1,778 results on '"PHILOSOPHERS"'
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2. Navigating in the Dark.
- Author
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Godard Palluet, Amélie and Gueguen, Marie
- Subjects
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ASTROCHEMISTRY , *PHILOSOPHERS , *FORECASTING , *HOOKS , *STANDARDS - Abstract
This article introduces the snap hook methodology, a method used notably in astrochemistry as a way to indirectly validate and assess the accuracy of computational calculations in the absence of experimental or observational data. We argue that this methodology has tremendous potential for all computationally intensive scientific fields as a substitute for traditional verification and validation standards when those are not accessible and estimating the reliability of numerical predictions becomes a real difficulty. The goal of this article is to give to this method, which seems to be implicitly relied upon in many areas, a proper formulation, in order for philosophers of science to enter the debate and to highlight its undeniable potential in terms of interdisciplinary facilitation and knowledge transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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3. The Coevolution of Descriptive and Evaluative Beliefs in Aldo Leopold's Thinking.
- Author
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Millstein, Roberta L.
- Subjects
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CONSERVATION biology , *COEVOLUTION , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
The founder of conservation biology, Michael Soulé, set out a vision for conservation biology that was explicitly value-laden, analogous to cancer-biology. In so doing, he drew on the writings of Aldo Leopold, known among philosophers primarily for his land ethic. Employing and extending the work of Anderson (2004) and Clough (2020), I argue that the Leopoldian views that Soulé was drawing on were the product of the coevolution of descriptive and evaluative beliefs over the course of Leopold's life, grounded in his experiences, resulting in tested and reliable—albeit defeasible—values underlying conservation biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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4. Against Defending Science: Asking Better Questions About Indigenous Knowledge and Science.
- Author
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Parke, Emily C. and Hikuroa, Daniel
- Subjects
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TRADITIONAL knowledge , *PHILOSOPHERS , *ARGUMENT - Abstract
This article addresses problems with a defensive turn in discussions of science and Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. Philosophers and practitioners of science have focused recent discussions on coarse-grained questions of demarcation, epistemic parity, and identity—asking questions such as "Is Indigenous knowledge science?" Using representative examples from Aotearoa New Zealand, we expose rampant ambiguities in these arguments, and show that this combative framing can overlook what is at stake. We provide a framework for analyzing these problems and suggest better ways forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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5. Concepts of Actionability in Precision Oncology.
- Author
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Chin-Yee, Benjamin and Plutynski, Anya
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CONCEPT mapping , *PHILOSOPHERS , *PLURALISM , *MEDICAL personnel , *ONCOLOGY - Abstract
"Actionability" is a key concept in precision oncology. Its precise definition, however, remains contested. This article undertakes a philosophical analysis of "actionability" to aid in conceptual clarification. We map distinct concepts of actionability, arguing that each is best understood as a contextually objective category articulated to mitigate risk of "conceptual slippage." We defend "interactive pluralism," acknowledging the need for distinct concepts but also for conceptual interaction in practice. This article thus offers insights for both practitioners and philosophers, clarifying approaches to actionability for scientists and clinicians and serving as a case study to test competing views on scientific pluralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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6. Revisiting Response-Dependent Responsibility.
- Author
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Carty, Alexander
- Subjects
BLAME ,ANGER ,EMOTIONS ,FREE will & determinism ,PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
Copyright of Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
7. God's Timelessness, Our Temporal Nature.
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Bayer, Roberta Lynne
- Subjects
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THEOLOGY , *MATHEMATICIANS , *EXPONENTS , *PHILOSOPHERS , *GOD - Abstract
The timeless and unchanging nature of God was defended by Dr. Eric Mascall throughout his books. He argued against process theology, and in particular the works of mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, who was one of its foremost exponents. In his books, Mascall defended the distinction between our temporal and created nature and God's divine and uncreated nature as found in historic theology. In a manner suited to his learning, he discussed the implications of modern physics for theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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8. Why Political Philosophy Should Be Robust.
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KIRSHNER, ALEXANDER S. and SPINNER-HALEV, JEFF
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SOCIAL scientists , *POLITICAL philosophy , *PHILOSOPHERS , *MULTICULTURALISM , *THEORISTS - Abstract
Political philosophers and theorists make arguments about high-stakes problems. This article shows that those theories would be more credible if political philosophers ensured their work was robust: capable of withstanding reasonable changes to their assumptions and to the cases to which their arguments apply. The world is varied and inconstant. As a result, scientists and social scientists recognize the virtue of robustness. This article shows why political philosophers should also do so. It defines robustness, demonstrates its value, and shows how it can be evaluated. Illustrating the stakes of robustness, the article assesses prominent arguments concerning multiculturalism and open borders. Avoiding misunderstanding and confusion should be a central aim of political philosophy. To sidestep these outcomes and to reassure scholars that one's theory is not subject to concerns about its credibility, it will often be reasonable for philosophers to explicitly test their theories for robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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9. Concerns about Contextual Values in Science and the Legitimate/Illegitimate Distinction.
