Scientific Explanation
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Hume's Objects After Deleuze
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School March 2021 Hume's Objects After Deleuze Michael P. Harter Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Continental Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Harter, Michael P., "Hume's Objects After Deleuze" (2021). LSU Master's Theses. 5305. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/5305 This Thesis 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 Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HUME’S OBJECTS AFTER DELEUZE A Thesis 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 Master of Arts in The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies by Michael Patrick Harter B.A., California State University, Fresno, 2018 May 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Human beings are wholly dependent creatures. In our becoming, we are affected by an incredible number of beings who aid and foster our growth. It would be impossible to devise a list of all such individuals. However, those who played imperative roles in the creation of this work deserve their due recognition. First, I would like to thank my partner, Leena, and our pets Merleau and the late Kiki. Throughout the ebbs and flows of my academic career, you have remained sources of love, joy, encouragement, and calm. -
VU Research Portal
VU Research Portal Realism, Instrumentalism, and Scientific Symbiosis: Psychological Theory as a search for truth and the discovery of solutions Cacioppo, J.T.; Semin, G.R.; Berntson, G.G. published in American Psychologist 2004 DOI (link to publisher) 10.1037/0003-066X.59.4.214 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Cacioppo, J. T., Semin, G. R., & Berntson, G. G. (2004). Realism, Instrumentalism, and Scientific Symbiosis: Psychological Theory as a search for truth and the discovery of solutions. American Psychologist, 59, 214-233. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.4.214 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 03. Oct. 2021 Realism, Instrumentalism, and Scientific Symbiosis Psychological Theory as a Search for Truth and the Discovery of Solutions John T. -
Realism and Instrumentalism in Philosophical Explanation
Simchen, O. 2019. Realism and Instrumentalism in Philosophical Explanation. Metaphysics, 2(1), pp. 1–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/met.20 RESEARCH Realism and Instrumentalism in Philosophical Explanation Ori Simchen University of British Columbia, CA [email protected] There is a salient contrast in how theoretical representations are regarded. Some are regarded as revealing the nature of what they represent, as in familiar cases of theoretical identification in physical chemistry where water is represented as hydrogen hydroxide and gold is represented as the element with atomic number 79. Other theoretical representations are regarded as serving other explanatory aims without being taken individually to reveal the nature of what they represent, as in the representation of gold as a standard for pre-20th century monetary systems in economics or the representation of the meaning of an English sentence as a function from possible worlds to truth values in truth-conditional semantics. Call the first attitude towards a theoretical representation realist and the second attitude instrumentalist. Philosophical explanation purports to reveal the nature of whatever falls within its purview, so it would appear that a realist attitude towards its representations is a natural default. I offer reasons for skepticism about such default realism that emerge from attending to several case studies of philosophical explanation and drawing a general metaphilosophical moral from the foregoing discussion. Keywords: realism; instrumentalism; philosophical explanation; philosophical methodology 1 Introduction Any theoretical endeavour employs representations and philosophy is no exception. A representation for present purposes is a theoretical apparatus that stands for some subject matter within a purported explana- tion. -
Charles Taylor and George Grant on the Problem of Instrumentalism: Expressivism and Justice As Alternative Ontologies
CHARLES TAYLOR AND GEORGE GRANT ON THE PROBLEM OF INSTRUMENTALISM: EXPRESSIVISM AND JUSTICE AS ALTERNATIVE ONTOLOGIES Carlos Colorado Bachelor of Arts, Simon Fraser University, 2001 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS Under Special Arrangements in the Faculty of Arts O Carlos Colorado 2004 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY August 2004 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Carlos Colorado Degree: Master of Arts Charles Taylor and George Grant on the Problem of Title of Thesis: Instrumentalism: Expressivism and Justice as Alternative Ontologies Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Jonathan C. Driver Dean of Graduate Studies Dr. Ian Angus Senior Supervisor Professor Department of Humanities Dr. David Laycock Supervisor Professor Department of Political Science Dr. Samuel LaSelva External Examiner Professor Department of Political Science University of British Columbia Date Approved: &b! 208~ Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. -
Hume's Problem of Induction and the Universalization Of
