Selecting a Research Approach: Paradigm, Methodology and Methods
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Denying a Dualism: Goodman's Repudiation of the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction
Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 28, 2004, 226-238. Denying a Dualism: Goodman’s Repudiation of the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction Catherine Z. Elgin The analytic synthetic/distinction forms the backbone of much modern Western philosophy. It underwrites a conception of the relation of representations to reality which affords an understanding of cognition. Its repudiation thus requires a fundamental reconception and perhaps a radical revision of philosophy. Many philosophers believe that the repudiation of the analytic/synthetic distinction and kindred dualisms constitutes a major loss, possibly even an irrecoverable loss, for philosophy. Nelson Goodman thinks otherwise. He believes that it liberates philosophy from unwarranted restrictions, creating opportunities for the development of powerful new approaches to and reconceptions of seemingly intractable problems. In this article I want to sketch some of the consequences of Goodman’s reconception. My focus is not on Goodman’s reasons for denying the dualism, but on some of the ways its absence affects his position. I do not contend that the Goodman obsessed over the issue. I have no reason to think that the repudiation of the distinction was a central factor in his intellectual life. But by considering the function that the analytic/synthetic distinction has performed in traditional philosophy, and appreciating what is lost and gained in repudiating it, we gain insight into Goodman’s contributions. I begin then by reviewing the distinction and the conception of philosophy it supports. The analytic/synthetic distinction is a distinction between truths that depend entirely on meaning and truths that depend on both meaning and fact. In the early modern period, it was cast as a distinction between relations of ideas and matters of fact. -
The Philosophical Underpinnings of Educational Research
The Philosophical Underpinnings of Educational Research Lindsay Mack Abstract This article traces the underlying theoretical framework of educational research. It outlines the definitions of epistemology, ontology and paradigm and the origins, main tenets, and key thinkers of the 3 paradigms; positivist, interpetivist and critical. By closely analyzing each paradigm, the literature review focuses on the ontological and epistemological assumptions of each paradigm. Finally the author analyzes not only the paradigm’s weakness but also the author’s own construct of reality and knowledge which align with the critical paradigm. Key terms: Paradigm, Ontology, Epistemology, Positivism, Interpretivism The English Language Teaching (ELT) field has moved from an ad hoc field with amateurish research to a much more serious enterprise of professionalism. More teachers are conducting research to not only inform their teaching in the classroom but also to bridge the gap between the external researcher dictating policy and the teacher negotiating that policy with the practical demands of their classroom. I was a layperson, not an educational researcher. Determined to emancipate myself from my layperson identity, I began to analyze the different philosophical underpinnings of each paradigm, reading about the great thinkers’ theories and the evolution of social science research. Through this process I began to examine how I view the world, thus realizing my own construction of knowledge and social reality, which is actually quite loose and chaotic. Most importantly, I realized that I identify most with the critical paradigm assumptions and that my future desired role as an educational researcher is to affect change and challenge dominant social and political discourses in ELT. -
Philosophical Logic 2018 Course Description (Tentative) January 15, 2018
Philosophical Logic 2018 Course description (tentative) January 15, 2018 Valentin Goranko Introduction This 7.5 hp course is mainly intended for students in philosophy and is generally accessible to a broad audience with basic background on formal classical logic and general appreciation of philosophical aspects of logic. Practical information The course will be given in English. It will comprise 18 two-hour long sessions combining lectures and exercises, grouped in 2 sessions per week over 9 teaching weeks. The weekly pairs of 2-hour time slots (incl. short breaks) allocated for these sessions, will be on Mondays during 10.00-12.00 and 13.00-15.00, except for the first lecture. The course will begin on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 (Week 14) at 10.00 am in D220, S¨odra huset, hus D. Lecturer's info: Name: Valentin Goranko Email: [email protected] Homepage: http://www2.philosophy.su.se/goranko Course webpage: http://www2.philosophy.su.se/goranko/Courses2018/PhilLogic-2018.html Prerequisites The course will be accessible to a broad audience with introductory background on classical formal logic. Some basic knowledge of modal logics would be an advantage but not a prerequisite. Brief description Philosophical logic studies a variety of non-classical logical systems intended to formalise and reason about various philosophical concepts and ideas. They include a broad family of modal logics, as well as many- valued, intuitionistic, relevant, conditional, non-monotonic, para-consistent, etc. logics. Modal logics extend classical logic with additional intensional logical operators, reflecting different modes of truth, including alethic, epistemic, doxastic, temporal, deontic, agentive, etc. -
