Ethics and Natural Science through Paul Ricoeur's Hermeneutics

Janez Vodicar

doi:10.26552/com.c.2017.1.59-63

Abstract

Paul Ricoeur's well-known perspective on philosophical hermeneutics could also be applied in the understanding of natural sciences. This should resemble dialectic between explanation and understanding, which would enable the kind of objectivity that is claimed in all areas of science. Therefore, science could be viewed as an epistemological activity focused on modeling and confirmation of theory, as well as a theoretical practice that operates alongside other technological, ethical, and political practices. From epistemological perspective we will look for a role of hermeneutics in natural science. Explanation and understanding connect natural science with hermeneutics. Through a narrative position of Ricoeur's hermeneutics, we can understand the connection between science and its responsibility.

Highlights

In 1996, physicist Alan Sokal published an article in Social Text, a popular cultural studies’ magazine, which was primarily a hoax
“The article, entitled ‘Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity’, is abundant in absurdities and blatant non-sequiturs. It asserts an extreme form of cognitive relativism: after mocking the old-fashioned ‘dogma’ that ‘there exists an external world, whose properties are independent of any individual human being and of humanity as a whole’, it proclaims categorically that ‘physical ‘reality’, no less than social ‘reality’, is at bottom a social and linguistic construct’” [1, pp. 1-2]
Sokal is convinced that relativism in natural sciences, which is defined by postmodernist thinkers who claim a hermeneutic approach, opens a door to religious obscurities and pseudo sciences [2, p. 101]

Summary

Introduction

In 1996, physicist Alan Sokal published an article in Social Text, a popular cultural studies’ magazine, which was primarily a hoax. “The article, entitled ‘Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity’, is abundant in absurdities and blatant non-sequiturs It asserts an extreme form of cognitive relativism: after mocking the old-fashioned ‘dogma’ that ‘there exists an external world, whose properties are independent of any individual human being and of humanity as a whole’, it proclaims categorically that ‘physical ‘reality’, no less than social ‘reality’, is at bottom a social and linguistic construct’” [1, pp. Humanities are supposed to be abusing concepts in mathematics and physics as well as obscuring the basic scientists’ mission: to research and test through well planned and controlled experiments. They are mostly bothered by the complicated language and intricate manipulation of terminology, which is taken from natural sciences. Ricoeur’s approach is appropriate both for questions in humanities, such as the influence of science on society and scientists’ responsibility, as well as natural sciences themselves, because they always need to develop new models, form theories, and explain the achieved results

Ricoeur’s Approach to Hermeneutics

Natural Sciences and Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics and Science

Conclusion

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