Relativism And Realism In Science

Author : R. Nola
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400928777
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Relativism and Realism in Science written by R. Nola and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The institutionalization of History and Philosophy of Science as a distinct field of scholarly endeavour began comparatively earl- though not always under that name - in the Australasian region. An initial lecturing appointment was made at the University of Melbourne immediately after the Second World War, in 1946, and other appoint ments followed as the subject underwent an expansion during the 1950s and 1960s similar to that which took place in other parts of the world. Today there are major Departments at the University of Melbourne, the University of New South Wales and the University of Wollongong, and smaller groups active in many other parts of Australia and in New Zealand. "Australasian Studies in History and Philosophy of Science" aims to provide a distinctive publication outlet for Australian and New Zealand scholars working in the general area of history, philosophy and social studies of science. Each volume comprises a group of essays on a connected theme, edited by an Australian or a New Zealander with special expertise in that particular area. Papers address general issues, however, rather than local ones; parochial topics are avoided. Further more, though in each volume a majority of the contributors is from Australia or New Zealand, contributions from elsewhere are by no means ruled out. Quite the reverse, in fact - they are actively encour aged wherever appropriate to the balance of the volume in question.

Author : R Nola
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9789400928787
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.85/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Relativism and Realism in Science written by R Nola and published by . This book was released on 1988-07-31 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Larry Laudan
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022621933X
Total Pages : 196 pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Science and Relativism written by Larry Laudan and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2012-08-06 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, many members of the intellectual community have embraced a radical relativism regarding knowledge in general and scientific knowledge in particular, holding that Kuhn, Quine, and Feyerabend have knocked the traditional picture of scientific knowledge into a cocked hat. Is philosophy of science, or mistaken impressions of it, responsible for the rise of relativism? In this book, Laudan offers a trenchant, wide-ranging critique of cognitive relativism and a thorough introduction to major issues in the philosophy of knowledge.

Author : Dominik Finkelde
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 311066691X
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.15/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Idealism, Relativism, and Realism written by Dominik Finkelde and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Several debates of the last years within the research field of contemporary realism – known under titles such as "New Realism," "Continental Realism," or "Speculative Materialism" – have shown that science is not systematically the ultimate measure of truth and reality. This does not mean that we should abandon the notions of truth or objectivity all together, as has been posited repeatedly within certain currents of twentieth century philosophy. However, within the research field of contemporary realism, the concept of objectivity itself has not been adequately refined. What is objective is supposed to be true outside a subject’s biases, interpretations and opinions, having truth conditions that are met by the way the world is. The volume combines articles of internationally outstanding authors who have published on either Idealism, Epistemic Relativism, or Realism and often locate themselves within one of these divergent schools of thought. As such, the volume focuses on these traditions with the aim of clarifying what the concept objectivity nowadays stands for within contemporary ontology and epistemology beyond the analytic-continental divide. With articles from: Jocelyn Benoist, Ray Brassier, G. Anthony Bruno, Dominik Finkelde, Markus Gabriel, Deborah Goldgaber, Iain Hamilton Grant, Graham Harman, Johannes Hübner, Andrea Kern, Anton F. Koch, Martin Kusch, Paul M. Livingston, Paul Redding, Sebastian Rödl, Dieter Sturma.

Author : N. Rescher
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400939051
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Scientific Realism written by N. Rescher and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The increasingly lively controversy over scientific realism has become one of the principal themes of recent philosophy. 1 In watching this controversy unfold in the rather technical way currently in vogue, it has seemed to me that it would be useful to view these contemporary disputes against the background of such older epistemological issues as fallibilism, scepticism, relativism, and the traditional realism/idealism debate. This, then, is the object of the present book, which will recon sider the newer concerns about scientific realism in the context of these older philosophical themes. Historically, realism concerns itself with the real existence of things that do not "meet the eye" - with suprasensible entities that lie beyond the reach of human perception. In medieval times, discussions about realism focused upon universals. Recognizing that there are physical objects such as cats and triangular objects and red tomatoes, the medievels debated whether such "abstract objects" as cathood and triangularity and redness also exist by way of having a reality indepen dent of the concretely real things that exhibit them. Three fundamen tally different positions were defended: (1) Nominalism. Abstracta have no independent existence as such: they only "exist" in and through the objects that exhibit them. Only particulars (individual substances) exist. Abstract "objects" are existents in name only, mere thought fictions by whose means we address concrete particular things. (2) Realism. Abstracta have an independent existence as such.

