On Popper's Metaphysical Realism in Memory of Sir Karl Popper
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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 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. -
FACING the PROBLEM of ETHICAL SOLIPSISM Sami Pihlström
Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, vol. 7, no. 2, 2011 GUILT: FACING THE PROBLEM OF ETHICAL SOLIPSISM Sami Pihlström ABSTRACT: This article deals with the constitutive role played by the emotion of guilt, or the capacity of experiencing such emotions, in our moral life. The deeply personal nature of moral guilt (or remorse) leads to the problem of ethical solipsism: it seems that guilt can in the end concern only me, not anyone else, in a morally profound sense. Echoing Dostoevsky, the truly ethical thinker ought to acknowledge that everyone is guilty in front of the entire mankind, “and I more than anyone else”. This problematic feature of our moral perspectives on the world is examined through comments on a number of authors, including Kant, Wittgenstein, Levinas, Gaita, and Todorov. While we do need to avoid solipsism, there is a “truth” hidden in it: morality is something that we are individually and personally deeply responsible for. 1 Immanuel Kant remarks, in a famous footnote to the First Critique, that [t]he real morality of actions (their merit and guilt), even that of our own conduct […] remains entirely hidden from us. Our imputations can be referred only to the empirical character. How much of it is to be ascribed to mere nature […] no one can discover, and hence no one can judge it with complete justice.1 Although commentators have drawn attention to this important passage,2 its full significance still deserves substantial consideration. So does the significance of another famous Kantian remark, according to which, for each one of us, “the depths of his own heart (the subjective first grounds of his maxims) are to him inscrutable”.3 1 Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, trans. -
The Yogācāra Theory of Three Natures: Internalist and Non-Dualist Interpretation
Comparative Philosophy Volume 9, No. 1 (2018): 18-31 Open Access / ISSN 2151-6014 www.comparativephilosophy.org THE YOGĀCĀRA THEORY OF THREE NATURES: INTERNALIST AND NON-DUALIST INTERPRETATION MATTHEW MACKENZIE ABSTRACT: According to Vasubandhu’s Trisvabhāvanirdeśa or Treatise on the Three Natures, experiential phenomena can be understood in terms of three natures: the constructed (parikalpita), the dependent (paratantra), and the consummate (pariniṣpanna). This paper will examine internalist and anti-internalist or non-dualist interpretations of the Yogācāra theory of the three natures of experience. The internalist interpretation is based on representationalist theory of experience wherein the contents of experience are logically independent of their cause and various interconnected cognitive processes continually create an integrated internal world-model that is transparent to the cognitive system that creates and uses it. In contrast, the anti-internalist interpretation begins, not from the constructed nature of experiential objects, but from the perfected nature of mind-world non-duality. This interpretation treats the distinctions between inside and outside, subject and object, mind and world as distinctions drawn within experience rather than between experience and something else. And experience here refers to the continuous dynamic interplay of factors constituting our sentient embodied (nāma-rūpa) existence. Having examined each interpretation, the paper will suggest some reasons to favor the non-dualist view. Keywords: Yogācāra, Buddhist idealism, internalism, non-dualism, three natures of phenomena, Vasubandhu, solipsism 1. INTRODUCTION According to Vasubandhu’s Trisvabhāvanirdeśa or Treatise on the Three Natures, experiential phenomena can be understood in terms of three natures (svabhāva) and three forms of naturelessness (niḥsvabhāvatā). The three natures are the fabricated or constructed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva), the dependent nature (paratantra- svabhāva), and the perfected or consummate nature (pariniṣpanna-svabhāva). -
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 -
The Interplay Between Relations, Substances, and Existence By
The Interplay Between Relations, Substances, and Existence By Andrew Janes A Thesis Submitted to Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts - Honours in Philosophy. April, 2019, Halifax, Nova Scotia Copyright Andrew Janes, 2019 Approved: Scott Edgar Doctor Date: 12/04/19 2 The Interplay Between Relations, Substances, and Existence by Andrew Janes Abstract This thesis explores the ontology of relations and the implications of it. I make the case that relations between multiple substances are impossible. Furthermore, I argue that existence is a predicate, and can therefore be the predicate of a relation. I do this to push the argument that substances cannot exist in relation to each other. The conclusion I make from this is that only one substance can exist, since otherwise a substance could exist in relation to another substance. This conclusion, I point out, is the doctrine of substance monism. Furthermore, I argue that the self exists, because it is given in experience. Because the self is a substance, and I have argued for substance monism, the self is the only substance there is. This conclusion is idealism, and, in conjunction with substance monism, necessitates solipsism. 12/04/19 3 1. Introduction In this paper, I investigate the commitments one must make when they uphold the Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR),1 which asserts that for every fact, truth, and state of affairs, there is a sufficient reason that explains why it holds. More specifically, I aim to investigate commitments regarding relations. Furthermore, I aim to show why these commitments ultimately lead to an abandonment of substance pluralism2 and realism.3 That is, one must abandon the PSR if they are to believe that substance pluralism or realism holds true, or abandon substance pluralism and realism if they believe the PSR to be true. -
Phenomenological Aspects of Wittgenstein's Philosophy Synthese Library
PHENOMENOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF WITTGENSTEIN'S PHILOSOPHY SYNTHESE LIBRARY STUDIES IN EPISTEMOLOGY, LOGIC, METHODOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Managing Editor: JAAKKO HINTIKKA, Boston University Editors: DIRK VAN DALEN, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands DONALD DAVIDSON, University of California, Berkeley THEO A.F. KUIPERS, University of Groningen, The Netherlands PATRICK SUPPES, Stanford University, California JAN WOLENSKI, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland VOLUME 268 BYONG-CHUL PARK Pusan University of Foreign Studies, Pusan, Korea PHENOMENOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF WITTGENSTEIN'S PHILOSOPHY id SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V. A CLP. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-94-010-6165-0 ISBN 978-94-011-5151-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-5151-1 Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved © 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1998 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1998 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 information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE Vll CHAPTER I. Wittgenstein's Phenomenology 1 1. Wittgenstein's Phenomenology 1 2. The Background ofWittgenstein's Idea of Phenomenology 8 3. Phenomenology VS. Phenomenalism 18 CHAPTER II. Phenomenology of the Tractatus 25 1. Russell's Influence on the Early Wittgenstein 25 2. The Nature of Tractarian Objects 34 3. Husserl, Russell, and Wittgenstein 41 4. Phenomenology and Solipsism 48 5. Solipsism I 58 6.