Chapter 4 Reading Nature Realist, Instrumentalist, and Quietist
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Natural Kinds and Concepts: a Pragmatist and Methodologically Naturalistic Account
Natural Kinds and Concepts: A Pragmatist and Methodologically Naturalistic Account Ingo Brigandt Abstract: In this chapter I lay out a notion of philosophical naturalism that aligns with prag- matism. It is developed and illustrated by a presentation of my views on natural kinds and my theory of concepts. Both accounts reflect a methodological naturalism and are defended not by way of metaphysical considerations, but in terms of their philosophical fruitfulness. A core theme is that the epistemic interests of scientists have to be taken into account by any natural- istic philosophy of science in general, and any account of natural kinds and scientific concepts in particular. I conclude with general methodological remarks on how to develop and defend philosophical notions without using intuitions. The central aim of this essay is to put forward a notion of naturalism that broadly aligns with pragmatism. I do so by outlining my views on natural kinds and my account of concepts, which I have defended in recent publications (Brigandt, 2009, 2010b). Philosophical accounts of both natural kinds and con- cepts are usually taken to be metaphysical endeavours, which attempt to develop a theory of the nature of natural kinds (as objectively existing entities of the world) or of the nature of concepts (as objectively existing mental entities). However, I shall argue that any account of natural kinds or concepts must an- swer to epistemological questions as well and will offer a simultaneously prag- matist and naturalistic defence of my views on natural kinds and concepts. Many philosophers conceive of naturalism as a primarily metaphysical doc- trine, such as a commitment to a physicalist ontology or the idea that humans and their intellectual and moral capacities are a part of nature. -
Queries About Pragmatic Realism
Queries about Pragmatic Realism ILKKA NIINILUOTO Sami Pihlström (2003, 351) has proposed pragmatism as a promising philosophy for dedicated “middle-ground-thinkers” who attempt to find reconciliatory standpoints between extreme and even incompatible positions. I have been fascinated by pragmatism as an inspiring movement which is able to interact with all other major philosophical schools. Therefore, we both have appreciated the dialogue between pragmatists and realists, with the hope that we could learn from our agreements and disagreements (see e.g. Pihlström, 2007; Niiniluoto, 2009). In this paper, both of these points are illustrated by the main problem of Pihlström’s doctoral thesis Structuring the World (1996): the possibility of pragmatic realism, taking seriously some of the key ideas of these two rival approaches. The topic is vast and deep, full of intricate philosophical and metaphilosophical issues, and in a single short article I can only take up some selected interesting examples: Pihlström’s own pragmatism with a Kantian turn, Rein Vihalemm’s practical realism, and Hasok Chang’s pluralist pragmatic realism. I cannot argue here who is right in these debates, but in the queries my own critical scientific realism (Niiniluoto, 1999) is used as a point of comparison. Pihlström: Pragmatic Realism with a Kantian turn Sami Pihlström’s 1996 doctoral thesis is a heroic attempt to reconcile neopragmatism (especially in the form developed by Hilary Putnam) and scientific realism (especially as defended by Ilkka Niiniluoto). Later he has become a leading expert in classical American pragmatism. With influences from the Wittgenstein scholar Heikki Kannisto’s lectures on Kant, Pihlström’s Naturalizing the Transcendental (2003) makes a Kantian turn in arguing that pragmatism offers a naturalized reconstruction of transcendental philosophy. -
Realism for Realistic People
Realism for Realistic People Author(s): Hasok Chang Source: Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2018) 31-34. Published by: The University of Toronto DOI: 10.4245/sponge.v9i1.27002 EDITORIALOFFICES Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Room 316 Victoria College, 91 Charles Street West Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1K7 [email protected] Published online at jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/SpontaneousGenerations ISSN 1913 0465 Founded in 2006, Spontaneous Generations is an online academic journal published by graduate students at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto. There is no subscription or membership fee. Spontaneous Generations provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Focused Discussion Invited Paper Realism for Realistic People* Hasok Chang† Why should anyone care about the seemingly interminable philosophical debate concerning scientific realism? Shouldn’t we simply let go of it,in the spirit of Arthur Fine’s “natural ontological attitude” (NOA) (Fine 1986, chs. 7-8)? To a large extent I follow Fine, especially in relation to the endless arguments surrounding realist attempts to show that the impossible is somehow possible, that empirical science can really attain assured knowledge about what goes beyond experience. It is time to face the fact that we cannot know whether we have got the objective Truth about the World (even if such a formulation is meaningful). Realists go astray by persisting in trying to find a way around this fact, as do anti-realists in engaging with that obsession. -
