Contextual Metaphilosophy
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Dialectical Materialism and Science
MARXISM TODAY SERIES EDITED BY PROFESSOR BENJAMIN FARRINGTON, M.A. 7 DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM AND SCIENCE MAURICE CORNFORTH LAWRENCE & WISHART LTD LONDON 1949 NOTE This booklet is based on a report given to a conference of British Marxist scientists in London in June 1949. The original report has been amplified and corrected in the light of the discussion which there took place, and additional material has been added. What follows is to a great extent a collective effort. I am alone responsible for the form in which it here appears; and, in particular, for any mistakes that may be found in it; but it could not possibly have been written without the help of a number of comrades and it represents the summary of many discussions. Maurice Cornforth London, August 1949 CONTENTS Page I. THE CRISIS OF BOURGEOIS SCIENCE 5 Basic Conceptions 5 Successive Development of the Sciences 6 Achievements of Analysis 7 Two Kinds of Analysis 8 The Tendency of Analysis to Become Metaphysical 9 Evolution 11 Dialectical Materialism, a Scientific Generalisation 13 The Revolutionary Character of Dialectical Materialism 13 Frustration of Science 16 Crisis of Ideas 17 Two Trends in Science 20 II. MATERIALISM VERSUS IDEALISM 21 Against Idealism and Mechanism 21 Mechanical Materialism in the Fight Against Idealism 23 Three Types of Idealism 26 The Doctrine of Limitation 28 Positivism 29 The Materialist Theory of Knowledge 30 III. DIALECTICS VERSUS METAPHYSICS 34 Mechanism as a Form of Metaphysics 35 Deterministic and Statistical Regularities 36 Criticism of Mechanism -
Naturalized Metaphilosophy
Synthese DOI 10.1007/s11229-009-9662-1 Naturalized metaphilosophy David R. Morrow · Chris Alen Sula Received: 6 January 2008 / Accepted: 30 November 2008 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009 Abstract Traditional representations of philosophy have tended to prize the role of reason in the discipline. These accounts focus exclusively on ideas and arguments as animating forces in the field. But anecdotal evidence and more rigorous sociological studies suggest there is more going on in philosophy. In this article, we present two hypotheses about social factors in the field: that social factors influence the develop- ment of philosophy, and that status and reputation—and thus social influence—will tend to be awarded to philosophers who offer rationally compelling arguments for their views. In order to test these hypotheses, we need a more comprehensive grasp on the field than traditional representations afford. In particular, we need more substantial data about various social connections between philosophers. This investigation belongs to a naturalized metaphilosophy, an empirical study of the discipline itself, and it offers prospects for a fuller and more reliable understanding of philosophy. Keywords Philosophy · Sociology · Networks · Reason · Naturalism In addressing questions of how to represent philosophy, we should begin—in good philosophical fashion—by first asking what philosophy is. Historical answers have often prized the role of reason in addressing questions of existence, knowledge, and value. Thus, Plato recommends contemplation of the forms, Descartes’ meditator at- tempts to deduce self-evident truths from first principles, Spinoza discusses an activity carried out sub specie aeternitatis by a rational thinker who has removed all traces of subjectivity and individuality from his thought, and Kant describes philosophy as D. -
CV, Paul Horwich, March 2017
Curriculum Vitae Paul Horwich Department of Philosophy 212 998 8320 (tel) New York University 212 995 4178 (fax) 5 Washington Place [email protected] New York, NY 10003 EDUCATION Cornell University (Philosophy) Ph.D. 1975 Cornell University (Philosophy) M.A. 1973 Yale University (Physics and Philosophy) M.A. 1969 Oxford University (Physics) B.A. 1968 TITLE OF DOCTORAL THESIS: The Metric and Topology of Time. EMPLOYMENT Spring 2007 Visiting Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Tokyo Fall 2006 Visiting Professor of Philosophy, Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris 2005–present Professor, Department of Philosophy, New York University 2000–2005 Kornblith Distinguished Professor, Philosophy Program, Graduate Center of the City University of New York Spring 1998 Visiting Professor of Philosophy, University of Sydney 1994–2000 Professor, Department of Philosophy, University College London Fall 1994 Associate Research Director, Institute d'Histoire et Philosophie des Sciences et Technique, CNRS, Paris 1987–1994 Professor, Department of Linguistics And Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1980–1987 Associate Professor of Philosophy, MIT Fall 1978 Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of California at Los Angeles 1973–1980 Assistant Professor of Philosophy, MIT CV, Paul Horwich, March 2017 GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS 2008–9 Guggenheim Fellowship Spring 2007 Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 2007 U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship Fall 1988 U.S. National Science Foundation -
