Logical Positivism Research Articles

Bearing Witness to God: Ricoeur and the Practice of Religious Testimony

Abstract Philosophers of religion and theologians have long debated one of the most fundamental features of religious life, namely, how humans are able to talk about God. More than others, Paul Ricoeur has offered a viable philosophical account for bearing witness to the Divine beyond the strictures of logical positivism. Nevertheless, ‘bearing witness’ (martureó) remains problematic for living religion because it is always already oriented toward a kind of death (martyr). While acknowledging the approbation Ricoeur deserves for enabling religious expression, this essay challenges Ricoeur’s Kantian and Naberian presuppositions in light of feminist philosophies (of religion). Scholars like Luce Irigaray and Grace Jantzen help us think beyond the a priori limits that structure God-talk as a burden to bear, opening thereby a discursive frame beyond the phallogocentric and necrophilic.

New deals for the past: the Cold War, American archaeology, and UNESCO in Egypt and Syria

ABSTRACT From the 1930s to the late 1970s, American archaeologists pursued a paired agenda of science and salvage such that their focus on logical positivism converged with US foreign policy towards international technical assistance. River basin salvage archaeology, pioneered in the US by the Tennessee Valley Authority and exported to the Middle East in the 1950s, was a prime example of American Cold War techno-politics that accompanied other international aid and technical assistance programmes. Amphitheaters of archaeology along the Nile and Euphrates were fertile testing grounds for the development of what became known as the ‘New Archaeology’, but also new deals, new science, infrastructure, and agriculture within a Cold War setting, so that monumental heritage and dam projects became flashpoints between American visions for the Middle East and attempts by UNESCO to maintain the spirit of internationalism.

Do Indutivismo Neopositivista ao Racionalismo Crítico Popperiano

Este trabalho visa apresentar uma breve discussão sobre o debate entre o empirismo lógico do Círculo de Viena e o racionalismo crítico de Karl Popper. Após uma exposição geral acerca da perspectiva teórica dos intelectuais Vienenses, busca-se demonstrar de que maneira o filósofo Karl Popper tenta sobrepujar o princípio de verificação dos empiristas lógicos por meio do princípio de falsificabilidade. Ao analisar as críticas de Popper mais detalhadamente, procura-se acenar para algumas questões teóricas a respeito das dificuldades de suplantação do critério de demarcação científico popperiano em relação ao neopositivista, sobretudo no que tange à utilização do método indutivo. 
 

Scientism, Social Praxis, and Overcoming Metaphysics: A Debate between Logical Empiricism and the Frankfurt School

During the 1930s, while both movements were fleeing from persecution by the Nazis, the Vienna Circle and the Frankfurt school planned to collaborate. The plan failed, and in its stead Horkheimer pu...

O zmienności granic nauki

The limits of science change primarily as a result of new discoveries. But there can be other reasons, of a conceptual and/or methodological nature. The essence and structure of science can be understood differently, which results in different definitions of its limits. The text discusses some areas in which the limits of science were defined differently. Firstly, on the grounds of logical empiricism, views distant from direct experience, as generalisations and theories, have been excluded from science, narrowing its limits. Secondly, the lack of an unshakable and strictly empirical basis has been found within the limits of science, while previously that basis was thought necessary. Thus, the limits of science were again found narrowed. Thirdly, previously neglected and rather unwanted evaluative elements have been repeatedly discovered at the base of science. It was claimed to sanction them within the limits of science. In that case the latter per se would not change their range, however their concept would have to broaden. Last but not least, for various and not necessarily intentional reasons, the limits of science has become vague.

O zmienności granic nauki

The limits of science change primarily as a result of new discoveries. But there can be other reasons, of a conceptual and/or methodological nature. The essence and structure of science can be understood differently, which results in different definitions of its limits. The text discusses some areas in which the limits of science were defined differently. Firstly, on the grounds of logical empiricism, views distant from direct experience, as generalisations and theories, have been excluded from science, narrowing its limits. Secondly, the lack of an unshakable and strictly empirical basis has been found within the limits of science, while previously that basis was thought necessary. Thus, the limits of science were again found narrowed. Thirdly, previously neglected and rather unwanted evaluative elements have been repeatedly discovered at the base of science. It was claimed to sanction them within the limits of science. In that case the latter per se would not change their range, however their concept would have to broaden. Last but not least, for various and not necessarily intentional reasons, the limits of science has become vague.