- Author
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de Melo-Martín, Inmaculada
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VALUES (Ethics) , *TRUST , *SCIENTIFIC method , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
Philosophers of science have come to accept that contextual values can play unavoidable and desirable roles in science. This has raised concerns about the need to distinguish legitimate and illegitimate value influences in scientific inquiry. I discuss here four such concerns: epistemic distortion, value imposition, undermining of public trust in science, and the use of objectionable values. I contend that preserving epistemic integrity and avoiding value imposition provide good reasons to attempt to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate influences of values in science. However, the trust and the objectionable values concerns constitute no good reason for demarcation criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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10. Biomimetic Epistemology.
- Author
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Dicks, Henry
- Subjects
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ECOLOGICAL engineering , *ARTIFICIAL intelligence , *PHILOSOPHERS , *THEORY of knowledge , *ENGINEERING - Abstract
Imitating nature is an ever more popular strategy in many fields of science and engineering research, from ecological engineering to artificial intelligence. But while biomimetics and related fields have recently attracted increased attention from philosophers, there has been relatively little engagement with what I suggest we see as their basic epistemological presupposition: that we may acquire knowledge from nature. I argue that emphasizing and exploring this presupposition opens up a new approach to epistemology, based on a shift from a conventional epistemological relationship to nature as object of knowledge to a biomimetic relationship to nature as source of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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11. The curious case of the marginalized mystics.
- Author
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Williams, Thomas
- Subjects
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CHRISTIANITY , *THEOLOGY , *MIDDLE Ages , *PHILOSOPHERS , *INCARNATION , *MYSTICISM - Abstract
Given that the more apophatic strand of mysticism resonates more with the way contemporary philosophers are apt to think about mystical experience, the fact that apophatic mysticism was a bit of a fringe enterprise in the Middle Ages calls for explanation. The explanations that are suggested within the pages of Christina Van Dyke's A Hidden Wisdom are not typically historical-contextual explanations, but theological ones. This article examines apophatic mysticism in terms of three of the standard theological loci : creation, Incarnation, and Trinity. In each case we will find that some of the characteristic claims of the apophatic mystics are so much at odds with the mainstream of Christian theology that the mystery is not so much their being marginalized but rather their being largely tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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12. The wisdom of ghosts.
- Author
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Clack, Beverley
- Subjects
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PHILOSOPHERS , *ANXIETY , *POSSIBILITY , *RELIGIONS , *CURIOSITIES & wonders , *GRIEF - Abstract
According to Carolyne Larrington, legends of the past 'offer particular kinds of answers – beautiful and mysterious answers... – to very large questions through a kind of metaphorical thinking... which, in their stripped-down clarity, show us what's really important in an unfamiliar light'. The claim that 'what is really important [is disclosed] by casting it in an unfamiliar light' I take into a philosophical engagement with the figure of the ghost. Far from being of dubious interest for the philosopher of religion, the continuing fascination with ghosts and hauntings offers promising ground for the discussion of religion, for the study of ghosts holds out the possibility of engaging with the wonder and terror of the human condition. The figure of something that is dead yet alive is a creative representation of the fact that we who are alive are also mortal, destined to die. The resulting confrontation with death arouses anxiety, but also has the potential to enrich life. The wisdom of the ghost thus enables the possibility of returning philosophy of religion to the great themes of human existence – birth, suffering, loss, and death – which provide rich resources for understanding religion and its relation to the experience of being human. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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13. A metaphysics of spiritual experience.
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Ellis, Fiona
- Subjects
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PLATONISTS , *PHILOSOPHERS , *METAPHYSICS , *THEISM , *POSSIBILITY , *SPIRITUALITY - Abstract
A discussion of the metaphysics of spiritual experience requires that we are clear about the nature of metaphysics, and I take as my starting point the 'transcendent metaphysics' described and supposedly eliminated by A. J. Ayer. Most analytic philosophers agree with Ayer (and Kant) that transcendent metaphysics in the relevant sense is deeply problematic, and they associate it with platonism, theism, and religious thinking more generally. Assuming then that spiritual experience takes us into religious territory, and this territory is forbidden, a metaphysics of spiritual experience is going to involve transcendent metaphysics, and it will be similarly problematic. Ayer's conception of transcendent reality is itself deeply problematic, and I shall argue that his metaphysical framework helps to motivate atheistic spirituality by ruling out the possibility of an empirically grounded and hence defensible religious alternative. I shall challenge this framework, set out an alternative with the help of Arthur Schopenhauer, and spell out the implications for a metaphysics of spiritual experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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14. SAUL KRIPKE (1940–2022).