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Maurice Cornforth MARXISM AND THE LINGI-JISTIC PHILOSOPHY This is a book about the problems of contemporary British philosophy. It con- tains a searching examination of the whole train of thought that has led from the be- ginnings of British Empiricism, through the development of mathematical Iogic and analytic philosophy, to the present pre- occupation of British philosophers with questions about language. Mr Cornforth has sought to begin a dialogue between Marxism and the Linguistic Philosophy. He makes a positive assessment of the contribution of such thinkers as Wittgenstein, Austin, Ryle and Hare, agreeing u'ith them that investi- gation of the uses of words is of fundamental importance for right thinking. At the same time he makes an energetic criticism both of their underlying assumptions and of many points of their analysis of "the logic oF language". Several chapters are devoted to questions of Logic and questions of Ethics, as raised in contemporary philosophy, and an alternative approach to these questions is attempted. The last part of the book con- tains a restatement, in the light of the pre- ceding discussion, of the Marxist point of view on questions of dialectics and the laws of thought, the laws of development of society, and human purposes and values. Mr Cornforth writes with clarity and humour, and with an easy mastery of technicalities. This book will be of value both to those specially interested in trends of academic philosophy, and to those con- cerned with wider questions of contempor- ary life and thought. 55s. net MARXISM AND THE LINGUISTIC PHILOSOPHY •W MARXISM AND THE LINGUISTIC PHILOSOPHY by MAURICE CORNFORTH 1967 LAWRENCE & WISHART LONDON Copyright © Maurice Cornforth, 196J First Edition 1965 Second Edition 1967 FftlNTBD AND BOUND IN BNO&AND BT HAZBLt. -
Contextualism in Ethics 2019 Draft
1(8) Contextualism in Ethics Gunnar Björnsson In more than one way, context matters in ethics. Most clearly, the moral status of an action might depend on context: although it is typically wrong not to keep a promise, some contexts make it permissible. More radically, proponents of moral particularism (see PARTICULARISM) have argued that a reason for an action in one context is not guaranteed to be even a defeasible reason in every context; whether it counts against an act that it breaks a promise or inflicts pain might depend on the particulars of the situation. In moral epistemology, Timmons (1999: Ch. 5) argues that whether a moral judgment is epistemically responsible depends both on the basic moral outlook of the moral judge and on whether the context of judgment is one of engaged moral thinking, or one of distanced, skeptical reflection. In the former, the judge’s basic moral outlook can serve to justify the judgment; not so in the latter (see EPISTEMOLOGY, MORAL). Our focus here, however, will be on forms of metaethical and, more precisely, semantic contextualism in moral discourse and moral thinking. According to these forms of contextualism (henceforth “metaethical contextualism,” or just “contextualism”), the meaning or truth‐conditions of a moral judgment or moral assertion depend not only on the properties of the act it concerns, but also on features of the context in which the judgment or assertion is made, such as the standards endorsed by the moral judge or the parties of the conversation. If metaethical contextualism is correct, it might be that when two people both judge that abortions must be banned, one judge might be correct whereas the other is mistaken, because they accept different fundamental norms. -
Stenmark's "Rationality in Science, Religion, and Everyday Life: a Critical Evaluation of Four Models of Rationality" - Book Review Mark S
Digital Commons @ George Fox University Faculty Publications - College of Christian Studies College of Christian Studies 9-1999 Stenmark's "Rationality in Science, Religion, and Everyday Life: A Critical Evaluation of Four Models of Rationality" - Book Review Mark S. McLeod-Harrison George Fox University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ccs Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Previously published in Zygon, 1999, 34(3), pp. 533-535 http://www.zygonjournal.org/index.htm This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Christian Studies at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications - College of Christian Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. Reviews 533 Rationality in Science, Religion, and Everyday Life: A Critical Evaluation of Four Models of Rationality. By MIKAEL STENMARK. Notre Dame, Ind.: Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 1995. ix + 392 pages. $32.95 (hardcover). Mikael Stenmark does philosophers, theologians, scientists, and all others inter ested in the relationships among science, religion, and rationality an enormous amount of good in this book. As its title indicates, it presents four models of rationality and evaluates them from the scientific, religious, and everyday points of view. The chapters include an "Introduction," "The Nature of Rationality," "Sci ence and Formal Evidentialism," "The Scientific and the Evidentialist -
