CLMPS 2011 Volume of Abstracts
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In Defence of Constructive Empiricism: Metaphysics Versus Science
To appear in Journal for General Philosophy of Science (2004) In Defence of Constructive Empiricism: Metaphysics versus Science F.A. Muller Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Mathematics Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.000 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] August 2003 Summary Over the past years, in books and journals (this journal included), N. Maxwell launched a ferocious attack on B.C. van Fraassen's view of science called Con- structive Empiricism (CE). This attack has been totally ignored. Must we con- clude from this silence that no defence is possible against the attack and that a fortiori Maxwell has buried CE once and for all, or is the attack too obviously flawed as not to merit exposure? We believe that neither is the case and hope that a careful dissection of Maxwell's reasoning will make this clear. This dis- section includes an analysis of Maxwell's `aberrance-argument' (omnipresent in his many writings) for the contentious claim that science implicitly and per- manently accepts a substantial, metaphysical thesis about the universe. This claim generally has been ignored too, for more than a quarter of a century. Our con- clusions will be that, first, Maxwell's attacks on CE can be beaten off; secondly, his `aberrance-arguments' do not establish what Maxwell believes they estab- lish; but, thirdly, we can draw a number of valuable lessons from these attacks about the nature of science and of the libertarian nature of CE. Table of Contents on other side −! Contents 1 Exordium: What is Maxwell's Argument? 1 2 Does Science Implicitly Accept Metaphysics? 3 2.1 Aberrant Theories . -
Certification of First-Order Proofs in Classical and Intuitionistic Logics
Certification of First-order proofs in classical and intuitionistic logics 1 Zakaria Chihani August 21, 2015 1This work has been funded by the ERC Advanced Grant ProofCert. Abstract The field of automated reasoning contains a plethora of methods and tools, each with its own language and its community, often evolving separately. These tools express their proofs, or some proof evidence, in different formats such as resolution refutations, proof scripts, natural deductions, expansion trees, equational rewritings and many others. The disparity in formats reduces communication and trust be- tween the different communities. Related efforts were deployed to fill the gaps in communication including libraries and languages bridging two or more tools. This thesis proposes a novel approach at filling this gap for first-order classical and intuitionistic logics. Rather than translating proofs written in various languages to proofs written in one chosen language, this thesis introduces a framework for describing the semantics of a wide range of proof evidence languages through a rela- tional specification, called Foundational Proof Certification (FPC). The description of the semantics of a language can then be appended to any proof evidence written in that language, forming a proof certificate, which allows a small kernel checker to verify them independently from the tools that created them. The use of seman- tics description for one language rather than proof translation from one language to another relieves one from the need to radically change the notion of proof. Proof evidence, unlike complete proof, does not have to contain all details. Us- ing proof reconstruction, a kernel checker can rebuild missing parts of the proof, allowing for compression and gain in storage space. -
Paradoxes Situations That Seems to Defy Intuition
Paradoxes Situations that seems to defy intuition PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information. PDF generated at: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 07:26:17 UTC Contents Articles Introduction 1 Paradox 1 List of paradoxes 4 Paradoxical laughter 16 Decision theory 17 Abilene paradox 17 Chainstore paradox 19 Exchange paradox 22 Kavka's toxin puzzle 34 Necktie paradox 36 Economy 38 Allais paradox 38 Arrow's impossibility theorem 41 Bertrand paradox 52 Demographic-economic paradox 53 Dollar auction 56 Downs–Thomson paradox 57 Easterlin paradox 58 Ellsberg paradox 59 Green paradox 62 Icarus paradox 65 Jevons paradox 65 Leontief paradox 70 Lucas paradox 71 Metzler paradox 72 Paradox of thrift 73 Paradox of value 77 Productivity paradox 80 St. Petersburg paradox 85 Logic 92 All horses are the same color 92 Barbershop paradox 93 Carroll's paradox 96 Crocodile Dilemma 97 Drinker paradox 98 Infinite regress 101 Lottery paradox 102 Paradoxes of material implication 104 Raven paradox 107 Unexpected hanging paradox 119 What the Tortoise Said to Achilles 123 Mathematics 127 Accuracy paradox 127 Apportionment paradox 129 Banach–Tarski paradox 131 Berkson's paradox 139 Bertrand's box paradox 141 Bertrand paradox 146 Birthday problem 149 Borel–Kolmogorov paradox 163 Boy or Girl paradox 166 Burali-Forti paradox 172 Cantor's paradox 173 Coastline paradox 174 Cramer's paradox 178 Elevator paradox 179 False positive paradox 181 Gabriel's Horn 184 Galileo's paradox 187 Gambler's fallacy 188 Gödel's incompleteness theorems -