- Author
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ARTEMOV, SERGEI, BURGESS, JOHN P., FITTING, MELVIN, and HATTIANGADI, ANANDI
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PHILOSOPHERS ,AGE - Abstract
Saul Aaron Kripke, the most influential philosopher and logician of his generation, died on September 15, 2022, at the age of 81. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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15. Exploring Arbitrariness Objections to Time Biases.
- Subjects
PRUDENCE ,PHILOSOPHERS ,NEUTRALITY ,EMOTIONS ,TIME - Abstract
There are two kinds of time bias: near bias and future bias. While philosophers typically hold that near bias is rationally impermissible, many hold that future bias is rationally permissible. Call this normative hybridism. According to arbitrariness objections, certain patterns of preference are rationally impermissible because they are arbitrary. While arbitrariness objections have been leveled against both near bias and future bias, the kind of arbitrariness in question has been different. In this article we investigate whether there are forms of arbitrariness that are common to both kinds of preferences and, hence, whether there are versions of the arbitrariness objection that are objections to both near bias and future bias. If there are, then this might go some way toward undermining normative hybridism and to defending thoroughgoing time-neutralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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16. Doing Moral Philosophy Without 'Normativity'.
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ETHICS ,NORMATIVITY (Ethics) ,PHILOSOPHERS ,HOPE - Abstract
This essay challenges widespread talk about morality's 'normativity'. My principal target is not any specific claim or thesis in the burgeoning literature on 'normativity', however. Rather, I aim to discourage the use of the word among moral philosophers altogether and to reject a claim to intradisciplinary authority that is both reflected in and reinforced by the role the word has come to play in the discipline. My hope is to persuade other philosophers who, like me, persist in being interested in long-standing questions about our morals to be considerably more suspicious about the word's actual value for us and to see those studying 'normativity' itself as having little to offer us when it comes to posing our questions about morals and debating the answers to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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17. One (More) Last Thing.
- Author
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Burns, Steven
- Subjects
PHILOSOPHY ,PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
Copyright of Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
18. On Cognitive Modeling and Other Minds.
- Author
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Gamboa, J. P.
- Subjects
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COGNITION , *MATHEMATICAL models , *PHILOSOPHERS , *DATA modeling , *BACTERIA - Abstract
Scientists and philosophers alike debate whether various systems such as plants and bacteria exercise cognition. One strategy for resolving such debates is to ground claims about nonhuman cognition in evidence from mathematical models of cognitive capacities. In this article, I show that proponents of this strategy face two major challenges: demarcating phenomenological models from process models and overcoming underdetermination by model fit. I argue that even if the demarcation problem is resolved, fitting a process model to behavioral data is, on its own, not strong evidence for any cognitive process, let alone processes shared with humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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19. Ailments of the Soul.
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Beran, Ondřej
- Subjects
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ETHICISTS , *PHILOSOPHERS , *ETHICS committees , *CHRISTIANITY , *THEOLOGY - Abstract
The paper aims to trace the distinctive character of the talk of the soul and to disentangle it from the talk of the mind. The key context will be the way in which we talk about souls that are ailing. As a point of departure, I use the later Wittgenstein's notion of the soul as anti‐dualist and anti‐substantive, which brings it close to Dennett's or Davidson's philosophy of mind, but which Wittgensteinian ethicists have elaborated upon as concerned with matters of good and evil, and beauty. In relation to these concerns, the sense of the ailing soul is different from issues relating to mental health. I then discuss cases of ailments of the soul that would be misleading to analyse as matters of mental health (issues): addiction, racism, and environmental grief. I conclude with a plea for maintaining the talk of the soul as helpful for making sense of existential or beauty‐ or morality‐related ailments, yet as something that does not necessarily subscribe to any doctrine of the soul as a substance. In support, I also use arguments from the spheres of eco‐theology and public theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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20. The Bible and the Priesthood: Priestly Participation in the One Sacrifice for Sins.
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Clifton OP, Bruno J.
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PHILOSOPHERS , *PRIESTHOOD - Published
- 2024
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21. Notes on Finality in Aquinas's Fifth Way.
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Weigel, Peter
- Subjects
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PHILOSOPHERS , *ETHICS committees , *TELEOLOGY , *THEOLOGY - Abstract
Aquinas's Fifth Way argues for God's existence from the perception of goal-directed activity in nature. Its details are difficult to understand. This study interprets the premises and offers background reasoning for them, which Aquinas develops elsewhere in his writings. A major focus is clarifying the scope of finality the Fifth Way invokes. The argument leaves unspecified the kinds of purposive activity in nature Aquinas has in mind. Thus, the discussion first treats types of purposive activity in nature Aquinas recognizes. It then looks at the two reasons the argument gives for final causes in nature. Things tend to act in regular ways and tend toward what is 'best'. Attention then turns to the key premise that goal-directed activity in nonrational beings requires direction by something with intelligence. A final section of the article explores why Aquinas seems to look to a single source of finality in nature and why, in the conclusion, he claims that we call this God. Thus, Aquinas's larger views on finality in nature shed light on his intents in the Fifth Way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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22. A Buddhist's guide to self-destruction: Jñānaśrīmitra on the structure of yogic perception.
