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The Demarcation Problem
Part I The Demarcation Problem 25 Chapter 1 Popper’s Falsifiability Criterion 1.1 Popper’s Falsifiability Popper’s Problem : To distinguish between science and pseudo-science (astronomy vs astrology) - Important distinction: truth is not the issue – some theories are sci- entific and false, and some may be unscientific but true. - Traditional but unsatisfactory answers: empirical method - Popper’s targets: Marx, Freud, Adler Popper’s thesis : Falsifiability – the theory contains claims which could be proved to be false. Characteristics of Pseudo-Science : unfalsifiable - Any phenomenon can be interpreted in terms of the pseudo-scientific theory “Whatever happened always confirmed it” (5) - Example: man drowning vs saving a child Characteristics of Science : falsifiability - A scientific theory is always takes risks concerning the empirical ob- servations. It contains the possibility of being falsified. There is con- firmation only when there is failure to refute. 27 28 CHAPTER 1. POPPER’S FALSIFIABILITY CRITERION “The theory is incompatible with certain possible results of observation” (6) - Example: Einstein 1919 1.2 Kuhn’s criticism of Popper Kuhn’s Criticism of Popper : Popper’s falsifiability criterion fails to char- acterize science as it is actually practiced. His criticism at best applies to revolutionary periods of the history of science. Another criterion must be given for normal science. Kuhn’s argument : - Kuhn’s distinction between normal science and revolutionary science - A lesson from the history of science: most science is normal science. Accordingly, philosophy of science should focus on normal science. And any satisfactory demarcation criterion must apply to normal science. - Popper’s falsifiability criterion at best only applies to revolutionary science, not to normal science. -
The Naturalization of Natural Philosophy
philosophies Article The Naturalization of Natural Philosophy Joseph E. Brenner International Center for the Philosophy of Information, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’An 710049, China; [email protected] Received: 29 August 2018; Accepted: 4 October 2018; Published: 24 November 2018 Abstract: A new demarcation is proposed between Natural Philosophy and non-Natural Philosophy—philosophy tout court—based on whether or not they follow a non-standard logic of real processes. This non-propositional logic, Logic in Reality (LIR), is based on the original work of the Franco-Romanian thinker Stéphane Lupasco (Bucharest, 1900–Paris, 1988). Many Natural Philosophies remain bounded by dependence on binary linguistic concepts of logic. I claim that LIR can naturalize—bring into science—part of such philosophies. Against the potential objection that my approach blurs the distinction between science and philosophy, I reply that there is no problem in differentiating experimental physical science and philosophy; any complete distinction between philosophy, including the philosophy of science(s) and the other sciences is invidious. It was historically unnecessary and is unnecessary today. The convergence of science and philosophy, proposed by Wu Kun based on implications of the philosophy of information, supports this position. LIR provides a rigorous basis for giving equivalent ontological value to diversity and identity, what is contradictory, inconsistent, absent, missing or past, unconscious, incomplete, and fuzzy as to their positive counterparts. The naturalized Natural Philosophy resulting from the application of these principles is a candidate for the ‘new synthesis’ called for by the editors. Keywords: common good; contradiction; ethics; information; logic; naturalization; realism; science; synthesis 1. -
An Introduction to Philosophy
An Introduction to Philosophy W. Russ Payne Bellevue College Copyright (cc by nc 4.0) 2015 W. Russ Payne Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document with attribution under the terms of Creative Commons: Attribution Noncommercial 4.0 International or any later version of this license. A copy of the license is found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 1 Contents Introduction ………………………………………………. 3 Chapter 1: What Philosophy Is ………………………….. 5 Chapter 2: How to do Philosophy ………………….……. 11 Chapter 3: Ancient Philosophy ………………….………. 23 Chapter 4: Rationalism ………….………………….……. 38 Chapter 5: Empiricism …………………………………… 50 Chapter 6: Philosophy of Science ………………….…..… 58 Chapter 7: Philosophy of Mind …………………….……. 72 Chapter 8: Love and Happiness …………………….……. 79 Chapter 9: Meta Ethics …………………………………… 94 Chapter 10: Right Action ……………………...…………. 108 Chapter 11: Social Justice …………………………...…… 120 2 Introduction The goal of this text is to present philosophy to newcomers as a living discipline with historical roots. While a few early chapters are historically organized, my goal in the historical chapters is to trace a developmental progression of thought that introduces basic philosophical methods and frames issues that remain relevant today. Later chapters are topically organized. These include philosophy of science and philosophy of mind, areas where philosophy has shown dramatic recent progress. This text concludes with four chapters on ethics, broadly construed. I cover traditional theories of right action in the third of these. Students are first invited first to think about what is good for themselves and their relationships in a chapter of love and happiness. Next a few meta-ethical issues are considered; namely, whether they are moral truths and if so what makes them so. -