Introduction to Philosophy. Social Studies--Language Arts: 6414.16. INSTITUTION Dade County Public Schools, Miami, Fla
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 086 604 SO 006 822 AUTHOR Norris, Jack A., Jr. TITLE Introduction to Philosophy. Social Studies--Language Arts: 6414.16. INSTITUTION Dade County Public Schools, Miami, Fla. PUB DATE 72 NOTE 20p.; Authorized Course of Instruction for the Quinmester Program EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29 DESCRIPTORS Course Objectives; Curriculum Guides; Grade 10; Grade 11; Grade 12; *Language Arts; Learnin4 Activities; *Logic; Non Western Civilization; *Philosophy; Resource Guides; Secondary Grades; *Social Studies; *Social Studies Units; Western Civilization IDENTIFIERS *Quinmester Program ABSTRACT Western and non - western philosophers and their ideas are introduced to 10th through 12th grade students in this general social studies Quinmester course designed to be used as a preparation for in-depth study of the various schools of philosophical thought. By acquainting students with the questions and categories of philosophy, a point of departure for further study is developed. Through suggested learning activities the meaning of philosopky is defined. The Socratic, deductive, inductive, intuitive and eclectic approaches to philosophical thought are examined, as are three general areas of philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology,and axiology. Logical reasoning is applied to major philosophical questions. This course is arranged, as are other quinmester courses, with sections on broad goals, course content, activities, and materials. A related document is ED 071 937.(KSM) FILMED FROM BEST AVAILABLE COPY U S DEPARTMENT EDUCATION OF HEALTH. NAT10N41 -
Curriculum Vitae
BAS C. VAN FRAASSEN Curriculum Vitae Last updated 3/6/2019 I. Personal and Academic History .................................................................................................................... 1 List of Degrees Earned ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Title of Ph.D. Thesis ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 Positions held ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Invited lectures and lecture series ........................................................................................................................................ 1 List of Honors, Prizes ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Research Grants .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Non-Academic Publications ................................................................................................................................................ 5 II. Professional Activities ................................................................................................................................. -
Study of Ontology, Epistemology and Axiology on Management
The Second International Conference on Entrepreneurship STUDY OF ONTOLOGY, EPISTEMOLOGY AND AXIOLOGY ON MANAGEMENT Rahmat Setiawan1 Airlangga University, Surabaya INDONESIA Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT There is still a difference of opinion among experts in the field of management of what is meant by management, namely whether the management is a science, an art or a profession. In addition, the management theory and studies have also experienced rapid growth, especially until the 19th century until the present. These developments have given rise to various groups of schools of thought about the management, which is a group of classical management perspective, a group of behavior management perspective, and a group of quantitative management perspective. Therefore, it is necessary to study on the development of management in terms of the philosophy of science perspective. By doing this assessment, management will be studied ontological, epistemological and axiological. Ontologically, management is the science, art and profession of work done through others. Material object is a behavior management work done through others. In management development, ontologically most experts view reality of social management in management as something objective, not subjective. Epistemologically, in management development, the approach most widely used by management experts is a deductive approach. However, the trend also shows that the inductive approach is also widely used lately. In axiological, largely through the efforts of study and research in the development of management is not value-free because the paradigm used by most bear management experts in developing management are positivist or functionalist paradigm. However, in applying the results of research to take a policy, then the leader of the company must still pay attention to the values of ethics and humanity. -
Formal Axiology and the Philosophy of Social Science; Esp., Political Science