- Author
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Tomlinson, Davey K.
- Subjects
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BUDDHISTS , *RELIGIOUS experience , *PREJUDICES , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
This article explores the structure of cultivated religious experience. For the Buddhist philosopher Jñānaśrīmitra (c. 980–1040), the religious experience of the Buddhist yogin (yogipratyakṣa) is not spontaneous or sporadic but must be intentionally and rationally cultivated. I argue that Jñānaśrīmitra's picture parallels certain contemporary constructivist accounts of religious experience, according to which the prejudices, expectations, and interpretative structures of the practitioner shape the character of the experience in question. Despite this, however, Jñānaśrīmitra maintains that religious experience is direct, non-conceptual, and ineffable. Even though cultivation begins by focusing on rationally understood, effable conceptual content (the Buddha's teaching of the Four Nobles' Truths, for instance), the yogin's relation to that content is transformed through cultivation (bhāvanā). Cultivation makes awareness-events with conceptual content vivid (spaṣṭa) in such a way that they lose their conceptual character, coming to affect the practitioner's mind as if they were external to it. In this way, precisely in virtue of beginning the process of cultivation with certain expectations about the Buddha's teaching, Buddhist yogins come to have a direct and non-conceptual experience of the breakdown of their own mental streams and the dissolution of the sense of self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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23. Necessary existent theology.
- Author
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Ansari, Rosabel, Dunaway, Billy, and McGinnis, Jon
- Subjects
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THEOLOGY , *PHILOSOPHERS , *ISLAMIC philosophy , *ISLAMIC theology , *GOD - Abstract
A meta-theology makes claims about the structure of theological claims: it identifies a single, fundamental claim about God, and shows how other theological claims are derivable from the fundamental claim. In his book Depicting Deity and other articles, Jon Kvanvig has identified three distinct meta-theologies: Creator Theology, Perfect Being Theology, and Worship-worthiness Theology. In this article, we argue that the medieval Islamic philosopher Avicenna's views about God have the structure of a meta-theology, and that it is distinct from the three projects Kvanvig identifies. This view is Necessary Existent Theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
24. Ought to believe, simpliciter.
- Author
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Booth, Anthony Robert
- Subjects
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PHILOSOPHERS , *EVIDENTIALISM , *DUTY , *ETHICS , *EXCUSES - Abstract
According to many philosophers there are only pro tanto oughts to believe relative to a standard of assessment: there are epistemic oughts to believe, moral oughts to believe, prudential oughts to believe etc. But there are no oughts to believe simpliciter. Many of the same philosophers who hold this view, also hold that ought to believe is to be understood deontologically – such that if S violates such an ought without excuse, S is blameworthy for doing so. I here argue that on a deontological understanding of ought to believe there must be ought to believe simpliciter and that it is the violation of this ought that determines whether we are to blame for our beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
25. ON QUANTIFICATION AND EXTENSIONALITY.
- Author
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WEHMEIER, KAI F.
- Subjects
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SATISFACTION , *GRAMMAR , *SYNTAX (Grammar) , *PHILOSOPHERS , *ARGUMENT , *BUILDING failures - Abstract
We investigate whether ordinary quantification over objects is an extensional phenomenon, or rather creates non-extensional contexts; each claim having been propounded by prominent philosophers. It turns out that the question only makes sense relative to a background theory of syntax and semantics (here called a grammar) that goes well beyond the inductive definition of formulas and the recursive definition of satisfaction. Two schemas for building quantificational grammars are developed, one that invariably constructs extensional grammars (in which quantification, in particular, thus behaves extensionally) and another that only generates non-extensional grammars (and in which quantification is responsible for the failure of extensionality). We then ask whether there are reasons to favor one of these grammar schemas over the other, and examine an argument according to which the proper formalization of deictic utterances requires adoption of non-extensional grammars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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26. Consubstantial dualism: a Zoroastrian perspective on the soul.
- Author
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Good, Ted
- Subjects
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PHILOSOPHERS , *REPENTANCE , *SOUL , *ARGUMENT , *POLEMICS , *DUALISM , *RESPONSIBILITY - Abstract
This article describes the group of ninth-century Zoroastrian philosophers I call the 'Dēnkard School' and sketches the way they do philosophy. It presents their argument against substance dualism, which the Zoroastrians argue is in tension with the belief in repentance. From an analysis of this polemic, there follows a reconstruction of the Dēnkard School's own doctrine of the consubstantiality of body and soul. To understand these arguments, I describe some background eschatological and ontological beliefs upheld by the Dēnkard School and their specific conception of substance, which includes the notions of ownership and responsibility. Overall, the argument can be seen as a new position on a traditional problem, and so increasing the scope of philosophy in a more global perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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27. Selfhood, persistence, and immortality in Jaina philosophy.
