of the evidence. The book argues that this orthodox view is untenable. It urges that in its place a new orthodoxy is needed, which sees science as making a hierarchy of metaphysical assumptions about the comprehensibility and knowability of the universe, these assumptions asserting less and less as one ascends the hierarchy. This view has significant implications: that it is part of scientific knowledge that the universe is physically comprehensible; that metaphysics and philosophy are central to scientific knowledge; that science possesses a rational, if fallible, method of discovery; that a new understanding of scientific method and rationality is required. The book argues that this new conception makes possible a natural resolution of long-standing philosophical problems about science, regarding simplicity, induction, and progress. The book’s goal is the reform not just of the philosophy of science but of science itself, and the healing of the rift between the two.
Philip Kitcher
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195130058
- eISBN:
- 9780199833481
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195130057.003.0014
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
In “Scientific Knowledge,” Philip Kitcher challenges arguments that deny the truth of the theoretical claims of science, and he attempts to discover reasons for endorsing the truth of such claims. He ...
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In “Scientific Knowledge,” Philip Kitcher challenges arguments that deny the truth of the theoretical claims of science, and he attempts to discover reasons for endorsing the truth of such claims. He suggests that the discovery of such reasons might succeed if we ask why anyone thinks that the theoretical claims we accept are true and then look for answers that reconstruct actual belief‐generating processes. To this end, Kitcher presents the “homely argument” for scientific truth, which claims that when a field of science is continually applied to yield precise predictions, then it is at least approximately true. He defends this approach and offers a supplementary account that gives more attention to detail. This account includes a historical aspect (a dependence on the previous conclusions of scientists) that must answer to skeptical challenges and a social aspect (the coordination of individuals in pursuit of specific knowledge‐related goals).Less
In “Scientific Knowledge,” Philip Kitcher challenges arguments that deny the truth of the theoretical claims of science, and he attempts to discover reasons for endorsing the truth of such claims. He suggests that the discovery of such reasons might succeed if we ask why anyone thinks that the theoretical claims we accept are true and then look for answers that reconstruct actual belief‐generating processes. To this end, Kitcher presents the “homely argument” for scientific truth, which claims that when a field of science is continually applied to yield precise predictions, then it is at least approximately true. He defends this approach and offers a supplementary account that gives more attention to detail. This account includes a historical aspect (a dependence on the previous conclusions of scientists) that must answer to skeptical challenges and a social aspect (the coordination of individuals in pursuit of specific knowledge‐related goals).
Lesley J. Rogers and Gisela Kaplan
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195305104
- eISBN:
- 9780199850556
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305104.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter discusses issues concerning the interface between scientific knowledge and legislation for animal rights. It reviews available and up-to-date scientific evidence for awareness of self, ...
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This chapter discusses issues concerning the interface between scientific knowledge and legislation for animal rights. It reviews available and up-to-date scientific evidence for awareness of self, theory of mind, complex memory, planning actions, complex communication, and intelligence in animals. The chapter considers brain size in relation to cognitive ability and social behaviour, and mentions that even smaller brains can process information very efficiently. Based on the anomalies in animal intelligence, it cautions us against ranking species according to performance on a single task or on a single set of criteria, and against attributing higher value to one set of characteristics than another.Less
This chapter discusses issues concerning the interface between scientific knowledge and legislation for animal rights. It reviews available and up-to-date scientific evidence for awareness of self, theory of mind, complex memory, planning actions, complex communication, and intelligence in animals. The chapter considers brain size in relation to cognitive ability and social behaviour, and mentions that even smaller brains can process information very efficiently. Based on the anomalies in animal intelligence, it cautions us against ranking species according to performance on a single task or on a single set of criteria, and against attributing higher value to one set of characteristics than another.
Eric Brousseau, Tom Dedeurwaerdere, Pierre-Andre Jouvet, and Marc Willinger
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199656202
- eISBN:
- 9780191742149
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656202.003.0015
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter reviews the dilemmas associated with establishing collective goals in matters of sustainable development, then the properties of the mechanisms available for deciding to frame our ...
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This chapter reviews the dilemmas associated with establishing collective goals in matters of sustainable development, then the properties of the mechanisms available for deciding to frame our behaviors, as well as the policy toolkit. Governmental intervention is both possible and legitimate when crises occur. In that case, the need for rapid and massive mobilization of means, leads citizens and stakeholders to accept major policy measures and reforms. The resulting emergency plans, however, seldom result in the optimal measures being implemented. Therefore, a major goal of human collectivities should be crisis avoidance. An important step in this direction is to rely more on both decentralized and reflexive governance, since all stakeholders should feel accountable. Moreover, this is also a way to better manage and generate the necessary knowledge.Less
This chapter reviews the dilemmas associated with establishing collective goals in matters of sustainable development, then the properties of the mechanisms available for deciding to frame our behaviors, as well as the policy toolkit. Governmental intervention is both possible and legitimate when crises occur. In that case, the need for rapid and massive mobilization of means, leads citizens and stakeholders to accept major policy measures and reforms. The resulting emergency plans, however, seldom result in the optimal measures being implemented. Therefore, a major goal of human collectivities should be crisis avoidance. An important step in this direction is to rely more on both decentralized and reflexive governance, since all stakeholders should feel accountable. Moreover, this is also a way to better manage and generate the necessary knowledge.