Formal Axiology and the Philosophy of Social Science; esp., Political Science Introduction In the 22 centuries from Aristotle to Galileo, man’s way of life, and knowledge of nature, changed very little compared to the explosion of invention and discovery in the mere four centuries since Galileo. According to philosopher of science, R.S. Hartman, Galileo empowered humanity to make such progress when he “created the empirico-mathematical world picture;” that is, the worldview of natural science.1 During the Scientific Revolution, the European sense of reality was transformed from a dream-like condition under the control of “God’s Will,” and which only He could fully understand, to sets of processes which could be understood and explained in precise mathematical formulas. Natural philosophy, prior to Galileo, offered “explanations” of natural phenomena, but without much precision. For example, Aristotle defined “movement” as “the transition from potentiality to actuality.” This was accepted and studied for centuries. But Galileo re-defined “motion,” so that it became mathematically measurable. Rather than the vagaries of “realizing potential,” Galileo offered the formula V=s/t. He showed that by measuring the space (s) traversed by an object, and the time (t) it took, a precise measurement of speed, or velocity (V), could be calculated. Now motion was much less a mystery. Hartman notes that “Galileo’s formula led to a multitude of consequences; [eventually including] the systems of Newton and Einstein.”2 Galileo thus changed the way of thinking about nature from vague philosophical speculation to a method applying precise formal analysis and explanation. That shift in the way of thinking made possible all that followed. -
The Analytic-Synthetic Distinction and the Classical Model of Science: Kant, Bolzano and Frege
Synthese (2010) 174:237–261 DOI 10.1007/s11229-008-9420-9 The analytic-synthetic distinction and the classical model of science: Kant, Bolzano and Frege Willem R. de Jong Received: 10 April 2007 / Revised: 24 July 2007 / Accepted: 1 April 2008 / Published online: 8 November 2008 © The Author(s) 2008. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract This paper concentrates on some aspects of the history of the analytic- synthetic distinction from Kant to Bolzano and Frege. This history evinces con- siderable continuity but also some important discontinuities. The analytic-synthetic distinction has to be seen in the first place in relation to a science, i.e. an ordered system of cognition. Looking especially to the place and role of logic it will be argued that Kant, Bolzano and Frege each developed the analytic-synthetic distinction within the same conception of scientific rationality, that is, within the Classical Model of Science: scientific knowledge as cognitio ex principiis. But as we will see, the way the distinction between analytic and synthetic judgments or propositions functions within this model turns out to differ considerably between them. Keywords Analytic-synthetic · Science · Logic · Kant · Bolzano · Frege 1 Introduction As is well known, the critical Kant is the first to apply the analytic-synthetic distinction to such things as judgments, sentences or propositions. For Kant this distinction is not only important in his repudiation of traditional, so-called dogmatic, metaphysics, but it is also crucial in his inquiry into (the possibility of) metaphysics as a rational science. Namely, this distinction should be “indispensable with regard to the critique of human understanding, and therefore deserves to be classical in it” (Kant 1783, p. -
Description Logics—Basics, Applications, and More
Description Logics|Basics, Applications, and More Ian Horrocks Information Management Group University of Manchester, UK Ulrike Sattler Teaching and Research Area for Theoretical Computer Science RWTH Aachen, Germany RWTH Aachen 1 Germany Overview of the Tutorial • History and Basics: Syntax, Semantics, ABoxes, Tboxes, Inference Problems and their interrelationship, and Relationship with other (logical) formalisms • Applications of DLs: ER-diagrams with i.com demo, ontologies, etc. including system demonstration • Reasoning Procedures: simple tableaux and why they work • Reasoning Procedures II: more complex tableaux, non-standard inference prob- lems • Complexity issues • Implementing/Optimising DL systems RWTH Aachen 2 Germany Description Logics • family of logic-based knowledge representation formalisms well-suited for the representation of and reasoning about ➠ terminological knowledge ➠ configurations ➠ ontologies ➠ database schemata { schema design, evolution, and query optimisation { source integration in heterogeneous databases/data warehouses { conceptual modelling of multidimensional aggregation ➠ : : : • descendents of semantics networks, frame-based systems, and KL-ONE • aka terminological KR systems, concept languages, etc. RWTH Aachen 3 Germany Architecture of a Standard DL System Knowledge Base I N Terminology F E I R Father = Man u 9 has child.>... N E T Human = Mammal. u Biped . N E Description C R E F Logic A Concrete Situation S C Y E John:Human u Father S John has child Bill . T . E M RWTH Aachen 4 Germany Introduction -
Legal Theory Workshop UCLA School of Law Samuele Chilovi