- Author
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Bajželj, Ana
- Subjects
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PHILOSOPHERS , *SELF , *METAPHYSICS , *MODERN philosophy - Abstract
This article explores the notion of immortality in Jaina philosophy by focusing on the problem of the persistence of the self. It considers the concept of persistence within the broader context of Jaina metaphysics and its specific application to living beings. The article analyses the relationship between the immaterial self and its material body to determine which aspects of living beings can be deemed immortal or persisting beyond death. It also investigates the state of liberation as an immortal condition. Drawing from the Tattvârtha-sūtra and four of its commentaries, the article demonstrates the complexity of the Jaina treatment of the issue of the self's persistence over time and its commitment to the doctrine of non-one-sidedness. It also shows that Jaina philosophers deal with this critical philosophical problem in a way that reflects their engagement with the intellectual debates of their time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
28. Truth: The Rule or the Aim of Assertion?
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Marsili, Neri
- Subjects
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PHILOSOPHERS , *LITERARY recreations - Abstract
Is truth the rule or the aim of assertion? Philosophers disagree. After reviewing the available evidence, the hypothesis that truth is the aim of assertion is defended against recent attempts to prove that truth is rather a rule of assertion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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29. NONREDUCTIVE THEORIES OF SENSE-PERCEPTION IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF KALĀM.
- Author
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Benevich, Fedor
- Subjects
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ISLAMIC theology , *THEORY (Philosophy) , *SENSE organs , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
In this article, I will argue that various scholars of kalām unanimously agree that sense-perception is something beyond the physical processes in the sense organs. There may be something happening in our eyes when we see a red apple, but seeing a red apple is not tantamount to it. We will see that some scholars of kalām argue that sense-perception is akin to being aware or conscious of the object of perception, and, hence, distinct from the physical process in the sense organs. One group will go so far as to accept that sense-perception is not even dependent on any physical processes in the body. Another group will accept that sense-perception presupposes that various physical conditions obtain, yet still regard sense-perception as something distinct from the occurrence of those conditions. I am suggesting that these nonreductive theories of sense-perception are the reason why Arabic-Islamic philosophers, starting from the eleventh century CE, consistently reject the Aristotelian-Avicennian theory of sense-perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
30. Human Rights, Interpretivism, and the Semantic Sting.
- Author
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Costa Val Rodrigues, Gabriel
- Subjects
HUMAN rights ,POLITICAL debates ,PHILOSOPHICAL literature ,PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
What are human rights? What makes a particular human rights claim 'genuine' or 'valid'? These are difficult questions with which current philosophical literature on human rights is concerned. They are also the same kind of questions that legal philosophers asked about Law throughout the 20th century. Drawing from the similarities between the two fields, I attempt to do with the concept of human rights something similar to what Ronald Dworkin accomplished with that of Law in Law's Empire. First, I offer a critique of the two dominant perspectives on human rights—the Orthodox and Political views—that is similar in character to Dworkin's Semantic Sting objection to Legal Positivism. Second, I sketch an alternative, Dworkinian-inspired framework that seeks to develop the notion of human rights as an interpretive concept. According to this framework, different accounts of human rights are to be understood as expressing different interpretations of the point (or purpose) of human rights practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
31. The Dilemma of Ahistorical Teleosemantics.
- Author
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Hundertmark, Fabian
- Subjects
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MENTAL representation , *DILEMMA , *CONSUMERS , *PHILOSOPHERS , *MENTAL foramen - Abstract
Teleosemantic theories aim to naturalize mental representation through the use of functions, typically based on past selection processes. However, the historical dependence of these theories has faced severe criticism, leading some philosophers to develop ahistorical alternatives. This article presents a new dilemma for all ahistorical teleosemantic theories, focusing in particular on the theories proposed by Timothy Schroeder and Bence Nanay. These theories require certain dispositions in the producers or consumers of mental representations, but the appeal to dispositions puts the proponents in an undesirable position: mental content is either overly dependent on current circumstances or ultimately dependent on historical factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
32. From Anti-Exceptionalism to Feminist Logic.
- Author
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Russell, Gillian K.
- Subjects
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FEMINISTS , *LOGIC , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
Anti-exceptionalists about formal logic think that logic is continuous with the sciences. Many philosophers of science think that there is feminist science. Putting these together: can anti-exceptionalism make space for feminist logic ? The answer depends on the details of the ways logic is like science and the ways science can be feminist. This paper wades into these details, examines five different approaches, and ultimately argues that anti-exceptionalism makes space for feminist logic in several different ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