1 Constructive Empiricism: Normative Or Descriptive?
Constructive Empiricism: Normative or Descriptive? Moti Mizrahi Forthcoming in International Journal of Philosophical Studies Abstract: In this paper, I argue that Constructive Empiricism (CE) is ambiguous between two interpretations: CE as a normative epistemology of science and CE as a descriptive philosophy of science. When they present CE, constructive empiricists write as if CE is supposed to be more than a normative epistemology of science and that it is meant to be responsible to actual scientific practices. However, when they respond to objections, constructive empiricists fall back on a strictly normative interpretation of CE. This ambiguity seems to make CE immune to objections in a rather ad hoc fashion. Keywords: Bas van Fraassen; constructive empiricism; inference to the best explanation; observable; scientific realism; voluntarist epistemology 1. Introduction Roughly speaking, constructive Empiricism (CE) is the view that scientific theories “save the phenomena.” More precisely, as far as theories are concerned, constructive empiricists recommend suspending belief with respect to the existence of unobservable entities, events, or processes. As van Fraassen (1980, p. 12) puts it, CE is the view that “Science aims to give us theories that are empirically adequate; and acceptance of a theory involves as belief only that it is empirically adequate.” For van Fraassen (1980, p. 18), “to accept a theory is (for us) to believe 1 that it is empirically adequate—that what the theory says about what is observable (by us) is true.” CE is supposed to be an alternative to scientific realism. Usually, scientific realism is taken to include one or more of the following theses (Psillos 2006, p. -
List of Paradoxes 1 List of Paradoxes
List of paradoxes 1 List of paradoxes This is a list of paradoxes, grouped thematically. The grouping is approximate: Paradoxes may fit into more than one category. Because of varying definitions of the term paradox, some of the following are not considered to be paradoxes by everyone. This list collects only those instances that have been termed paradox by at least one source and which have their own article. Although considered paradoxes, some of these are based on fallacious reasoning, or incomplete/faulty analysis. Logic • Barbershop paradox: The supposition that if one of two simultaneous assumptions leads to a contradiction, the other assumption is also disproved leads to paradoxical consequences. • What the Tortoise Said to Achilles "Whatever Logic is good enough to tell me is worth writing down...," also known as Carroll's paradox, not to be confused with the physical paradox of the same name. • Crocodile Dilemma: If a crocodile steals a child and promises its return if the father can correctly guess what the crocodile will do, how should the crocodile respond in the case that the father guesses that the child will not be returned? • Catch-22 (logic): In need of something which can only be had by not being in need of it. • Drinker paradox: In any pub there is a customer such that, if he or she drinks, everybody in the pub drinks. • Paradox of entailment: Inconsistent premises always make an argument valid. • Horse paradox: All horses are the same color. • Lottery paradox: There is one winning ticket in a large lottery. It is reasonable to believe of a particular lottery ticket that it is not the winning ticket, since the probability that it is the winner is so very small, but it is not reasonable to believe that no lottery ticket will win. -
Constructive Empiricism in the Social Sciences
Constructive empiricism in the social sciences Abstract ‘What problems face the aspirant empiricist today?’ is the question Bas C. van Fraassen asks in his seminal work The Scientific Image (1980). In this thesis, I interpret this question as a challenge to develop constructive empiricism [CE] in a field of scientific inquiry other than the context of physics in which it was conceived. The first part of the thesis expounds CE with reference to classical empiricism, discloses some of its fundamental assumptions, and spells out in detail its account of science. In the second part of the thesis, CE is extended to social science. Since CE was developed in the context of natural science, I take an articulation of the alleged fundamental differences between natural and social science as indicating challenges a CE-outlook on social science must address. I also provide a brief history of the gap between the sciences. Then, in the bulk of this thesis, I argue that CE’s model view accommodates social science, that description, prediction and explanation in the light of CE are proper fruits of inquiry in social science, and that CE is able to make sense of the differences in the concepts used in natural and social science. In the discussion of the feasibility of CE for social science, I show concurrently that contemporary articulations of the differences between the natural and the social sciences pose no insuperable problems for the constructive empiricist. Bram van Dijk | 3691454 History & Philosophy of Science | Utrecht University Daily supervisors | dr. Guido Bacciagaluppi & dr. Ruud Abma Third examiner | dr. -