Peter van der Veer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691128146
- eISBN:
- 9781400848553
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691128146.003.0006
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter discusses secularism as a political project with its own utopian elements. Secularism refers to the growing importance of scientific knowledge that is not constrained by religious ...
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This chapter discusses secularism as a political project with its own utopian elements. Secularism refers to the growing importance of scientific knowledge that is not constrained by religious authority. Religion is sometimes taken to be an obstacle for scientific progress and secularism demands its removal for the benefit of societal development that is guided by scientific discovery and technological innovation. Secularization was seen by sociologists as an intrinsic and inescapable part of the modernization of Western society, with the assumption that this was something all societies had to go through. An alternative to post-Weberian arguments in sociology about religion and secularity is offered by theories that emphasize individual, rational choice in religious markets.Less
This chapter discusses secularism as a political project with its own utopian elements. Secularism refers to the growing importance of scientific knowledge that is not constrained by religious authority. Religion is sometimes taken to be an obstacle for scientific progress and secularism demands its removal for the benefit of societal development that is guided by scientific discovery and technological innovation. Secularization was seen by sociologists as an intrinsic and inescapable part of the modernization of Western society, with the assumption that this was something all societies had to go through. An alternative to post-Weberian arguments in sociology about religion and secularity is offered by theories that emphasize individual, rational choice in religious markets.
Philip Kitcher
- Published in print:
- 1985
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195035414
- eISBN:
- 9780199833368
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195035410.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
Chapters 7–9 offer a general account of the growth of mathematics. Introduce the notion of a mathematical practice, a multidimensional entity consisting of a language, accepted statements, accepted ...
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Chapters 7–9 offer a general account of the growth of mathematics. Introduce the notion of a mathematical practice, a multidimensional entity consisting of a language, accepted statements, accepted questions, accepted means of inference, and methodological maxims. Mathematics grows by modifying one or more components in response to the problems posed by others. So new language, language that is not initially well understood, may be introduced in order to answer questions taken to be important but resisting solution by available methods; in consequence, there may be a new task of clarifying the language or taming the methods that the extended language allows. The chapters attempt to show how such processes have occurred in the history of mathematics, and how they link the rich state of present mathematics to the crude beginnings of the subject. In Chapter 7, in particular, Kitcher compares mathematical change with scientific change, attempting to show that the growth of mathematical knowledge is far more similar to the growth of scientific knowledge than is usually appreciated.Less
Chapters 7–9 offer a general account of the growth of mathematics. Introduce the notion of a mathematical practice, a multidimensional entity consisting of a language, accepted statements, accepted questions, accepted means of inference, and methodological maxims. Mathematics grows by modifying one or more components in response to the problems posed by others. So new language, language that is not initially well understood, may be introduced in order to answer questions taken to be important but resisting solution by available methods; in consequence, there may be a new task of clarifying the language or taming the methods that the extended language allows. The chapters attempt to show how such processes have occurred in the history of mathematics, and how they link the rich state of present mathematics to the crude beginnings of the subject. In Chapter 7, in particular, Kitcher compares mathematical change with scientific change, attempting to show that the growth of mathematical knowledge is far more similar to the growth of scientific knowledge than is usually appreciated.
Sergei Bulgakov
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300079906
- eISBN:
- 9780300132854
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300079906.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This chapter discusses the following: the multiplicity of scientific knowledge; the economic nature of science; the sophic nature of science; epistemology and praxeology; science and life; the ...
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This chapter discusses the following: the multiplicity of scientific knowledge; the economic nature of science; the sophic nature of science; epistemology and praxeology; science and life; the “scientific worldview”; and science's self-consciousness.Less
This chapter discusses the following: the multiplicity of scientific knowledge; the economic nature of science; the sophic nature of science; epistemology and praxeology; science and life; the “scientific worldview”; and science's self-consciousness.
Jos C.N Raadschelders
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199693894
- eISBN:
- 9780191731877
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199693894.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Public Management
The many theories-in-use in the study can be categorized according to four main intellectual traditions. Practical wisdom has its roots in antiquity; practical experience dates back to the ...
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The many theories-in-use in the study can be categorized according to four main intellectual traditions. Practical wisdom has its roots in antiquity; practical experience dates back to the seventeenth century; scientific knowledge was pursued in the twentieth century; and relativist perspectives emerged in the late twentieth century. Each of these approaches provides a specific type of understanding and thus yet another argument for epistemological and methodological pluralism.Less
The many theories-in-use in the study can be categorized according to four main intellectual traditions. Practical wisdom has its roots in antiquity; practical experience dates back to the seventeenth century; scientific knowledge was pursued in the twentieth century; and relativist perspectives emerged in the late twentieth century. Each of these approaches provides a specific type of understanding and thus yet another argument for epistemological and methodological pluralism.