Putnam's Theory of Natural Kinds and Their Names Is Not The
PUTNAM’S THEORY OF NATURAL KINDS AND THEIR NAMES IS NOT THE SAME AS KRIPKE’S IAN HACKING Collège de France Abstract Philosophers have been referring to the “Kripke–Putnam” theory of natural- kind terms for over 30 years. Although there is one common starting point, the two philosophers began with different motivations and presuppositions, and developed in different ways. Putnam’s publications on the topic evolved over the decades, certainly clarifying and probably modifying his analysis, while Kripke published nothing after 1980. The result is two very different theories about natural kinds and their names. Both accept that the meaning of a natural- kind term is not given by a description or defining properties, but is specified by its referents. From then on, Putnam rejected even the label, causal theory of reference, preferring to say historical, or collective. He called his own approach indexical. His account of substance identity stops short a number of objections that were later raised, such as what is called the qua problem. He came to reject the thought that water is necessarily H2O, and to denounce the idea of metaphysical necessity that goes beyond physical necessity. Essences never had a role in his analysis; there is no sense in which he was an essentialist. He thought of hidden structures as the usual determinant of natural kinds, but always insisted that what counts as a natural kind is relative to interests. “Natural kind” itself is itself an importantly theoretical concept, he argued. The paper also notes that Putnam says a great deal about what natural kinds are, while Kripke did not. -
Philsoc Student Essay Prize, Trinity Term, 2020 – 1St Equal Prize
Philsoc Student Essay Prize, Trinity term, 2020 – 1st Equal Prize Is Entity Realism the right way to think about Scientific Realism? By Jason Mahr Introduction Ian Hacking’s entity realism is influential in the scientific realism debate and maintains realism concerning manipulatable unobservable entities while retreating to an anti-realist position regarding the scientific theories and structures (Hacking 1982). It is an alternative compromise position to John Worrall’s structural realism, which makes the opposite concession. Entity realism improves the realist’s position in light of some anti-realist arguments but faces additional issues of its own. David Resnik criticises entity realism as entailing the same epistemological burdens as standard scientific realism. He argues Hacking must rely on a traditional success-of-science argument, entities depend on theories after all, and experimentation is not as theory-free as Hacking claims (Resnik 1994). Resnik’s concerns are legitimate, but he leaves out significant nuances. Martin Carrier instead cites past purported entities that have since been rejected while arguing for kind-realism (Carrier 1993). I cast Hacking’s arguments as better suited to a limited structural realism, which I then defend against Carrier’s claims. The result is a limited structural realism that can be supported by both Hacking and Carrier’s arguments. No-Miracles and Reliance on Theory Resnik’s first criticism is that entity realism, like standard scientific realism (SSR), relies on inference to the best explanation (IBE). It is useful to consider how the two arguments are different. A common response to the no-miracles argument (NMA) for SSR is that false theories can yield approximately true consequences. -
The Metaphysics of Natural Kinds
THE METAPHYSICS OF NATURAL KINDS Alexander Bird Abstract Rev.8.2—Thursday 12th August, 2010, 11:20 This paper explores the meta- physics of natural kinds. I consider a range of increasingly ontologically com- mitted views concerning natural kinds and the possible arguments for them. I then ask how these relate to natural kind essentialism, arguing that essentialism requires commitment to kinds as entities. I conclude by examining the homeo- static property cluster view of kinds in the light of the general understanding of kinds developed. 1 Introduction The principal aim of this paper is to examine the various options concerning the metaphysics of natural kinds, in particular as regards their ontology. Initially pro- ceed by posing a series of questions whose positive answers correspond to a se- quence of increasingly metaphysically committed views about natural kinds. In sec- tion 2 these questions concern the naturalness and kindhood of natural kinds. This leads, in section 3 to the question whether natural kinds are themselves genuine en- tities. In section 4 I present an argument for a positive answer to the existence ques- tion, that takes essentialism about natural kinds to imply their existence: (having an) essence implies existence. In section 5 I consider the objection that kind essen- tialism reduces to individual essentialism, which would undermine the import of the essence-implies-existence argument. In sections 6 and 7, I put this machinery to work, asking first what sort of entity a natural kind may be (e.g. a set, an uni- versal, or a sui generis entity), and, finally, how homeostatic property cluster view fares when compared to the general conception of natural kinds developed in the preceding sections. -
Realism, Empiricism, and Causal Inquiry in International Relations: What's at Stake?
