【Philosophy】African philosophy cannot be a thing
This essay unpacks several arguments about the metaphilosophic nature of African philosophy and charts a way through the problems these arguments enco... [more]
【Philosophy】Fusion Philosophy and Epistemic Injustice
I use the concept of epistemic injustice to think through the practice and methodology of comparative, or fusion, philosophy. I make two related claim... [more]
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Complexity, self-organization and selection
Recent work on self organization promises an explanation of complex order which is independent of adaptation. Self-organizing systems are complex systems of simple units, projecting order as a consequence of localized and generally nonlinear interactions
The reality of ecological assemblages: A palaeo-ecological puzzle
Ecological communities, I argue, are objective units of nature if they have structure that regulates their membership. Evidence of such structure in contemporary ecology is scant, but the palaeoecological phenomenon of co-ordinated stasis is a prima facie
The philosopher as teacher - Class in the classroom: Engaging hidden identities
Using Marcuse's theory of the total mobilization of advanced technology society along the lines of what he calls 'the performance principle,' I attempt to describe the complex composition of class oppression int he classroom. Students conceive of thems
Behavior as a social construction
Behavior analysis is examined from a social constructionist perspective. Constructionism is first defined and contrasted with a generic positivistic image of science. Behavior analysis. especially the matching law, is then viewed from both perspectives. T
Metaphilosophy and relativism
I am concerned with the metaphilosophical questions of how we are to proceed when doing philosophy, and whether there is more than one way of achieving our aim. These questions are tackled initially by an examination of the answers given by Richard Double
Before the dogcatcher's van: History and subjectivity in Francis Barker
In this article, I offer an overview of the work of Francis Barker, paying particular attention to his diagnosis and critique of modern (bourgeois) subjectivity. I examine Barker's commentary on the violence that attended the birth of the modern, and on
Reflexivity and interpretive sociology: The case of analysis and the problem of nihilism
This paper addresses the problem of reflexivity in modern social inquiry in general and in sociology in particular. This problem is inherited from Weber's very conception of sociology, is transformed by phenomenology and ethnomethodology, deepened by the
Rorty, Sorge and truth
Rorty's assessment of the origins of the analytic/continental divide is discussed and criticized on several grounds. Rorty's plea in favour of the philosophical quietism implicit in the pragmatists' dismissal of metaphysics rests on an uncritical faith
Amateurs and professionals in one county: Biology and natural history in late Victorian Yorkshire
My goals in this paper are twofold: to outline the refashioning of amateur and professional roles in life science in late Victorian Yorkshire, and to provide a revised historiography of the relationship between amateurs and professionals in this era. Some
Representing epistemic uncertainty by means of dialectical argumentation
We articulate a dialectical argumentation framework for qualitative representation of epistemic uncertainty in scientific domains. The framework is grounded in specific philosophies of science and theories of rational mutual discourse. We study the formal
On understanding: Maxwell on the methods of illustration and scientific metaphor
In this paper I examine the notion and role of metaphors and illustrations in Maxwell\'s works in exact science as a pathway into a broader and richer philosophical conception of a scientist and scientific practice. While some of these notions and metho
Paul Tillich's perspectives on ways of relating science and religion
Where do Paul Tillich's views of the relationship between religion and science fit in Ian Barbour's four classifications of conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration? At different:levels of analysis, he fits in all of them. In concrete religions
Medicine and scholarly knowledge in Portugal during the Renaissance
The present article is concerned with drawing general picture of the influences on medical scholarship in early modern Portugal. We focus on the writings and activities of doctors who graduated and taught in universities, and were physicians to a powerful
The economy of the gift - Paul Ricoeur's significance for theological ethics
Paul Ricoeur's understanding of the relations of faith, love, and hope suggests a unique approach to theological ethics, one that holds fresh promise for bringing together considerations of the good (teleology) and the right (deontology) around the notio
Food and the purification of society:: Dr Paul!Carton and vegetarianism in interwar France
This article examines the life and work of Dr Paul Car-ton (1875-1947), a French physician who promoted 'naturist vegetarianism'. His career and the evolution of his ideas were influenced by his own experience as a young man of treatment for tuberculosi