A Contemporary Message from Mendel's Logical Empiricism.

The gene is one of the most fundamental concepts in life sciences, having been developed in the mold of the Mendelian paradigm of heredity, which shaped genetics across 150 years. How could Mendel possibly be so prophetic in the middle of 19th century, using only the small garden of the monastery as his experimental breeding field? I believe that we are indebted to Mendel's mastery of the scientific method, which was far ahead of his time. Although his experimental technology was literally garden-variety, Mendel's excellence in the method of science, algebra, and logical analysis helped him in designing the right experiment and in interpreting the results insightfully. This may be valuable to recall in today's technology-focused culture, where the center of interest tends to be on the generation and description of high-throughput datasets from specialized genomics screens. As Mendel's story suggests, progress in 21st century genetics may also depend on the development of robust concepts and generalizations.

Ethics and science: between logical positivism and Islamic education - A comparative study -: الأخلاق والعلم بين الوضعية المنطقية والتربية الإسلامية - دراسة مقارنة -

The research aims to study and analyze the perception of the logical positivism of ethics and science, and study and analyze the perception of Islamic education for ethics and science, in addition to monitoring similarities and differences between the perception of logical positivism and Islamic education for ethics and science, and finally draw the most important conclusions from the comparison between the logical positivism perception and Islamic education of ethics and science. Research Methodology: George Bereday Curriculum's four-step comparative approach: description – interpretation – juxtaposition – comparison. The research reached several results, the most prominent of which are: 1- Islamic education was distinguished from logical positivism in its belief that benign morals are a fixed source; it derives from Islamic sources the Noble Qur’an and pure Sunnah, at a time when morals are considered relative as perceived by logical positivism. 2- Islamic education was distinguished in its view of Islamic morals as absolute and does not change with the change of time or place, at a time when the logical positivism considered ethics as separate from social life and its criterion of human needs, will and choice. 3- Islamic education was distinguished from the logical positivism in its conception of science where its view was more general and more comprehensive in the source of knowledge, for God Almighty is the source of knowledge and to him all things are returned, then nature and its facts and laws that come from the arrangement of God Almighty and the Creator and its use of human beings come. 4- Islamic education was distinguished from the logical positivism in its belief in the unseen and the testimony, so the mind and the senses are all tools by which the believer inferred the net belief on the existence of a creator and mastermind of this great universe. The great. 5- Islamic education was distinguished by the comprehensiveness of its view of the mind, because it is based on sincere faith and common sense, on which sound thinking is based. 6- Islamic education was more comprehensive than the logical positivism in the steps of the scientific method (research) in studying natural phenomena and various fields of knowledge, due to its dependence mainly on the divine (revelation) source which is from God Almighty being the source of knowledge and knowledge.

Aristotelian Essence and It’s Critical Approach

Nowadays, essentialism has obtained various senses and its extension reaches out over many branches of study who have some immediate connection with it. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Saul Kripke, Hilary Putnam and David Wiggins are the notable upholders of essentialism. The Essentialist movement which stemmed from the view that philosophy is a speculative study of Reality was temporarily suspended or stagnated by the spirited movement of the logical positivists like Moritz Schlick, Hans Reichenbach, Rudolf Carnap and A. J. Ayer. According to these philosophers, philosophy is simply an activity of analysis of the fundamental concepts of ordinary language or of science or of any other discipline. Such concept—analysis—philosophers are called anti-essentialist. Here, I shall concentrate on the views of Aristotle. I shall discuss the doctrine of essence, natural kinds, real essence in favour of essentialism and also discuss W. V. O. Quine’s view as an anti-essentialist trend. At last I shall try to examine whether and to what extent an attack of essences reflects back certain essentialist commitments, which is to see what reasonable theory of essences can be eked out from the entire exercise.