In Defense of Newtonian Induction: Hume's Problem of Induction and the Universalization of Primary Qualities Ori Belkind November 1, 2018 Abstract This paper aims to advance two claims. First, it aims to show that Hume's argument against the rationality of induction is sound. However, I claim that the conclusion does not follow merely from the self-defeating attempts to justify the rule of induction, unlike traditional readings of the argument. Rather, the skeptical conclusion must also take into account Hume's argument that the secret powers that are present in bodies and give rise to sensible qualities are unknowable. The paper's second aim is to show that Newtonian induction escapes Hume's secret powers argument, given that it includes a transductive inference, from observable phenomena to the powers present in the ultimate parts of matter. Consequently Hume's argument against the rationality of induction does not demonstrate the non-rational nature of Newtonian induction. 1 Introduction This paper articulates a certain reading of Hume's argument against the rationality of induction. Unlike traditional interpretations of Hume's argument, mine takes his argument to involve two distinct sub-arguments; the first is that inductive inferences lack rational support. I term this sub-argument the No Rational Support Argument (NRSA) (Section 2). I also argue that Hume uses a second sub- argument, one I term the Secret Powers Argument, or SPA, to undermine our belief in the rationality of induction. According to the SPA (examined in Section 3), we do not have access to the secret powers of bodies. -
The Causal Relation
THE CAUSAL RELATION: Salmon’s Attempt to Solve Hume’s Problem Kyle Staub University of Colorado at Boulder Department of Philosophy Undergraduate Honors Thesis April 3rd, 2014 Advisor: Jason Potter, Department of Philosophy Committee: Wes Morriston, Department of Philosophy Jason Potter, Department of Philosophy Greg Johnson, Department of Religious Studies ABSTRACT This work presents a historically accurate and robust account of David Hume’s problem of causation, providing sufficient detail about the aspects of his account which are most relevant to the discussion of causation in general. This interpretation of Hume’s problem focuses on the unjustified idea of the causal relation in which the cause necessitates the effect. Secondly, I present the development of Wesley Salmon’s process theory, from his 1984 work Scientific Explanation and the Causal Structure of the World, to his acceptance of Phil Dowe’s conserved quantity theory. I examine both accounts in detail, and present my own objection to Salmon’s central criterion of the process theory, the Mark Transmission principle. From there, I import Salmon’s version of the conserved quantity theory into the Humean framework and challenge his assertion that he has solved Hume’s problem of causation. The conserved quantity theory fails to solve Hume’s problem, in that it is essentially a process-based regularity theory, which relies on observed changes across interactions, without proposing any causal force to the interaction itself. Without any causal force inherent in the interaction which necessitates the effect, given the cause, the conserved quantity theory explicitly aligns itself with the Humean interpretation of the causal relation, lacking the psychological components. -
The Unity of Science in Early-Modern Philosophy: Subalternation, Metaphysics and the Geometrical Manner in Scholasticism, Galileo and Descartes
The Unity of Science in Early-Modern Philosophy: Subalternation, Metaphysics and the Geometrical Manner in Scholasticism, Galileo and Descartes by Zvi Biener M.A. in Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, 2004 B.A. in Physics, Rutgers University, 1995 B.A. in Philosophy, Rutgers University, 1995 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2008 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Zvi Biener It was defended on April 3, 2008 and approved by Peter Machamer J.E. McGuire Daniel Garber James G. Lennox Paolo Palmieri Dissertation Advisors: Peter Machamer, J.E. McGuire ii Copyright c by Zvi Biener 2008 iii The Unity of Science in Early-Modern Philosophy: Subalternation, Metaphysics and the Geometrical Manner in Scholasticism, Galileo and Descartes Zvi Biener, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2008 The project of constructing a complete system of knowledge—a system capable of integrating all that is and could possibly be known—was common to many early-modern philosophers and was championed with particular alacrity by Ren´eDescartes. The inspiration for this project often came from mathematics in general and from geometry in particular: Just as propositions were ordered in a geometrical demonstration, the argument went, so should propositions be ordered in an overall system of knowledge. Science, it was thought, had to proceed more geometrico. I offer a new interpretation of ‘science more geometrico’ based on an analysis of the explanatory forms used in certain branches of geometry. These branches were optics, as- tronomy, and mechanics; the so-called subalternate, subordinate, or mixed-mathematical sciences. -
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. -
Just a Tool? John Dewey's Pragmatic Instrumentalism and Educational
Just a Tool? John Dewey’s Pragmatic Instrumentalism and Educational Technology By © 2018 Mike Bannen Submitted to the graduate degree program in Social & Cultural Studies in Education and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chair: Suzanne Rice, Ph.D. John L. Rury, Ph.D. Argun Staatcioglu, Ph.D. Heidi Hallman, Ph.D. Joe E. O’Brien, Ed.D. Date Defended: 31 January 2018 The dissertation committee for Mike Bannen certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Just a Tool? John Dewey’s Pragmatic Instrumentalism and Educational Technology Chairperson: Suzanne Rice, Ph.D. Date Approved: 31 January 2018 ii Abstract This dissertation examines how John Dewey’s philosophy of knowledge might be used to consider the aims of contemporary educational technologies. While significant scholarship exists examining the historical and philosophical importance of