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Central Archive at the University of Reading Realism, empiricism, and causal inquiry in International Relations: what©s at stake? Article Accepted Version Humphreys, A. (2018) Realism, empiricism, and causal inquiry in International Relations: what©s at stake? European Journal of International Relations. ISSN 1460-3713 doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066118759179 Available at http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/74724/ It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from the work. To link to this article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1354066118759179 Publisher: Sage All outputs in CentAUR are protected by Intellectual Property Rights law, including copyright law. Copyright and IPR is retained by the creators or other copyright holders. Terms and conditions for use of this material are defined in the End User Agreement . www.reading.ac.uk/centaur CentAUR Central Archive at the University of Reading Reading's research outputs online Realism, empiricism, and causal inquiry in International Relations – what’s at stake? Adam R. C. Humphreys (University of Reading) European Journal of International Relations (forthcoming – accepted Jan 2018) AUTHOR FINAL VERSION Alexander Wendt argued thirty years ago that a commitment to the reality of ‘unobservable generative structures’ would open up new avenues of causal inquiry in International Relations [IR] (1987: 350). This view has since been further elaborated (see Wendt 1999; Patomäki and Wight 2000; Patomäki -
Reference, Success and Entity Realism
Reference, Success and Entity Realism Howard Sankey (School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne) [email protected] 1. Introduction According to scientific realism, the aim of scientific inquiry is to discover the truth about observable and unobservable aspects of a mind-independent, objective reality. We may be confident that science has made considerable progress toward this aim because of the success of science. For the best explanation of the success of science is that the theories proposed by scientists increasingly approximate to the truth, and that contemporary theories are closer to the truth than the earlier theories which they have replaced. Absent a better explanation of the success of science, we should adopt the realist explanation of success as the correct interpretation of science. But scientific realism is not uncontroversial. A number of anti-realists have criticized scientific realism in respect of the role played by truth in the realist’s account of science. Larry Laudan and Bas van Fraassen provide two well-known examples of such anti-realist critics. Laudan (1981) objects to the realist’s abductive argument that the best explanation of the success of science is that its theories are true or approximately true, and that the terms used by the theories genuinely refer. For his part, Fraassen (1980) argues that empirical adequacy rather than truth should be seen as the aim of science. Scientific realists respond to the anti-realist attack in various ways. One reaction is to emphasize reality rather than truth. A number of philosophers suggest that scientific realism is open to anti-realist attack because it places undue emphasis on the truth of theories and on the correspondence theory of truth. -
Pragmatic Realism†
Revista de Humanidades de Valparaíso Año 4 / 2016 / 2do semestre / N° 8 Págs. 107 - 122 ISSN 0719-4234 / eISSN 0719-4242 Pragmatic Realism† Hasok Chang* Abstract In this paper I seek to articulate and develop Roberto Torretti’s advocacy of pragmatic realism. At the core of Torrietti’s view is a rejection of the notion that the truth of scientific theories consists in their correspondence to the world. I propose to understand correspondence in that sense as a metaphorical notion. I articulate a notion of pragmatist coherence, on the basis of which I make new coherence theories of truth and reality. Then it becomes possible to say that pragmatic realism consists in the pursuit of true knowledge of reality, in a way that is also consonant with Torretti’s pluralism. Keywords: pragmatism, realism, pluralism, coherence, truth, reality Realismo Pragmático Resumen En este trabajo intento articular y desarrollar la defensa que Roberto Torretti hace del realismo pragmático. En el núcleo de la visión de Torretti existe un rechazo a la idea de que la verdad de las teorías científicas consista en su correspondencia con el mundo. Propongo entonces entender la correspondencia como una noción metafórica. Articularé una noción de coherencia pragmática sobre la cual establezco una nueva teoría de la coherencia entre verdad y realidad. __________________En consecuencia, resultará posible afirmar que el realismo pragmático † Recibido: octubre 2016. This paper is partly based on a presentation entitled “Pragmatist Coherence as the Source of Truth and Reality,” given at the sixth biennial conference of the Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP) on 17 June 2016 at Rowan University. -
Axiological Scientific Realism and Methodological Prescription