Empiricism, Stances, and the Problem of Voluntarism
Swarthmore College Works Philosophy Faculty Works Philosophy 1-1-2011 Empiricism, Stances, And The Problem Of Voluntarism Peter Baumann Swarthmore College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-philosophy Part of the Philosophy Commons Let us know how access to these works benefits ouy Recommended Citation Peter Baumann. (2011). "Empiricism, Stances, And The Problem Of Voluntarism". Synthese. Volume 178, Issue 1. 27-36. DOI: 10.1007/s11229-009-9519-7 https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-philosophy/13 This work is brought to you for free by Swarthmore College Libraries' Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy Faculty Works by an authorized administrator of Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Empiricism, Stances and the Problem of Voluntarism Peter Baumann Synthese 178, 2011, 207-224 Empiricism can be very roughly characterized as the view that our knowledge about the world is based on sensory experience. Our knowledge about the world is "based" on sensory experience in the sense that we could not know what we know without relying on sense experience. This leaves open the possibility that sense experience is only necessary but not sufficient for the knowledge based upon it1-as long as the non-empirical elements are not themselves sufficient for the relevant piece of knowledge.2 The basing relation is not just a genetic one but also a justificatory one: Sense experience does not only lead to beliefs which happen to count as knowledge but also qualifies them as knowledge. In his important book The Empirical Stance Bas van Fraassen characterizes traditional empiricism at one point in a more negative way-as involving the rejection of "metaphysical" explanations which proceed by postulating the existence of something not 1 "But although all our cognition commences with experience, yet it does not on that account all arise from experience." (Kant, CpR, B1). -
Contextualist Responses to Skepticism
Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Philosophy Theses Department of Philosophy 6-27-2007 Contextualist Responses to Skepticism Luanne Gutherie Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Gutherie, Luanne, "Contextualist Responses to Skepticism." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2007. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses/22 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Philosophy at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONTEXTUALIST RESPONSES TO SKEPTICISM by LUANNE GUTHERIE Under the Direction of Stephen Jacobson ABSTRACT External world skeptics argue that we have no knowledge of the external world. Contextualist theories of knowledge attempt to address the skeptical problem by maintaining that arguments for skepticism are effective only in certain contexts in which the standards for knowledge are so high that we cannot reach them. In ordinary contexts, however, the standards for knowledge fall back down to reachable levels and we again are able to have knowledge of the external world. In order to address the objection that contextualists confuse the standards for knowledge with the standards for warranted assertion, Keith DeRose appeals to the knowledge account of warranted assertion to argue that if one is warranted in asserting p, one also knows p. A skeptic, however, can maintain a context-invariant view of the knowledge account of assertion, in which case such an account would not provide my help to contextualism. -
On the Limits of Experimental Knowledge∗
On the Limits of Experimental Knowledge∗ Peter W. Evans†1 and Karim P. Y. Th´ebault‡2 1School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, University of Queensland 2Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol June 4, 2020 Abstract To demarcate the limits of experimental knowledge we probe the limits of what might be called an experiment. By appeal to examples of scientific practice from astrophysics and analogue gravity, we demonstrate that the reli- ability of knowledge regarding certain phenomena gained from an experiment is not circumscribed by the manipulability or accessibility of the target phe- nomena. Rather, the limits of experimental knowledge are set by the extent to which strategies for what we call ‘inductive triangulation’ are available: that is, the validation of the mode of inductive reasoning involved in the source- target inference via appeal to one or more distinct and independent modes of inductive reasoning. When such strategies are able to partially mitigate reasonable doubt, we can take a theory regarding the phenomena to be well supported by experiment. When such strategies are able to fully mitigate reasonable doubt, we can take a theory regarding the phenomena to be estab- lished by experiment. There are good reasons to expect the next generation of analogue experiments to provide genuine knowledge of unmanipulable and inaccessible phenomena such that the relevant theories can be understood as well supported. ∗Forthcoming in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, The Next Generation of Analogue Gravity Experiments, edited by Maxime Jacquet, Silke Weinfurtner and Friedrich K¨onig. †email: [email protected] ‡email: [email protected] 1 Contents 1 Introduction2 2 Epistemology and Experiment5 2.1 Reasonable and Unreasonable Doubt..................5 2.2 Three Forms of Unobservable Phenomena...............8 2.3 Experimental Evidence and External Validation........... -