Reexamining the Problem of Demarcating Science and Pseudoscience by Evan Westre B.A., Vancouver Island University, 2010 a Thesis
Reexamining the Problem of Demarcating Science and Pseudoscience By Evan Westre B.A., Vancouver Island University, 2010 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS ©Evan Westre, 2014 All Rights Reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. Supervisory Committee Reexamining the Problem of Demarcating Science and Pseudoscience By Evan Westre B.A., Vancouver Island University, 2010 Dr. Audrey Yap: Supervisor (Department of Philosophy) Dr. Jeffrey Foss: Departmental Member (Department of Philosophy) ii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. Audrey Yap: Supervisor (Department of Philosophy) Dr. Jeffrey Foss: Departmental Member (Department of Philosophy) The demarcation problem aims to articulate the boundary between science and pseudoscience. Solutions to the problem have been notably raised by the logical positivists (verificationism), Karl Popper (falsificationism), and Imre Lakatos (methodology of research programmes). Due, largely, to the conclusions drawn by Larry Laudan, in a pivotal 1981 paper which dismissed the problem of demarcation as a “pseudo-problem”, the issue was brushed aside for years. Recently, however, there has been a revival of attempts to reexamine the demarcation problem and synthesize new solutions. My aim is to survey two of the contemporary attempts and to assess these approaches over and against the broader historical trajectory of the demarcation problem. These are the efforts of Nicholas Maxwell (aim-oriented empiricism), and Paul Hoyningen-Huene (systematicity). I suggest that the main virtue of the new attempts is that they promote a self-reflexive character within the sciences. -
Phil. Colloquium Archives 2018
FALL 2018 1. Friday, September 14, 2018 - 3:00pm, BEH 215 "Defending Deflationism from a Forceful Objection." James Woodbridge, Department of Philosophy, University of Nevada Las Vegas This talk presents work done in collaboration with Brad Armour-Garb. We offer a unified picture of deflationism about truth, by explaining the proper way to understand the interrelations between (what Bar-On and Simmons (2007) call) conceptual, linguistic and metaphysical deflationism. I will then present our defense of deflationism against Bar-On and Simmons (2007)'s objection that conceptual deflationism is incompatible with the explanatory role the concept of truth plays in an account of assertion or assertoric illocutionary force. We defend deflationism, rather than just conceptual deflationism, because we take Bar-On and Simmons's stance on their target to involve a mistake. They purport to raise an objection merely to conceptual deflationism, putting the issues involved in metaphysical deflationism and linguistic deflationism to one side. I will explain how that cannot really be done because it mistakenly treats the three categories of deflationary views as running independently and as being at the same theoretical level. As we argue, given the relationships between them, a challenge to conceptual deflationism would flow upward and would amount to a challenge to linguistic deflationism, too, and, thus, to deflationism as a whole. Having defended conceptual deflationism against Bar-On and Simmon's objection, we conclude that deflationism about truth, understood primarily as a view about truth- talk, but with the other theses that brings with it, remains a viable position to endorse. 2. Friday, October 5, 2018 - 3:00pm, BEH 215 "Theorizing Testimony in Argumentative Contexts: Problems for Assurance." David Godden, Department of Philosophy, Michigan State University Standardly the testimonial acceptance of some claim, p, is analyzed as some subject, S, accepting that p on the basis of another's say-so. -
PHYSICS, PHILOSOPHY and PSYCHOANALYSIS Essays in Honor of Adolf Grilnbaum
PHYSICS, PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS Essays in Honor of Adolf Grilnbaum Edited by R. s. COHEN Boston University and L. LAUDAN Virginia Polytechnic Institute D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY A MEMBER OF THE KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS GROUP DORDRECHT I BOSTON I LANCASTER Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Physics, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. (Boston studies in the philosophy of science; v. 76) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Physics-Philo sophy-Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Philos- ophy-Addresses, essays, lectures. 3. Psychoanalysis-Addresses, essays;lectures. 4. Griinbaum, Adolf. I. Griinbaum, Adolf. II. Cohen, Robert Sonne. III. Series. Q174.B67 vol. 76 [QC6.21 501s 1530'.011 83-4576 ISBN-I3: 978-94-009-7057-1 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-7055-7 DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-7055-7 Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company, P.O. Box 17,3300 AA Dordrecht, Holland. Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada by Kluwer Boston Inc., 190 Old Derby Street, Hingham, MA 02043, U.S.A. In all other countries, sold and distributed by Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, Holland. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 1983 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland and copyright holders as specified on appropriate pages within. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 15t edition 1983 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. -