Author : Robert Kirk
Publisher : Psychology Press
ISBN 13 : 9780415208161
Total Pages : 206 pages
Book Rating : 4.65/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Relativism and Reality written by Robert Kirk and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is reality independent of our thinking, or does it depend on our point of view? Robert Kirk provides a clear account of this debate from the Greek philosophers to Wittgenstein and Rorty.

Author : Ilkka Niiniluoto
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191519405
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.06/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Critical Scientific Realism written by Ilkka Niiniluoto and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 1999-12-09 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ilkka Niiniluoto comes to the rescue of scientific realism, showing that reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. Philosophical realism holds that the aim of a particular discourse is to make true statements about its subject-matter. Niiniluoto surveys the different varieties of realism in ontology, semantics, epistemology, theory construction, and methodology. He then sets out his own original version, and defends it against competing theories in the philosophy of science. Niiniluoto's critical scientific realism is founded upon the notion of truth as correspondence between language and reality, and characterizes scientific progress in terms of increasing truthlikeness. This makes it possible not only to take seriously, but also to make precise, the troublesome idea that scientific theories typically are false but nevertheless close to the truth.

Author : Juha Saatsi
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351362909
Total Pages : 907 pages
Book Rating : 4.00/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism written by Juha Saatsi and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-22 with total page 907 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientific realism is a central, long-standing, and hotly debated topic in philosophy of science. Debates about scientific realism concern the very nature and extent of scientific knowledge and progress. Scientific realists defend a positive epistemic attitude towards our best theories and models regarding how they represent the world that is unobservable to our naked senses. Various realist theses are under sceptical fire from scientific antirealists, e.g. empiricists and instrumentalists. The different dimensions of the ensuing debate centrally connect to numerous other topics in philosophy of science and beyond. The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism is an outstanding reference source – the first collection of its kind – to the key issues, positions, and arguments in this important topic. Its thirty-four chapters, written by a team of international experts, are divided into five parts: Historical development of the realist stance Classic debate: core issues and positions Perspectives on contemporary debates The realism debate in disciplinary context Broader reflections In these sections, the core issues and debates presented, analysed, and set into broader historical and disciplinary contexts. The central issues covered include motivations and arguments for realism; challenges to realism from underdetermination and history of science; different variants of realism; the connection of realism to relativism and perspectivism; and the relationship between realism, metaphysics, and epistemology. The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of science. It will also be very useful for anyone interested in the nature and extent of scientific knowledge.

Author : Christian Kanzian
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110523426
Total Pages : 459 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Realism - Relativism - Constructivism written by Christian Kanzian and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2017-06-12 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book presents papers from leading proponents of realist, relativist, and constructivist positions in epistemology and the philosophy of language and ethics.

Author : Martin Kusch
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108981372
Total Pages : 154 pages
Book Rating : 4.78/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Relativism in the Philosophy of Science written by Martin Kusch and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-28 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Relativism versus absolutism' is one of the fundamental oppositions that have dominated reflections about science for much of its (modern) history. Often these reflections have been inseparable from wider social-political concerns regarding the position of science in society. Where does this debate stand in the philosophy and sociology of science today? And how does the 'relativism question' relate to current concerns with 'post truth' politics? In Relativism in the Philosophy of Science, Martin Kusch examines some of the most influential relativist proposals of the last fifty years, and the controversies they have triggered. He argues that defensible forms of relativism all deny that any sense can be made of a scientific result being absolutely true or justified, and that they all reject 'anything goes' – that is the thought that all scientific results are epistemically on a par. Kusch concludes by distinguishing between defensible forms of relativism and post-truth thinking.