Realist and Anti-Realist Approaches in Philosophy of Science: Perspective and Representational Pluralism in Scientific Discovery
Realist and Anti-Realist Approaches in Philosophy of Science: Perspective and Representational Pluralism in Scientific Discovery Mark Coleman Department of Philosophy School of Humanities, Faculty of Arts The University of Adelaide Submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy August 2016 Scientific Realism versus Anti-realism Mark Coleman 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Abstract 4 Thesis Declaration 5 Acknowledgements 6 Chapter 1 7 Scientific Realism versus Anti-Realism, an Introduction 7 Preamble 7 1.1 An overview of scientific realism 10 1.2 Anti-realism 12 1.3 Some realist responses 16 1.4 Variations and preliminary conclusions 18 Chapter 2 21 Anti-Realism: van Fraassen and His Critics 21 2.1 van Fraassen’s ‘arguments concerning scientific realism’ 21 2.1.1 van Fraassen’s account of realism 22 2.1.2 Constructive empiricism 23 2.1.3 van Fraassen on “The Theory/Observation ‘Dichotomy’” and the observable/unobservable distinction 26 2.1.4 van Fraassen on inference to the best explanation 28 2.2 Responses to van Fraassen 31 2.2.1 Observable versus unobservable 33 2.2.2 Churchland on observation, empirical adequacy and ontological commitment 36 2.2.3 van Fraassen, the microscope, and ‘public hallucinations’ 41 2.2.4 Underdetermination 43 2.2.5 Boyd’s defence of realism: underdetermination and the importance of theoretical induction 46 2.2.6 Ladyman and Ross, and Ellis on underdetermination 50 2.2.7 Epistemic virtues and theory evaluation: Churchland on beliefworthiness and the super-empirical virtues 52 2.3 Giere’s ‘modest’ -
Muller's Critique of the Argument for Aim-Oriented Empiricism
Muller’s Critique of the Argument for Aim-Oriented Empiricism Nicholas Maxwell (Published in Journal for General Philosophy of Science, Vol. 40, No. 1, July 2009, pp. 103-114.) Abstract For over thirty years I have argued that we need to construe science as accepting a metaphysical proposition concerning the comprehensibility of the universe. In a recent paper, Fred Muller criticizes this argument, and its implication that Bas van Fraassen’s constructive empiricism is untenable. In the present paper I argue that Muller’s criticisms are not valid. The issue is of some importance, for my argument that science accepts a metaphysical proposition is the first step in a broader argument intended to demonstrate that we need to bring about a revolution in science, and ultimately in academic inquiry as a whole so that the basic aim becomes wisdom and not just knowledge. Keywords Standard Empiricism - Constructive Empiricism - Aim-Oriented Empiricism - Metaphysics - ad hoc theories - Scientific Realism - F. A. Muller - B. C. van Fraassen 1 Standard Empiricism and Its Refutation Some philosophers try to write in as simple and lucid a way as possible. Others do the opposite. I belong to the former category: I work very hard at trying to formulate what I have to say as simply as I can. Fred Muller belongs to the latter category. That, at least, is the impression one gains from a recent paper of his published in this journal: see Muller (2008). The paper criticizes some of my work, and sets out to defend Bas van Fraassen’s constructive empiricism against objections I have made to the view. -
Constructive Completeness Proofs and Delimited Control Danko Ilik
Constructive Completeness Proofs and Delimited Control Danko Ilik To cite this version: Danko Ilik. Constructive Completeness Proofs and Delimited Control. Software Engineering [cs.SE]. Ecole Polytechnique X, 2010. English. tel-00529021 HAL Id: tel-00529021 https://pastel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00529021 Submitted on 24 Oct 2010 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Thèse présentée pour obtenir le grade de Docteur de l’Ecole Polytechnique Spécialité : Informatique par Danko ILIK´ Titre de la thèse : Preuves constructives de complétude et contrôle délimité Soutenue le 22 octobre 2010 devant le jury composé de : M. Hugo HERBELIN Directeur de thèse M. Ulrich BERGER Rapporteur M. Thierry COQUAND Rapporteur M. Olivier DANVY Rapporteur M. Gilles DOWEK Examinateur M. Paul-André MELLIÈS Examinateur M. Alexandre MIQUEL Examinateur M. Wim VELDMAN Examinateur Constructive Completeness Proofs and Delimited Control Danko ILIK´ ABSTRACT. Motivated by facilitating reasoning with logical meta-theory in- side the Coq proof assistant, we investigate the constructive versions of some completeness theorems. We start by analysing the proofs of Krivine and Berardi-Valentini, that classical logic is constructively complete with respect to (relaxed) Boolean models, and the algorithm behind the proof. -
Constructive Empiricism and the Role of Social Values in Science Sherrilyn Roush
