-
369Descartes's Language Test and Ape Language ResearchTeorema: International Journal of Philosophy 29 (2): 111-123. 2010.Some philosophers (e.g. Descartes) argue that there is an evidential relationship between language and thought, such that presence of language is indicative of mind. Recent language acquisition research with apes such as chimpanzees and bonobos attempts to demonstrate the capacity of these primates to acquire at least rudimentary linguistic capacity. This paper presents a case study of the ape language research and explores the consequences of the research with respect to the argument that ani…Read more
-
1005Rationality, Relativism and IncommensurabilityAshgate. 1997.This book concentrates on three topics: the problem of the semantic incommensurability of theories; the non-algorithmic character of rational scientific theory choice and naturalised accounts of the rationality of methodological change. The underlying aim is to show how the phenomenon of extensive conceptual and methodological variation in science need not give rise to a thorough-going epistemic or conceptual relativism.
-
165T.S. Kuhn: The road since ‘structure’: Philosophical essays, 1970–1993, with an autobiographical interview (review)British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 53 (1): 137-142. 2002.
-
290Paul Feyerabend: The tyranny of science (review)Metascience 21 (2): 471-476. 2011.This is an essay review of Paul Feyerabend's book, The Tyranny of Science.
-
1208Reference, Success and Entity RealismKairos. Revista de Filosofia and Ciência 5 31-42. 2012.The paper discusses the version of entity realism presented by Ian Hacking in his book, Representing and Intervening. Hacking holds that an ontological form of scientific realism, entity realism, may be defended on the basis of experimental practices which involve the manipulation of unobservable entities. There is much to be said in favour of the entity realist position that Hacking defends, especially the pragmatist orientation of his approach to realism. But there are problems with the pos…Read more
-
IntroductionIn Paul Hoyningen-Huene & Howard Sankey (eds.), Incommensurability and Related Matters, Kluwer Academic Publishers. 2001.
-
257The semantic stance of scientific entity realism [Corrigenda]Philosophia 25 (3-4): 481-482. 1997.These are the footnotes for the article which was published in Philosophia Vol 24 1995, pp. 405-415
-
347Chisholm, scepticisme et relativismeBulletin d'Analyse Phénoménologique 10 (6): 32-39. 2014.Cet article esquisse une réponse particulariste et naturaliste au relativisme épistémique. La réponse est basée sur une analyse spécifique de la source de relativisme épistémique. Selon cette analyse, le relativisme épistémique doit être considérée en lien proche avec le scepticisme pyrrhonien, car le relativisme est basée sur le problème du critère qui a été propose par les ces anciens sceptiques. L’article commence avec une caractérisation du relativisme épistémique. Puis il présente un arg…Read more
-
222Brian Ellis Truth and Objectivity and Paul Horwich Truth (review)Philosophical Quarterly 42 (169): 496. 1992.Review of Brian Ellis's Truth and Objectivity and Paul Horwich's Truth.
-
322Scientific realism and the semantic incommensurability thesisStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 40 (2): 196-202. 2009.This paper reconsiders the challenge presented to scientific realism by the semantic incommensurability thesis. A twofold distinction is drawn between methodological and semantic incommensurability, and between semantic incommensurability due to variation of sense and due to discontinuity of reference. Only the latter presents a challenge to scientific realism. The realist may dispose of this challenge on the basis of a modified causal theory of reference, as argued in the author’s 1994 book, Th…Read more
-
217James Franklin: What science knows and how it knows it (review)Metascience 19 (2): 289-292. 2010.This is a review of James Franklin's book, What Science Knows and How It Know It.
-
196Thomas Nickles (ed.): Thomas Kuhn (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2003 (3). 2003.This volume of essays about Thomas Kuhn contains new work by key figures in the area of Kuhn-studies. The essays treat Kuhn primarily as a philosopher rather than historian of science. They analyze the background setting of Kuhn’s ideas, and cover such topics as his account of scientific practice, cognitive aspects of scientific reasoning and conceptual change, and Kuhn’s influence on feminist philosophy of science. While the volume is principally conceived as an introduction to Kuhn for the …Read more
-
887Methodological pluralism, normative naturalism and the realist aim of scienceIn Howard Sankey & Robert Nola (eds.), After Popper, Kuhn and Feyerabend: Recent Issues in Theories of Scientific Method, Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 211-229. 2000.There are two chief tasks which confront the philosophy of scientific method. The first task is to specify the methodology which serves as the objective ground for scientific theory appraisal and acceptance. The second task is to explain how application of this methodology leads to advance toward the aim(s) of science. In other words, the goal of the theory of method is to provide an integrated explanation of both rational scientific theory choice and scientific progress.
-
459Kuhn, Normativity and History and Philosophy of ScienceEpistemologia 103-111. 2012.This paper addresses the relationship between the history and philosophy of science by way of the issue of epistemic normativity. After brief discussion of the relationship between history and philosophy of science in Kuhn’s own thinking, the paper focuses on the implications of the history of science for epistemic normativity. There may be historical evidence for change of scientific methodology, which may seem to support a position of epistemic relativism. However, the fact that the methods…Read more
-
200Incommensurability and the indeterminacy of translationAustralasian Journal of Philosophy 69 (2). 1991.In this paper it is argued that the concept of translation failure involved in Kuhn's thesis of incommensurability is distinct from that of translational indeterminacy in Quine's sense. At most, Kuhnian incommensurability constitutes a weak form of indeterminacy, quite distinct from Quine's. There remains, however, a convergence between the two views of translation, namely, that there is no single adequate translation between languages
-
271The language of science: Meaning variance and theory comparisonLanguage Sciences 22 (2): 117-136. 2000.The paper gives an overview of key themes of twentieth century philosophical treatment of the language of science, with special emphasis on the meaning variance of scientific terms and the comparison of alternative theories. These themes are dealt with via discussion of the topics of: (a) the logical positivist principle of verifiability and the problem of the meaning of theoretical terms, (b) the postpositivist thesis of semantic incommensurability, and (c) the scientific realist response to in…Read more
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology |
General Philosophy of Science |
Areas of Interest
Scientific Realism |
Metaphysical Realism |
Incommensurability in Science |
PhilPapers Editorships
14 more