Axiological Scientific Realism and Methodological Prescription Timothy D. Lyons Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis I: Meta-Hypotheses in the Scientific Realism Debate The contemporary scientific realism debate centers on two general kinds of meta-hypotheses, i.e., hypotheses about science, both of which are purported to be empirical. The first kind of meta- hypotheses are descriptive hypotheses regarding the nature of scientific inquiry. I will call these “Type-D meta-hypotheses.” The second kind of meta-hypotheses are epistemological theories about what individuals (scientists or non-scientists) should / can justifiably believe about (successful) scientific theories. I will call the latter, “Type-E meta-hypotheses.” I will first identify three Type-Ds. The realist’s most explicit and fundamental Type-D is axiological, a meta-hypothesis that purports to describe the aim of science: science seeks truth, including truth about unobservables. This meta-hypothesis is opposed by non-realists who favor an alternative. Van Fraassen, for instance, argues that science seeks empirical adequacy—and that truth about unobservables, though possibly attained on occasion, is not of concern to the scientific enterprise. Larry Laudan argues that, if a general aim is needed, it is that science seeks, not truth, but solutions to problems. Hence, central to the scientific realism debate are competing empirical descriptions, Type-D axiological meta-hypotheses, regarding the aim of science. A second kind of Type-D meta-hypothesis of importance in the realism debate pertains more specifically to the nature and structure of scientific inference itself. In light of well-known descriptive concerns regarding the classical Type-D meta-hypotheses— e.g., enumerative-inductivism, hypothetico-deductivism—realists tend to favor an alternative that we can dub descriptive 1 explanationism. -
Two Dogmas of Empiricism I
Philosophy 405: Knowledge, Truth and Mathematics Hamilton College Fall 2014 Russell Marcus Class #16: Two Dogmas of Empiricism I. “Two Dogmas,” Mathematics, and Indispensability Our interest in studying Quine has mainly to do with the indispensability argument which will occupy us for the remainder of the course. In a sense, we have reached a turning point in our class. Our studies of the history of the philosophy of mathematics are done. We proceed to engage a live contemporary debate. The indispensability argument in the philosophy of mathematics, in its most general form, consists of two premises. The major premise states that we should believe that mathematical objects exist if we need them in our best scientific theory. The minor premise claims that we do in fact require mathematical objects in our scientific theory. The argument concludes that we should believe in the abstract objects of mathematics. Quine does not present a canonical version of the argument, so it has to be reconstructed from comments throughout his work. In “Two Dogmas,” allusion to the argument appears at the end. As an empiricist I continue to think of the conceptual scheme of science as a tool, ultimately, for predicting future experience in the light of past experience. Physical objects are conceptually imported into the situation as convenient intermediaries - not by definition in terms of experience, but simply as posits... Physical objects, small and large, are not the only posits. Forces are another example... Moreover, the abstract entities of mathematics - ultimately classes and classes of classes and so on up - are another posit in the same spirit. -
“Reference and Natural Kind Terms: the Real Essence of Locke's View
REFERENCE AND NATURAL KIND TERMS: THE REAL ESSENCE OF LOCKE’S VIEW BY P. KYLE STANFORD Abstract: J. L. Mackie’s famous claim that Locke ‘anticipates’ Kripke’s Causal Theory of Reference (CTR) rests, I suggest, upon a pair of important misunderstandings. Contra Mackie, as well as the more recent accounts of Paul Guyer and Michael Ayers, Lockean Real Essences consist of those features of an entity from which all of its experienceable properties can be logically deduced; thus a substantival Real Essence consists of features of a Real Constitution plus logically necessary objective connections between them and features of some particular Nominal Essence. Furthermore, what Locke actually anticipates is the most significant contemporary challenge to the CTR: the qua-problem. 1. Locke’s ‘Anticipation’ of Kripke Near the outset of the Third Book of An Essay Concerning Human Under- standing, Locke draws a crucial distinction between what he calls a Real Essence, the “unknown Constitution of Things, whereon their discoverable Qualities depend”, and a Nominal Essence, “that abstract Idea, which the General, or Sortal Name stands for”, that is, the set of necessary and sufficient conditions for the application of a term (III iii 15). On this account, the Real Essence of gold is whatever features of its constitution are in fact responsible for its properties, while its Nominal Essence is the set of ideas of observable qualities, such as ‘heavy’, ‘yellow’, ‘malleable’, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 79 (1998) 78–97 0031–5621/98/0100–0000 © 1998 University of Southern California and Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.