33. Personification and Objectification.
- Author
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Stear, Nils-Hennes
- Subjects
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PHILOSOPHERS , *IMAGINATION , *CONSUMER ethics , *ARGUMENT , *PORNOGRAPHY , *ETHICS , *HETEROSEXUALS - Abstract
A handful of scholars have connected objectification (treating people like objects) to personification (treating objects like people). The recurring idea is that personification may entail objectification and therefore share in the latter's ethical difficulties. This idea is defended by various feminist philosophers. They focus on how the connection manifests in the male, heterosexual consumption of pornography, grounding a constitutive ethical criticism of this pornography. In this paper, I schematize the only two arguments for this connection, showing why each fails. I revise one of the arguments to overcome my objection before showing, most significantly, that any argument with the same form must fail. I conclude by suggesting that thinking about the ethics of the imagination offers a promising alternative approach that preserves the spirit of these failed arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
34. Two challenges for 'no-norms' theism.
- Author
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Reilly, James
- Subjects
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THEISM , *PHILOSOPHERS , *PROOF of God , *SKEPTICISM - Abstract
A number of theistic philosophers have recently denied that God is subject to moral and rational norms. At the same time, many theists employ epistemological and inductive arguments for the existence of God. I will argue that 'no-norms' theists cannot make use of such arguments: if God is not subject to norms – particularly rational norms – then we can say nothing substantive about what kind of worlds God would be likely to create, and as such, we cannot predict the likelihood of any particular evidence given theism. What is more, I argue that this lack of constraint on God's creative act raises a serious sceptical challenge for no-norms theism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
35. Robustness of Climate Models.
- Author
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Gluck, Stuart
- Subjects
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ATMOSPHERIC models , *CLIMATOLOGY , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
Robustness with respect to climate models is often considered by philosophers of climate science to be a crucial issue in determining whether and to what extent the projections of the Earth's future climate that models yield should be trusted. Wendy Parker and Lisa Lloyd have introduced influential accounts of robustness for climate models with seemingly conflicting conclusions. I argue that Parker and Lloyd are characterizing distinct notions of robustness and providing complementary insights. Confidence, if warranted, need be by virtue of causally consistent climate models rather than by agreement upon projections by a diverse range of models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
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36. The Epistemic Privilege of Measurement: Motivating a Functionalist Account.
- Author
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Ohnesorge, Miguel
- Subjects
- *
MOTIVATION (Psychology) , *GEODESY , *MEASUREMENT , *PHILOSOPHERS , *NEUTRALITY - Abstract
Philosophers and metrologists have refuted the view that measurement's epistemic privilege in scientific practice is explained by its theory neutrality. Rather, they now explicitly appeal to the role that theories play in measurement. I formulate a challenge for this view: Scientists sometimes ascribe epistemic privilege to measurements even if they lack a shared theory about their target quantity, which I illustrate through a case study from early geodesy. Drawing on that case, I argue that the epistemic privilege of measurement can precede shared background theory and is better explained by its pretheoretic function in enabling a distinctive kind of inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
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37. Against Evidential Pluralism in Pharmaceutical Regulation.
- Author
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Sung, Doohyun and Holman, Bennett
- Subjects
- *
ALZHEIMER'S disease , *ADUCANUMAB , *PLURALISM , *TREATMENT effectiveness , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
We examine arguments regarding the use of mechanistic evidence in assessing treatment efficacy and find that advocates and critics of EBM+ have largely been talking past each other due to a difference in focus. We explore aducanumab for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease as a case that may speak to the role of EBM+ in pharmaceutical regulation. The case suggests the debate may be more fruitful if philosophers confine debates to particular domains of medicine and weigh in prospectively instead of relying on historical cases in which outcomes are known and that are susceptible to hindsight bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
38. Scurvy and the Ontology of Natural Kinds.
- Author
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Magnus, P.D.
- Subjects
- *
SCURVY , *ONTOLOGY , *PHILOSOPHERS , *METAPHYSICS , *CITRUS , *ONTOLOGIES (Information retrieval) - Abstract
Some philosophers understand natural kinds to be the categories which are constraints on enquiry. In order to elaborate the metaphysics appropriate to such an account, I consider the complicated history of scurvy, citrus, and vitamin C. It may be tempting to understand these categories in a shallow way (as mere property clusters) or in a deep way (as fundamental properties). Neither approach is adequate, and the case instead calls for middle-range ontology: starting from categories which we identify in the world and elaborating their structure, but not pretending to jump ahead to a complete story about fundamental being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
39. That Does Not Compute: David Lewis on Credence and Chance.
- Author
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Belot, Gordon
- Subjects
- *
PHILOSOPHERS , *HOPE - Abstract
Like Lewis, many philosophers hold reductionist accounts of chance (on which claims about chance are to be understood as claims that certain patterns of events are instantiated) and maintain that rationality requires that credence should defer to chance (in the sense that under certain circumstances one's credence in an event must coincide with the chance of that event). It is a shortcoming of an account of chance if it implies that this norm of rationality is unsatisfiable by computable agents. This shortcoming is more common than one might have hoped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
