【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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Russell and the neo-Kantians
The paper discusses neo-Kantian commentaries on Russell's views on logic and the philosophy of mathematics at the beginning of the twentieth century. Although Russell and the neo-Kantians had similar philosophical interests at this time, their views were
The concept of social construction
The present paper attempts to clarify the social constructionist position by way of an analysis of its central concept, namely 'social construction'. (1) Three central theses connected with this concept as used in epistemological debates are identified:
Three modern enemies of science: materialism, existentialism, constructivism
Considers that of the three ideologies - materialism, existentialism and constructivism - that materialism is the least scientific. Believes that it has caused the greatest harm by virtue of political control Sees existentialism as more hostile to science
Situatedness and problematic boundaries: Conceptualizing life's complex ecological context
A key challenge in conceptualizing ecological complexity is to allow simultaneously for particularity, contingency, and structure, and for such structure to be internally differentiated, dynamically tied to its context, and subject to restructuring. Becau
The role of rules
The question of rules is not an issue that separates the 'analytical' and 'Continental' traditions from one another; rather it is an issue that is a source of division within each tradition. Within Continental philosophy the problem of the rule-govern
How molecular is molecular developmental biology? A reply to Alex Rosenberg's reductionism redu
This paper argues in defense of the anti-reductionist consensus in the philosophy of biology. More specifically, it takes issues with Alex Rosenberg's recent challenge of this position. We argue that the results of modern developmental genetics rather th
SETI: On the prospects and pursuitworthiness of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence
My topic is extraterrestrial intelligence. Following current conventions, I use the abbreviation 'ETI' to stand for three related concepts: (1) the abstract idea of extraterrestrial intelligence, (2) individuals who are both extraterrestrial and intelli
The power of images: Mathematics and metaphysics in Hobbes's optics
This paper deals with Hobbes's theory of optical images, developed in his optical magnum opus, 'A Minute or First Draught of the Optiques' (1646), and published in abridged version in De homine (1658). The paper suggests that Hobbes's theory of vision
A gradualist theory of discovery in ecology
The distinction between the context of discovery and the context of justification restricts philosophy of science to the rational reconstruction of theories, and characterizes scientific discovery as rare, theoretical upheavals that defy rational reconstr
Individualism, type specimens, and the scrutability of species membership
The view that species are individuals, as developed by Ghiselin and Hull, has been touted as explaining the role of type specimens in taxonomy. The kinship of this explanation with the Kripke-Putnam theory of names has long been recognized. In light of th
Utilitarianism and the measurement and aggregation of quality-adjusted life years
It is widely accepted that one of the main objectives of government expenditure on health care is to generate health. Since health is a function of both length of life and quality of life, the quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) has been developed in an att
A machine to hear for them: On the very possibility of sound's reproduction
Although many writers have argued that the sound reproduction technologies invented in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century United States transformed cultural understandings of hearing, these technologies also embody prior changes in the meanin
Gergen's social constructionism, logical positivism and the continuity of error Part 1: Convent
It is the received wisdom that K.J. Gergen's postmodernist metatheory of psychological science - social constructionism - is the antithesis of positivist philosophy of science. If by 'antithetical' it is meant that the two Share nothing that is central
Getting scientists to think about what they are doing
Research scientists are trained to produce specialised bricks of knowledge, but not to look at the whole building. Increasing public concern about the social role of science is forcing science students to think about what they are actually learning to do.
Translation and science
Both the discourse and practice of science are fundamentally related to the idea of translation. The multi-semiotic nature of scientific texts makes this explicitly visible. Even at the foundational level, science is possible only because it sees the worl