Dewey’s contributions to American progressive education, much less scholarship has focused on examining the relationship between Dewey’s theory of knowledge and his thoughts regarding the purposes and aims of educational technologies. I argue that because many of Dewey’s ideas were heavily influenced by the material and social changes of the industrial revolution, his theories about knowledge, technology, and education offer a unique perspective when considering the educational significance of digital technologies. This dissertation is guided by two central questions: (1) What is the relationship between Dewey’s philosophy of knowledge, his philosophy of technology, and his philosophy of education? (2) How might Dewey’s ideas about the relationship between knowledge, technology, and education help educators, students, and policy makers think about the aims and uses of digital technologies in contemporary educational contexts? I begin by examining Dewey’s pragmatically instrumental account of knowledge. -
The Extent and Relevance of Instrumentalism, Constructivism and Critical Realism in High School Physical Science Textbooks - a Critical Study
THE EXTENT AND RELEVANCE OF INSTRUMENTALISM, CONSTRUCTIVISM AND CRITICAL REALISM IN HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS - A CRITICAL STUDY A Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Philosophy by Brian Arthur Jacoby UniversitySchool of Educationof Cape Town University of Cape Tmm March 1990 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town CONTENTS Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM POSED 1.1 Instrumentalism as a form of anti-realism ................................................ 1 1.2 Definition of terms .......................................................................................... 3 1.3 Instrumentalism is the prevailing view in science today .......................... 5 1.4 Instrumentalism in school science textbooks ............................................. 5 1.5 Out-dated view of the nature of science ...................................................... 8 1.6 Point of departure and summing up........................................................ 12 1.7 Outline of this study ..................................................................................... 13 2.0 INSTRUMENTALISM: ITS ORIGINS AND CHARACTERISTICS 2.1 Introduction -
© 2015 Thomas Steven Highstead Immanuel Kant's Response to David Hume Regarding Cause and Effect by Thomas Steven Highstead A
Immanuel Kant’s Response to David Hume regarding Cause and Effect By Thomas Steven Highstead A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of: Master of Arts In Philosophy Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2015 Thomas Steven Highstead ii Abstract When David Hume could not experience the impression of a necessary connection in the constant conjunction of two events, he reasoned that the necessity inherent in such a relation was the result of a feeling or desire; a determination of the mind to connect one event to another. Immanuel Kant, on the other hand, argued that the idea of cause was an innate structure of thought that provided the objective validity to a causal relationship. I argue that Kant’s combination of sensible intuition and the faculty of thought provides a more comprehensive and objective explanation of how we understand the necessary connection between a cause and its effect. iii Acknowledgement There are two special people in my life for whom I owe a deep debt of gratitude for making this thesis possible. The first is my wife, Sheryll, whose encouragement and patience throughout this long process was steadfast. Besides being my life partner, she deigned to scrutinize my grammar, in an attempt to make my abstruse prose more accessible. The second person I wish to thank is my Supervisor, Dr. Melissa Frankel, whose patience, guidance, mentoring, and deep knowledge pushed me to produce a paper that is considerably better than if I was left to my own devices. -
The Psychology of Time and Causal- Volume 7 Ity Summer 2014 Marc J
The psychology of time and causal- Volume 7 ity Summer 2014 Marc J. Buehner journal homepage School of Psychology, Cardiff University, www.euresisjournal.org Tower Building, 70 Park Place, CF10 3AT Cardiff, United Kingdom. [email protected] Abstract In this paper I present a brief overview of the relationship between time and causality in human experience. More specifically, I will outline that humans use temporal contiguity as a cue towards causality, and that in turn impressions of causality can shape perceptions of what is contiguous. 1. David Hume's heritage Causality pervades nearly every aspect of human experience. Based on causal understanding, we decide which foods we like and which ones make us ill, who is our friend and who is our enemy, which tool is working best, and where to invest our resources. In other words, causal knowledge enables us to predict and control our environment. The ability to acquire such knowledge thus is of central significance to human intelligence. However, despite the all- pervading nature of causality, it cannot actually be perceived directly. While we can observe that ingesting large amounts of alcohol tend to be followed by headaches, and that ingestion of aspirin may be followed by a relief of these headaches, we cannot actually perceive the causal relations at work directly. David Hume [1] observed that causal relations cannot be directly appraised by the sensory system. There is no causality sense'. Yet, our senses are the ultimate source of our experience. Consequently, according to Hume, causality must be construed in the mind, by transforming essentially non-causal sensory input into representations of causal relations.