40. Deep Learning Opacity in Scientific Discovery.
- Author
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Duede, Eamon
- Subjects
- *
SCIENCE education , *SCIENTIFIC discoveries , *SCIENTIFIC literature , *DEEP learning , *ARTIFICIAL intelligence , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
While philosophers have focused on epistemological and ethical challenges of using artificial intelligence (AI) in science, scientists have focused largely on opportunities. I argue that this disconnect between philosophical pessimism and scientific optimism is driven by failures to critically examine the practice of AI-infused science. To appreciate the epistemic justification for AI-powered breakthroughs, philosophers must analyze the role of AI as part of a wider process of discovery. I demonstrate the importance of this with two cases from the scientific literature, and show that epistemic opacity need not diminish AI's capacity to lead scientists to significant and justifiable breakthroughs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
41. Against "Possibilist" Interpretations of Climate Models.
- Author
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Dethier, Corey
- Subjects
- *
ATMOSPHERIC models , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
Climate scientists frequently employ heavily idealized models. How should these models be interpreted? Some philosophers have advanced a possibilist interpretation: climate models stand in for possible scenarios that could occur but do not provide information about how probable those scenarios are. This article argues that possibilism is (1) undermotivated, (2) incompatible with successful practices in the science, and (3) unable to correct for known biases. The upshot is that the models should be interpreted probabilistically in at least some cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
42. Where Does General Relativity Break Down?
- Author
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Weatherall, James Owen
- Subjects
- *
PHYSICISTS , *GENERAL relativity (Physics) , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
It is widely accepted by physicists and philosophers of physics alike that there are certain contexts in which general relativity will "break down." In such cases, one expects to need some as-yet-undiscovered successor theory. This article discusses certain pathologies of general relativity that might be taken to signal that the theory is breaking down and considers how one might expect a successor theory to do better. The upshot is an unconventional interpretation of the "strong cosmic censorship hypothesis." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
43. The Making of J. S. Mill's Collected Works , and Its Aftermath.
- Author
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Kinzer, Bruce
- Subjects
- *
PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
In 1973, a conference was held in Toronto to mark the bicentenary of James Mill's birth and the centenary of John Stuart Mill's death. By that time, Toronto had emerged as the centre of Mill studies. Between 1963 and 1973, the University of Toronto Press had published, in a scholarly edition, eleven volumes of Mill's Collected works. A further twenty-two volumes would appear in the eighteen years that followed. Only two of the nine presenters at the 1973 conference were members of a Philosophy Department. Philosophers had a modest part in the production of Mill's Collected works. Yet, philosophers came to dominate Mill studies in the decades after the Mill edition wrapped up in 1991. Philosophers contributed ten of the fourteen essays featured in The Cambridge companion to Mill (1998), edited by John Skorupski. Philosophers constituted twenty-six of the thirty-seven contributors to A companion to Mill (2017), published by Wiley Blackwell and edited by Christopher Macleod and Dale E. Miller. This communication explains the relative unimportance of philosophers in the creation of the Collected works , and comments on the forces shaping the subsequent pre-eminence of philosophers in Mill studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
44. The Intentio of Pastness in Aquinas's Theory of Memory.
- Author
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Jalsevac, John
- Subjects
MEDIEVAL philosophy ,ARABIC language ,ARISTOTELIANISM (Philosophy) ,PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
Copyright of Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. Recovering Classical Indigenous Philosophy.
- Author
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Wilkinson, Eric
- Subjects
ETHNOPHILOSOPHY ,PHILOSOPHERS ,POLITICAL philosophy ,PANPSYCHISM ,SPIRITUALITY - Abstract
Copyright of Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
46. The Aesthetics of Science: Beauty, Imagination and Understanding.
- Author
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Ambrosio, Chiara
- Subjects
- *
AESTHETICS , *PHILOSOPHY of science , *AESTHETIC experience , *PRACTICE (Philosophy) , *PHILOSOPHERS - Abstract
"The Aesthetics of Science: Beauty, Imagination and Understanding" is an edited collection by Milena Ivanova and Steven French that explores the intersection of philosophy of science and aesthetics. The book argues that aesthetic judgments are prevalent in scientific practice and should be taken seriously, but not at face value. The volume reframes philosophical debates in a pluralistic and context-sensitive manner, emphasizing the performative aspects of science and the transformative potential of aesthetics. The chapters in the book cover topics such as the aesthetic properties of theories, the aesthetic qualities of thought experiments, and the relationship between beauty and understanding in science. The interdisciplinary approach of the book opens up new pathways for reframing old debates and encourages a dialogue between history and philosophy of science. [Extracted from the article]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
