E-LOGOS – Electronic Journal for Philosophy 2020, Vol. 27(2) 34–45 ISSN 1211-0442 (DOI 10.18267/j.e-logos.477), Peer-reviewed article Journal homepage: e-logos.vse.cz New Styles of Reasoning in Contemporary Philosophy and Science Jitka Paitlová1 Abstract: The paper discusses the unexpected trends in the most modern forms of philosophy and science. The traditional differences in the roles of philosophy and science can be traced back to Kant: natural sciences refer to possible experience; philosophy as metaphysics does not affect experience at all. Today, there are very different trends. Some physical theories (such as string theory) have a highly theoretical character and cannot be proved by empirical experiments. A new approach has been developed in philosophy too: experimental philosophy, which makes use of empirical data to inform research on philosophical questions. Are these approaches just contradictions in terms or rather new styles of reasoning? The goal is not a deep analysis of x-phi or string theory but a reflection on the context between tradition and new trends in philosophy and science which are still rather marginal but may play an important role in the future. Keywords: experimental philosophy, metaphysics, science, string theory, objectivity, intuition. 1 University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Sedláčkova 19, Plzeň, Czech Republic, email:
[email protected]. Funded by GAČR 18-08239S "Objectivity: An Experimental Approach to the Traditional Philosophical Question". Volume 27 | Number 02 | 2020 E-LOGOS – ELECTRONIC JOURNAL FOR PHILOSOPHY 34 1 Introduction A few years ago, a new approach was formed in philosophy that uses a philosophical method not merely intellectually or speculatively, but actually in the sense of empirical experiments (Knobe, 2004; Sosa, 2007; Knobe & Nichols, 2008).2 This new approach is metaphorically described as a revolutionary movement that burns the armchairs of traditional philosophers who were engaged in pure thought without any connection to the outside (empirical) world.