• University of Helsinki
    Department of Philosophy (Theoretical Philosophy, Practical Philosophy, Philosophy in Swedish)
    Retired faculty
  • From the Science of Logic to the Logic of Science
    Poznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities 51 1-4. 1997.
  •  17
    In the middle of a conference on the logic of science, an eminent biologist once said: “Does it not bother you guys that we scientists do not use any logic at all.” This statement was meant to be a friendly provocation, but there also was a serious message. Scientists often say that the logical analyses are exercises in formal logic and fail to illuminate what the scientists are doing, actual scientific practice. This recurring complaint, although not completely as I will suggest, has not gone u…Read more
  •  50
    Scientific Realism, the New Mechanical Philosophers, and the Friends of Modelling
    In F. Stadler, D. Dieks, W. Gonzales, S. Hartmann, T. Uebel & M. Weber (eds.), The Present Situation in the Philosophy of Science, Springer. pp. 257--281. 2010.
  •  18
    Realism and growth of knowledge—philosophy of science since Eino Kaila
    Poznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities 80 (1): 285-326. 2003.
    Finland is internationally known as one of the leading centers of twentieth century analytic philosophy. This volume offers for the first time an overall survey of the Finnish analytic school. The rise of this trend is illustrated by original articles of Edward Westermarck, Eino Kaila, Georg Henrik von Wright, and Jaakko Hintikka. Contributions of Finnish philosophers are then systematically discussed in the fields of logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, history of philosophy, e…Read more
  •  37
    Contents: Matti SINTONEN: From the Science of Logic to the Logic of Science. I: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES. Zev BECHLER: Hintikka on Plenitude in Aristotle. Marja-Liisa KAKKURI-KNUUTTILA: What Can the Sciences of Man Learn from Aristotle? Martin KUSCH: Theories of Questions in German-Speaking Philosophy Around the Turn of the Century. Nils-Eric SAHLIN: 'HE IS NO GOOD FOR MY WORK': On the Philosophical Relations between Ramsey and Wittgenstein. II: FORMAL TOOLS: INDUCTION, OBSERVATION AND IDENTIFIAB…Read more
  •  7
    Erklärung-Begründung-Kausalität (review)
    Grazer Philosophische Studien 22 179-191. 1984.
  •  20
    Scientific discovery
    In M. Sintonen, J. Wolenski & I. Niiniluoto (eds.), Handbook of Epistemology, Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 205--253. 2004.
  • On legal interpretation
    In Aleksander Peczenik & Jyrki Uusitalo (eds.), Reasoning on Legal Reasoning, Society of Finnish Lawyers. pp. 6--175. 1979.
  •  60
    The paper sketches an account of explanatory practice in which explanations are viewed as answers to explanation-requiring questions. To avoid difficulties in previous proposals, the paper uses the structuralist account of theory structure, arguing that theories are complex and evolving entities formed around a conceptual core and a set of intended applications. The argument is that this view does better justice to theories which involve a number of different kinds of theory-elements to give nar…Read more
  •  51
    Creativity and Discovery
    The Proceedings of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy 4 239-247. 1999.
    In what follows, I want to discuss two particular—though broad—topics that have been raised by recent advances in cognitive science and science studies. First, the role of creativity in scientists’ self-understanding has changed dramatically through centuries and, with help from our friends in cognitive science, it is now possible to go beyond the so-called scientific imagination. I shall also suggest that creativity requires persistence over a long period. In our times of immediate gratificatio…Read more
  •  30
    Theory autonomy and future promise
    Behavioral and Brain Sciences 12 (3): 488-488. 1989.