47. The Notion of Truth in Sciences and Medicine, Why it Matters and Why We Must Defend It.
- Author
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Bikfalvi, Andreas
- Subjects
- *
SCIENTIFIC method , *CAUSAL inference , *IDEOLOGY , *INFERENCE (Logic) , *PHILOSOPHERS , *INTUITION , *SOCIAL justice - Abstract
Philosophers have described several approaches for scientific research, including causal inference and induction, the hypothetico-deductive method, inference of the best explanation, Bayesianism or causal network analysis. Prescriptive truth is dependent upon the values that one brings into scientific inquiry. One may oppose the writings of Bertrand Russell and Helen Longino. The former argues that values may negatively impact inquiry, while Longino argues that value-free research does not exist, and we must cope with it. However, Longino proposes a very stringent value-system which does not allow certain research to be conducted. The problem arises when prescriptive truth becomes hypertrophic, self-righteous, rigid, and unconnected to reality, which is the transformation into ideology. Ideological intrusion into science and medicine, such as with Social Justice Ideology (SJI), is indeed a problem in Western democracies. It derived from scholarship originating in the humanities (law, social sciences, branches of philosophy, etc.) and then transferred to Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM). The STEMM field was thought to be immune to SJI because of its rigorous methodology, but the hyper-specialization and absence of training in the humanities made it vulnerable to SJI. These intrusions into STEMM and the amplification in the last 2–3 years are potentially due to 'concept creep,' psychogenic contamination, herd behaviour and, for activists, strategical equivocation (motte-and-bailey fallacy). By denying truth and reality, science is reduced to a pointless, if entertaining game; a meaningless, if exacting exercise; and a destinationless, if enjoyable journey. (Theocharis and Psimopoulos 1987) Now the characteristic doctrine of modern irrationalists, as we have seen, are: emphasis on will as opposed to thought and feeling; glorification of power, belief in intuition 'positing' of propositions as opposed to observational and inductive testing. (Russell 1936) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
48. Reasoning Simplifying Attitudes.
- Author
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Palmira, Michele
- Subjects
- *
ATTITUDE (Psychology) , *PHILOSOPHERS , *IMAGINATION , *EXPLANATION , *DUALISM - Abstract
Several philosophers maintain that outright belief exists because it plays a reasoning simplifying role (Holton 2008; Ross and Schroeder 2014; Staffel 2019; Weisberg 2020). This claim has been recently contested, on the grounds that credences also can simplify reasoning (Dinges 2021). This paper takes a step back and asks: what features of an attitude explain its alleged ability to simplify reasoning? The paper contrasts two explanations, one in terms of dispositions and the other in terms of representation, arguing in favour of the latter and against the former. The proposed explanation yields two interesting results: first, both belief and other attitudes, such as acceptance and imagination, can play a reasoning simplifying role; second, credences do not simplify our reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
49. The Myth of the Good Epistemic Bubble.
- Author
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Sheeks, Meredith
- Subjects
- *
MYTH , *PHILOSOPHERS , *SENSES , *BUBBLES - Abstract
Intellectual interest in epistemic bubbles and echo chambers has grown exponentially over the past two decades. This is largely because many assume, in light of recent events, that these phenomena are morally, socially, politically, and epistemically problematic. But are we justified in simply assuming that epistemic bubbles and echo chambers are inherently epistemically problematic? Perhaps surprisingly, numerous philosophers have recently argued that epistemic bubbles and echo chambers are not intrinsically epistemically problematic. Nevertheless, I argue, this trend is mistaken. Epistemic bubbles and echo chambers are all intrinsically epistemically problematic, such that we should try to escape them, if we find ourselves in them. Crucially, there are two senses in which we might identify epistemic bubbles and echo chambers as being intrinsically epistemically problematic, as opposed to "good." After distinguishing between these senses, I demonstrate that, even if there is a sense in which epistemic bubbles can in principle be "good," all epistemic bubbles are epistemically problematic in the sense that is ultimately relevant to the question of whether we ought to stay in epistemic bubbles or to try to get out of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
50. Why We Should Be Suspicious of Conspiracy Theories: A Novel Demarcation Problem.
- Author
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Boudry, Maarten
- Subjects
- *
CONSPIRACY theories , *BLACK holes , *PHILOSOPHERS , *INTUITION , *CONSPIRACIES - Abstract
What, if anything, is wrong with conspiracy theories (CTs)? A conspiracy refers to a group of people acting in secret to achieve some nefarious goal. Given that the pages of history are full of such plots, however, why are CTs often regarded with suspicion and even disdain? According to "particularism," the currently dominant view among philosophers, each CT should be evaluated on its own merits and the negative reputation of CTs as a class is wholly undeserved. In this paper, I defend a moderate version of "generalism," the view that there is indeed something prima facie suspicious about CTs, properly defined, and that they suffer from common epistemic defects. To demarcate legitimate theorizing about real-life conspiracies from "mere conspiracy theories" (in the pejorative sense), I draw on a deep asymmetry between causes and effects in the natural world. Because of their extreme resilience to counterevidence, CTs can be seen as the epistemological equivalent of black holes, in which unwary truth-seekers are drawn, never to escape. Finally, by presenting a generic "recipe" for generating novel CTs around any given event, regardless of the circumstances and the available evidence, I rescue the intuitions beneath colloquial phrases like "That's just a conspiracy theory." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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