ISBN:
9789400744080
,
1280996870
,
9781280996870
Language:
English
Pages:
Online-Ressource (XIV, 200 p. 15 illus, digital)
Series Statement:
Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science 295
Series Statement:
SpringerLink
Series Statement:
Bücher
Parallel Title:
Buchausg. u.d.T.
Keywords:
Philosophy (General)
;
Science Philosophy
;
Philosophy
;
Philosophy (General)
;
Science Philosophy
;
Philosophie
;
Wissenschaftlicher Fortschritt
Abstract:
The first part deals with philosophies that have had a significant input, positive or negative, on the search for truth; it suggests that scientific and technological are either stimulated or smothered by a philosophical matrix; and it outlines two ontological doctrines believed to have nurtured research in modern times: systemism (not to be mistaken for holism) and materialism (as an extension of physicalism). The second part discusses a few practical problems that are being actively discussed in the literature, from climatology and information science to economics and legal philosophy. This discussion is informed by the general principles analyzed in the first part of the book. Some of the conclusions are that standard economic theory is just as inadequate as Marxism; that law and order are weak without justice; and that the central equation of normative climatology is a tautologywhich of course does not put climate change in doubt. The third and final part of the book tackles a set of key concepts, such as those of indicator, energy, and existence, that have been either taken for granted or neglected. For instance, it is argued that there is at least one existence predicate, and that it is unrelated to the so-called existential quantifier; that high level hypotheses cannot be put to the test unless conjoined with indicator hypotheses; and that induction cannot produce high level hypotheses because empirical data do not contain any transempirical concepts. Realism, materialism, and systemism are thus refined and vindicated.
Description / Table of Contents:
Evaluating Philosophies; Preface; Contents; Introduction; Part I: How to Nurture or Hinder Research; Chapter 1: Philosophies and Phobosophies; 1.1 Midwives; 1.2 Teachers; 1.3 Gatekeepers; 1.4 Wardens and Prisoners; 1.5 Cheated; 1.6 Mercenary; 1.7 Escapist; 1.8 Ambivalent; 1.9 Conclusion; Chapter 2: The Philosophical Matrix of Scientific Progress; 2.1 From Skepticism to Mysterianism; 2.2 The Social Matrix; 2.3 The Role of Philosophy in the Birth of Modern Science; 2.4 Materialism, Systemism, Dynamicism, and Realism; 2.5 First Parenthesis: The Ossification of Philosophy
Description / Table of Contents:
2.6 Scientism, Rationalism, and Humanism2.7 Second Parenthesis: Logical Imperialism; 2.8 The Philosophical Pentagon; 2.9 Irregular Pentagons; 2.10 From Social Science to Sociotechnology; 2.11 Dogmatic and Programmatic Isms; 2.12 Concluding Remarks; References; Chapter 3: Systemics and Materialism; 3.1 The Housing Problem: A Component of a Ten-Dimensional Problem; 3.2 Approach; 3.3 Preliminary Examples; 3.4 Systemic Approach and Theory; 3.5 Natural Sciences; 3.6 Social Sciences; 3.7 Biosocial Sciences; 3.8 Technologies; 3.9 The Knowledge System; 3.10 Philosophical Systems
Description / Table of Contents:
3.11 Concluding RemarksReferences; Part II: Philosophy in Action; Chapter 4: Technoscience?; 4.1 Discovery and Invention; 4.2 Primacy of Praxis?; 4.3 Consequences of the Confusión; 4.4 "Translation" of Science into Industry via Technology; 4.5 Authentic Technosciences; 4.6 Conclusion; References; Chapter 5: Climate and Logic; 5.1 The Kaya Identity; 5.2 From Logic to Reality; 5.3 A New Formula; 5.4 Conclusion; References; Chapter 6: Informatics : One or Multiple?; 6.1 From Information System to Communication System; 6.2 Back to Information; 6.3 Conclusion; References
Description / Table of Contents:
Chapter 7: Wealth and Well-being, Economic Growth and Integral Development7.1 Is Happiness for Sale?; 7.2 Can Well-Being Be Bought?; 7.3 The Problem of Inequality; 7.4 Sectoral Growth and Integral Development; 7.5 Conclusions; References; Chapter 8: Can Standard Economic Theory Account for Crises?; 8.1 Standard Economics Focuses on Equilibrium; 8.2 The Economic Rationality Postulate; 8.3 The Free Market Postulate; 8.4 Conclusion; References; Chapter 9: Marxist Philosophy: Promise and Reality; 9.1 Dialectical Materialism; 9.2 Hegel's Disastrous Legacy; 9.3 Historical Materialism
Description / Table of Contents:
9.4 Epistemology and the Sociology of Knowledge9.5 Theory and Praxis, Apriorism and Pragmatism; 9.6 State and Planning; 9.7 Dictatorship and Disaster; 9.8 Conclusion; References; Chapter 10: Rules of Law: Just and Unjust; 10.1 Politics, Law, and Morals; 10.2 Legal Legitimacy; 10.3 Political Legitimacy; 10.4 Moral Legitimacy and Legitimacy Tout Court; 10.5 Emergencies; 10.6 If You Wish Order, Prepare for Disorder; 10.7 The Ultimate Test: The Rise of Nazism; 10.8 Legal Positivism: Fig Leaf of Authoritarianism; 10.9 Conclusion; References; Part III: Philosophical Gaps
Description / Table of Contents:
Chapter 11: Subjective Probabilities: Admissible in Science?
Note:
Description based upon print version of record
DOI:
10.1007/978-94-007-4408-0
URL:
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