Doctoraat FINAAL .Pdf
Here be dragons Here Exploring the hinterland of science Maarten Boudry Here be dragons Exploring the hinterland of science Maarten Boudry ISBN978-90-7083-018-2 Proefschrift voorgedragen tot het bekomen van de graad van Doctor in de Wijsbegeerte Promotor: Prof. dr. Johan Braeckman Supervisor Prof. dr. Johan Braeckman Wijsbegeerte en moraalwetenschap Dean Prof. dr. Freddy Mortier Rector Prof. dr. Paul Van Cauwenberghe Nederlandse vertaling: Hic sunt dracones. Een filosofische verkenning van pseudowetenschap en randwetenschap Cover: The image on the front cover is an excerpt of a map by the Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius, originally published in Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570). ISBN: 978-90-7083-018-2 The author and the promoter give the authorisation to consult and to copy parts of this work for personal use only. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws. Permission to reproduce any material contained in this work should be obtained from the author. Faculty of Arts & Humanities Maarten Boudry Here be Dragons Exploring the Hinterland of Science Proefschrift voorgedragen tot het bekomen van de graad van Doctor in de Wijsbegeerte 2011 Acknowledgements This dissertation could not have been written without the invaluable help of a number of people (a philosopher cannot help but thinking of them as a set of individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions). Different parts of this work have greatly benefited from stimulating discussions with many colleagues and friends, among whom Barbara Forrest, John Teehan, Herman Philipse, Helen De Cruz, Taner Edis, Nicholas Humphrey, Geerdt Magiels, Bart Klink, Glenn Branch, Larry Moran, Jerry Coyne, Michael Ruse, Steve Zara, Amber Griffioen, Johan De Smedt, Lien Van Speybroeck, and Evan Fales. -
Epistemology in Uncertainty: Distinguishing Science and Faith in the Quantum Age
California Western Law Review Volume 53 Number 1 Article 6 12-31-2016 Epistemology in Uncertainty: Distinguishing Science and Faith in the Quantum Age Marvin Lim Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cwlr Recommended Citation Lim, Marvin (2016) "Epistemology in Uncertainty: Distinguishing Science and Faith in the Quantum Age," California Western Law Review: Vol. 53 : No. 1 , Article 6. Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cwlr/vol53/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by CWSL Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in California Western Law Review by an authorized editor of CWSL Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lim: Epistemology in Uncertainty: Distinguishing Science and Faith in +(,1 2 1/,1( Citation: 53 Cal. W. L. Rev. 1 2016 Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline Tue Jul 18 12:37:07 2017 -- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. -- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: Copyright Information Published by CWSL Scholarly Commons, 2016 1 California Western Law Review, Vol. 53 [2016], No. 1, Art. 6 CALIFORNIA WESTERN LAW REVIEW VOLUME 53 FALL 2016 NUMBER 1 EPISTEMOLOGY IN UNCERTAINTY: DISTINGUISHING SCIENCE AND FAITH IN THE QUANTUM AGE MARVIN LIM* TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................... 2 I. SCIENCE VERSUS FAITH TRADITIONALLY .................... 4 II. QUANTUM AGE: UNCERTAINTY IN SCIENTIFIC EMPIRICISM..11 A. -
Political Theory and the Problem of Explanation. James Wayne Lemke Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1978 Political Theory and the Problem of Explanation. James Wayne Lemke Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Lemke, James Wayne, "Political Theory and the Problem of Explanation." (1978). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 3249. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/3249 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 79031*4 LEMKE» JAMES WAYNE POLITICAL THEORY AND THE PROBLEM OF EXPLANATION. THE LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COL., P H .D ., 1978 University Microfilms International 3o o n , z e e s r o a d , a n n a r b o r , m i 4eioe 0 1978 JAMES WAYNE LEMKE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Political Theory and the Problem of Explanation A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Political Science by James Wayne Lerrike B.A., Southeastern Louisiana University, 1969 August, 1978 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writing of this dissertation, to say nothing of its completion, has been an enjoyable and rewarding enterprise. My good feelings about this experience are in large measure the result of the support and assistance of a number of people. -
An Analysis of the Demarcation Problem in Philosophy of Science and Its Application to Homeopathy
