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898Is the Principle of Testimony Simply Epistemically Fundamental or Simply not? Swinburne on Knowledge by TestimonyIn Nicola Mößner, Sebastian Schmoranzer & Christian Weidemann (eds.), Richard Swinburne. Christian Philosophy in a Modern World., Ontos. 2008.The recently much discussed phenomenon of testimony as a social source of knowledge plays a crucial justificatory role in Richard Swinburne's philosophy of religion. Although Swinburne officially reduces his principle of testimony to the criterion of simplicity and, therefore, to a derivative epistemic source, we will show that simplicity does not play the crucial role in this epistemological context. We will argue that both Swinburne's philosophical ideas and his formulations allow for a fundam…Read more
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112Why the epistemic relativist cannot use the sceptic’s strategy. A comment on SankeyStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 44 (1): 134-139. 2013.In two recent papers in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Howard Sankey has argued that there is an intimate relationship between Pyrrhonian skepticism and recent approaches to epistemic relativism.Though the general argument and idea of Sankey’s papers is very much appreciated, it is argued that the epistemic relativist’s recourse to the skeptical strategy outlined by the Pyrrhonian is not a good one. This diagnosis gives rise to an objection against the epistemic relativist who argu…Read more
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93Changing Society by Scientific Investigations? The Unexpected Shared Ground Between Early Sociology of Knowledge and the Vienna CircleFoundations of Science 21 (1): 117-128. 2016.In this paper, I show that there are important but hitherto unnoticed similarities between key figures of the Vienna Circle and early defenders of sociology of knowledge. The similarities regard their stance on potential implications of the study of science for political and societal issues. I argue that notably Otto Neurath and Karl Mannheim are concerned with proposing a genuine political philosophy of science that is remarkably different from today’s emerging interest in the relation between …Read more
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85Karl Mannheim, Relativism and Knowledge in the Natural Sciences – A Deviant InterpretationIn Richard Schantz & Markus Seidel (eds.), The Problem of Relativism in the Sociology of (Scientific) Knowledge, Ontos. pp. 183-214. 2011.The paper focuses on one central aspect of Karl Mannheim’s sociology of knowledge: his exemption of the contents of mathematics and the natural sciences from sociological investigations. After emphasizing the importance of Mannheim’s contribution and his exemption-thesis to the history and development of the field and the problem of relativism, I survey several interpretations of the thesis – especially those put forward by proponents of the so-called ‘Strong Programme’. I argue that these inter…Read more
University of Siegen
Alumnus, 2014
Münster, Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology |
Philosophy of Social Science |
General Philosophy of Science |
Philosophy of Science, Misc |
Thomas Kuhn |
PhilPapers Editorships
Epistemic Relativism |
Epistemic Relativism, Misc |
Sociology of Knowledge |
Sociology of Science |