Legal Theory Workshop UCLA School of Law Samuele Chilovi Postdoctoral Fellow Pompeu Fabra University “GROUNDING, EXPLANATION, AND LEGAL POSITIVISM” Thursday, October 15, 2020, 12:15-1:15 pm Via Zoom Draft, October 6, 2020. For UCLA Workshop. Please Don’t Cite Or Quote Without Permission. Grounding, Explanation, and Legal Positivism Samuele Chilovi & George Pavlakos 1. Introduction On recent prominent accounts, legal positivism and physicalism about the mind are viewed as making parallel claims about the metaphysical determinants or grounds of legal and mental facts respectively.1 On a first approximation, while physicalists claim that facts about consciousness, and mental phenomena more generally, are fully grounded in physical facts, positivists similarly maintain that facts about the content of the law (in a legal system, at a time) are fully grounded in descriptive social facts.2 Explanatory gap arguments have long played a central role in evaluating physicalist theories in the philosophy of mind, and as such have been widely discussed in the literature.3 Arguments of this kind typically move from a claim that an epistemic gap between physical and phenomenal facts implies a corresponding metaphysical gap, together with the claim that there is an epistemic gap between facts of these kinds, to the negation of physicalism. Such is the structure of, for instance, Chalmers’ (1996) conceivability argument, Levine’s (1983) intelligibility argument, and Jackson’s (1986) knowledge argument. Though less prominently than in the philosophy of mind, explanatory gap arguments have also played some role in legal philosophy. In this area, the most incisive and compelling use of an argument of this kind is constituted by Greenberg’s (2004, 2006a, 2006b) powerful attack on positivism. -
Field Epistemology Metaphysics
To appear in Philosophical Studies, 2009. Online publication January 2009, available on springerlink.com: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11098-009-9338-1. Epistemology without Metaphysics Hartry Field A common picture of justification among epistemologists is that typically when a person is looking at something red, her sense impressions pump in a certain amount of justification for the belief that there is something red in front of her; but that there can be contrary considerations (e.g. testimony by others that there is nothing red there, at least when backed by evidence that the testimony is reliable) that may pump some of this justification out. In addition, the justification provided by the senses can be fully or partially undercut, say by evidence that the lighting may be bad: this involves creating a leak (perhaps only a small one) in the pipe from sense impressions to belief, so that not all of the justification gets through. On this picture, the job of the epistemologist is to come up with an epistemological dipstick that will measure what overall level of justification we end up with in any given situation. (Presumably the “fluid” to be measured is immaterial, so it takes advanced training in recent epistemological techniques to come up with an accurate dipstick.) Of course there are plenty of variations in the details of this picture. For instance, it may be debated what exactly are the sources of the justificatory fluid. (Does testimony unaided by evidence of its reliability produce justification? Do “logical intuitions” produce it? And so on.) Indeed, coherentists claim that the idea of sources has to be broadened: build a complex enough array of pipes and the fluid will automatically appear to fill them. -
Willard Van Orman Quine: the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction
Willard Van Orman Quine: The Analytic/Synthetic Distinction Willard Van Orman Quine was one of the most well-known American “analytic” philosophers of the twentieth century. He made significant contributions to many areas of philosophy, including philosophy of language, logic, epistemology, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind/psychology (behaviorism). However, he is best known for his rejection of the analytic/synthetic distinction. Technically, this is the distinction between statements true in virtue of the meanings of their terms (like “a bachelor is an unmarried man”) and statements whose truth is a function not simply of the meanings of terms, but of the way the world is (such as, “That bachelor is wearing a grey suit”). Although a contentious thesis, analyticity has been a popular explanation, especially among empiricists, both for the necessity of necessary truths and for the a priori knowability of some truths. Thus, in some contexts “analytic truth,” “necessary truth,” and “a priori truth” have been used interchangeably, and the analytic/synthetic distinction has been treated as equivalent to the distinctions between necessary and contingent truths, and between a priori and a posteriori (or empirical) truths. Empirical truths can be known only by empirical verification, rather than by “unpacking” the meanings of the terms involved, and are usually thought to be contingent. Quine wrestled with the analytic/synthetic distinction for years, but he did not make his thoughts public until 1950, when he delivered his paper, “The Two Dogmas of Empiricism” at a meeting of the American Philosophical Association. In this paper, Quine argues that all attempts to define and understand analyticity are circular.