Chapter 8 - Value-Free Science - Ideals and Illusions, edited by Harold Kincaid, John Dupré, and Alison Wylie. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2007. Constructive Empiricism and the Role of Social Values in Science Sherrilyn Roush To accept a theory is to make a commitment, a commitment to the further confrontation of new phenomena within the framework of that theory . and a wager that all relevant phenomena can be accounted for without giving up that theory. Commitments are not true or false; they are vindicated or not vindicated in the course of human history. —Bas C. van Fraassen, The Scientific Image In her book Science as Social Knowledge, Helen Longino argued not only that social values are in fact ineliminable from theory choice in science but also that we ought to rewrite our ideals in such a way as to incorporate this fact. One of the most common criticisms one hears of this idea of granting a legitimate role for social values in theory choice in science is that it just doesn’t make sense to regard social preferences as relevant to the truth or to the way things are. “What is at issue,” wrote Susan Haack, is “whether it is possible to derive an ‘is’ from an ‘ought.’ ” One can see that this is not possible, she concludes, “as soon as one expresses it plainly: that propositions about what states of affairs are desirable or deplorable could be evidence that things are, or are not, so” (Haack 1993a, 35, emphasis in original). Haack does not provide an argument for the view that it is impossible to derive an is from an ought, but the intuition she expresses is strong and widespread. -
Inference to the Best Explanation (Article)
W.H. Newton-Smith (ed) A Companion to the Philosophy of Science (Blackwell, 2000) 184-193. Inference to the Best Explanation PETER LIPTON Science depends on judgments of the bearing of evidence on theory. Scientists must judge whether an observation or the result of an experiment supports, disconfirms, or is simply irrelevant to a given hypothesis. Similarly, scientists may judge that, given all the available evidence, a hypothesis ought to be accepted as correct or nearly so, rejected as false, or neither. Occasionally, these evidential judgements can be make on deductive grounds. If an experimental result strictly contradicts an hypothesis, then the truth of the evidence deductively entails the falsity of the hypothesis. In the great majority of cases, however, the connection between evidence and hypothesis is non-demonstrative or inductive. In particular, this is so whenever a general hypothesis is inferred to be correct on the basis of the available data, since the truth of the data will not deductively entail the truth of the hypothesis. It always remains possible that the hypothesis is false even though the data are correct. One of the central aims of the philosophy of science is to give a principled account of these judgements and inferences connecting evidence to theory. In the deductive case, this project is well-advanced, thanks to a productive stream of research into the structure of deductive argument that stretches back to antiquity. The same cannot be said for inductive inferences. Although some of the central problems were presented incisively by David HUME in the eighteenth century, our current understanding of inductive reasoning remains remarkably poor, in spite of the intense efforts of numerous epistemologists and philosophers of science. -
Constructive Empiricism: Observability and the Epistemic Community
Aporia, Vol. HI, 1993 CONSTRUCTIVE EMPIRICISM: Observability, Instrumentation, and the Epistemic Community Angela D. Wentz Bas C. van Fraassen's 1980 pubUcation, The Scientific Image, plunged him and the constructive empiricism he advocates into the midst of a long standing debate about the nature of scientific theory. Through the vehicle of constructive empiricism (the word "constructive" emphasizing van Fraassen's view of science as a model building activity rather than a discovery process), van Fraassen applies anti-reaEsm to science,seeking to offer a strong and cogent response to scientific realism. Understanding corrstructive empiricism in this context, one must ask whether he is successful: Does van Fraassen's formulation of constructive empiricism offer a cogent response to scientific realism, a response strong enough to stand on its own merits? To explore this question, I will begin with a discussion of van Fraassen's formulation of constructive empiricism(CE), and contrast it with scientific realism (SR), showing how one may differentiate CE from SR's more well-known challengers, logical positivism and instrumentalism. Second, I will explore the difficulties that van Fraassen's formulation engenders with a special focus upon his view of observability. Third,I will propose a way in which these obstacles might be surmounted while retaining the basic principles of CE intact. To clarify the characteristics of CE,one should evaluate CE and SR side by side. To answer the question "What does the constructive empiricist believe?" we must concurrently ask, "What does the scientific realist believe?" It is important to begin by imderstanding which positions constructive empiricists and scientific realists have in common.