AN ANALYSIS OF THE DEMARCATION PROBLEM IN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND ITS APPLICATION TO HOMEOPATHY Alper Bilgehan YARDIMCI ABSTRACT This paper presents a preliminary analysis of homeopathy from the perspective of the demarcation problem in the philosophy of science. In this context, Popper, Kuhn and Feyerabend’s solution to the problem will be given respectively and their criteria will be applied to homeopathy, aiming to shed some light on the controversy over its scientific status. It then examines homeopathy under the lens of demarcation criteria to conclude that homeopathy is regarded as science by Feyerabend and is considered as pseudoscience by Popper and Kuhn. By offering adequate tools for the analysis of the foundations, structure and implications of homeopathy, demarcation issue can help to clarify this medical controversy. The main argument of this article is that a final decision on homeopathy, whose scientific status changes depending on the criteria of the philosophers mentioned, cannot be given. Keywords: Demarcation Problem, Scientific Status of Homeopathy, Falsifiability, Puzzle-solving, Anarchist Method, Pseudoscience BİLİM FELSEFESİNDE SINIR ÇİZME SORUNUNUN ANALİZİ VE HOMEOPATİYE UYGULANMASI ÖZ Bu makale, bilim felsefesinin önemli konularından biri olan sınır çizme sorunu açısından homeopatinin bir ön analizini sunmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, Popper, Kuhn ve Feyerabend'in sınır çizme sorununa yönelik çözümleri sırasıyla verilecek ve onların ölçütleri, homeopatinin bilimsel durumu üzerindeki tartışmalara ışık tutacak şekilde uygulanacaktır. Homeopatinin Feyerabend tarafından bilim, Popper ve Kuhn açısından ise sözde bilim olduğu sonucuna varmak amacıyla, homeopati sınır çizme ölçütleri çerçevesinde incelenmektedir. Sınır çizme tartışması homeopatinin temellerini, yapısını ve sonuçlarını analiz etmek için yeterli araçları sunarak bu tıbbi tartışmayı netleştirmeye yardımcı olabilir. -
The Distinction Between Falsification and Rejection in the Demarcation
Support and trend of falsifiability Nicolae Sfetcu 25.02.2019 Sfetcu, Nicolae, "Support and trend of falsifiability", SetThings (February 29, 2019), MultiMedia Publishing (ed.), URL = https://www.telework.ro/en/support-and-trend-of-falsifiability/ Email: [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/. This is a partial translation of: Sfetcu, Nicolae, "Distincția dintre falsificare și respingere în problema demarcației la Karl Popper", SetThings (3 iunie 2018), MultiMedia Publishing (ed.), DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10444.72329, ISBN 978-606-033-139-1, URL = https://www.telework.ro/ro/e- books/distinctia-dintre-falsificare-si-respingere-in-problema-demarcatiei-la-karl-popper/ Support and trend of falsifiability Popper's supporters argued that most criticism is based on an incomprehensible interpretation of his ideas. They argue that Popper should not be interpreted as meaning that falsifiability is a sufficient condition for the demarcation of science. Some passages seem to suggest that he considers it is only a necessary condition. (Feleppa 1990, 142) Other passages would suggest that for a theory to be scientific, Popper requires (besides falsifiability) other tests, and that negative test results are accepted. (Cioffi 1985, 14–16) A demarcation criterion based on falsifiability that includes these elements will avoid the most obvious counter-arguments of a criterion based on falsifiability alone. (Hansson 2017) David Miller believes that the demarcation problem and the problem of induction at Popper are sometimes " lamentably misunderstood... The problem of demarcation is solved much as Popper solved it." (Miller 2009b) Many critics misunderstand Popper's philosophy in the demarcation problem. -
The Demarcation Problem and Alternative Medicine by Donald Gillies, University College London
The Demarcation Problem and Alternative Medicine by Donald Gillies, University College London (This is a paper which was given at a conference in La Coruña, Spain in 2003 on ‘Karl R. Popper: Revision of his Legacy’. A Spanish version of it has appeared in the conference proceedings.) Contents (1) Introduction (2) The Demarcation Problem and the Vienna Circle (3) Popper on the Demarcation Problem (4) Falsifiability and the Duhem-Quine Thesis (5) Alternative Medicine 1. Introduction In this paper I intend to examine Popper’s views on a philosophical problem with which he was very preoccupied throughout his life – namely the problem of demarcation. My aim is partly to expound Popper’s ideas against their historical background, but also to try to assess the merit of his ideas and their relevance today. I will begin in this introduction by giving a general sketch of my attitude to Popper’s philosophy. This can best be done by listing a number of points, some of which will be in favour of Popper and some critical of him. Point 1 is in favour of Popper. It is that he always worked on important philosophical problems. Indeed the problem of demarcation is central to philosophy of science and indeed to epistemology in general. Regrettably many philosophers go wrong by devoting a great deal of ingenuity to rather trivial questions. The result of such investigations can never be very interesting, and the ability to see what questions are important is part of what makes a great philosopher. Point 2 is also in favour of Popper.