[, Maurice Cornforth] E a Crítica Marxista Ao Pragmatismo 67 Panhamento No Título (Que Nada Mais Terá De Misterioso)
V M-V [, M C] P Paulo Antunes1 (Universidade de Lisboa) É no processo da atividade prática, sobre as bases das necessidades materiais da vida da sociedade (não na prática con- cebida de um modo limitado, reduzida à experiência e ao experi- mento, não na prática concebida no espírito do subjetivismo dos pragmatistas e instrumentalistas) que não só se têm aperfeiçoado historicamente os próprios órgãos dos sentidos humanos e se os tem prolongado pela técnica, como se desenvolve o pensamento abstrato com base na linguagem e que, instância decisória, se verifi ca em que dose e até que ponto é ou pode ele ser, dentro de quadros sociais históricos determinados, fi dedigno e verdadeiro. Vasco de Magalhães-Vilhena, 1964. § 1. Notas preambulares: em memória de Vasco de Magalhães-Vilhena Antes de começar, gostava de cumprimentar todos os presentes di- zendo que é com enorme satisfação que me encontro aqui a prestar home- nagem a Vasco de Magalhães-Vilhena (1916-1993) que já só me chegou através dos seus escritos, o que porventura muito honrará a quem fez do 1 [email protected] Philosophica, 49, Lisboa, 2017, pp. 65-78. 66 Paulo Antunes pensamento e da escrita parte essencial da sua vida2. Avancemos que o tempo é escasso para delongas. A comunicação que vos apresento, mais do que tomar como objeto a bibliografi a e/ou biografi a do homenageado ou apresentar sucintamente um tema ou temas que o cativaram, pretende, antes, servir-se de uma ou outra referência episódica dos seus textos. Para o caso, a comunicação pre- tende servir-se das referências que remetem, como o título anuncia, para a crítica marxista ao Pragmatismo. -
CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS, and MEANING Author(S): TYLER BURGE Source: Metaphilosophy, Vol
CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS, AND MEANING Author(s): TYLER BURGE Source: Metaphilosophy, Vol. 24, No. 4 (October 1993), pp. 309-325 Published by: Wiley Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/24439033 Accessed: 11-04-2017 02:15 UTC REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/24439033?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms Wiley is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Metaphilosophy This content downloaded from 128.97.244.236 on Tue, 11 Apr 2017 02:15:14 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms © The Metaphilosophy Foundation and Basil Blackwell Ltd. 1993. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 238 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA METAPHILOSOPHY Vol 24, No 4, October 1993 0026-1068 CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS, AND MEANING* ** TYLER BURGE The Aristotelian tradition produced many of the elements of what is widely thought of as "the traditional view" of concepts. I begin by attempting to summarize this view. The summary runs roughshod over numerous distinctions that were dear to various thinkers who contributed to this general conception of concepts. -
Mind, Meaning and Metaphilosophy Edited by Pasquale Frascolla, Diego Marconi and Alberto Voltolini, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2010, Pp
CRITICAL NOTICE Wittgenstein : Mind, Meaning and Metaphilosophy Edited by Pasquale Frascolla, Diego Marconi and Alberto Voltolini, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2010, pp. 304, £ 55.00 ISBN: 978-0-230-21941-0 (hardback) Reviewed by Derek A. McDougall Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me. There was a padlock and a chain upon the gate. I called in my dream to the lodge-keeper, and had no answer, and peering closer through the rusted spokes to the gate I saw that the lodge was uninhabited. The first four sentences of Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca are so well-known that they require no introduction. They express a perfectly ordinary understanding of what it is to have a dream as the occurrence of an experience undergone during our sleeping hours, that it would seem perverse to question it. Yet in those well-known passages in which Wittgenstein may appear to be questioning it by drawing our attention instead to the circumstances in which we talk about them, we ought rather to see him only as describing the features which belong to the language-game in which we recount our dreams. Insofar as we understand it to be a feature of this game that we report on waking what we have experienced whilst asleep, then that is what the game is about: there is no genuine question whether that is what it is really about, whether - as philosophers are inclined to put it - there is a ‘fact of the matter’ about what we experience whilst asleep, over and above or outwith this description of the familiar accounts we provide of what it is for us to dream.