Commentary on “Demystifying the Influential IS Legends of Positivism”

This commentary questions the argument made in the article, “Demystifying the Influential IS Legends of Positivism” (Siponen & Tsohou, 2018). Contrary to the article, this commentary fully accepts that logical positivism as a school of thought in the philosophy of science has fallen into disrepute, points out that the IS researchers who have characterized positivism in their own ways never said that they were following logical positivism, interprets what these researchers had in mind when characterizing positivism in the ways that they did, and ponders what difference Siponen and Tsohou’s discussion on logical positivism actually makes to the future of IS research.

Thomas Kuhn on Paradigms

This study provides key arguments and contributions of Kuhn (1970) concerning paradigms, paradigm shifts, and scientific revolutions. We provide interpretations of Kuhn's (1970) key ideas and concepts, especially as they relate to business management research. We conclude by considering the practical implications of paradigms and paradigm shifts for contemporary business management researchers and suggest that ethical rules of conversation are at least as critical for the health of a scientific community as methodological rules (e.g., the rules of logical positivism) derived from the philosophy of science.

Empty Tomb, Resurrection, Apotheosis

Empty Tomb, Resurrection, Apotheosis

The Interlacing of Science and Ethics

Richard Rorty has long been perceived and interpreted as a provocative and groundbreaking philosopher. However, an approach that he calls ‘eirenic’ emerges in his writings. This eirenism should not be confused with a form of sophisticated relativism, but rather it should be understood as a consequence of the profound anti-foundational conviction and anti-authoritarian sentiment that feeds his thought, as well as his reading of the relations of science and ethics. In this article, I focus on Rorty’s recovery of pragmatism and “pragmatist hermeneutics” by considering his understanding of science and ethics as deeply interlaced. Rorty’s perspective on this issue is inspired by Dewey’s and James’s conception of a holistic-syncretic pragmatism. His project takes into account not only the main cultural trends of logical empiricism and continental philosophy, but also the existential needs they conveyed – that is, the search for objectivity and the meaning of life, respectively. The Rortyan proposal of an anti-ideological, historicist or post-positivist reformulation of the conception of scientific rationality as not opposed to ethics aligns with Jamesian efforts to confront scientific dogmatism by questioning the key notion of truth. Within a naturalistic hermeneutical framework, Rorty contests the ontological need for necessary connections or disconnections between moral and scientific discourse. In this sense, the conception of ethics as having to do with what is personal, historical and “irrational” contrasts with the notion of scientific rationality elaborated in modernity as something that, unlike morality, is able to escape human finitude and contingency. Appreciating the Jamesian (and Deweyan) element in Rorty’s pragmatist hermeneutics may contribute to renovating the current lines of debate around Rorty and pragmatism, especially by reevaluating Rorty’s strong cultural connection to the American philosophical tradition and his commitment to making this pluralistic voice relevant again to contemporary conversations.

Nursing Care and Postmodernism

As a historical era, postmodernism signifies transition from inflexible and logical positivism and entry into a new view to science. Postmodernism offers a number of nursing practice revise that including humanism, conditions, and borderless, multi-voice, view, and multicultural world, changes in meaning of knowledge, and life-long learning. Demographic changes, technological advances, ethnic and cultural diversity, poverty, and other issues have thus encountered nursing profession more than before with demanding challenges in the field of health care services. I personally believe that nurses� philosophical thinking can have significant effects on development of patient care programs. Under the influence of postmodern assumptions, nursing care can also put emphasis on plurality, respect for cultural and individual differences, relativism of truth or reality, constructive discourse, different views to special knowledge, positioning, as well as listening to different voices. Besides, postmodernists reject traditional of truth and any kind of centralism and work against consideration of a central truth in life.

A Revision of Kola Babarinde's Stance on Value Statements In Education

The place of value statements in education cannot be undermined and should consequently not be overemphasized. Value statements have been characterized to be part of most educational discussions and writings, however, its centrality should not be hindered (rather worked on) as conceived and supported by some philosophers, as against the logical positivists or empiricists who considered it to be a mere expression of thoughts. As the popular saying is, when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse becomes inevitable; this paper seeks a revision of Kola Babarinde’s stance on value statements in education, and further emphasizes the position value plays in the contemporary schools.

Introduction to Otto Neurath’s “Bourgeois Marxism” (1930) and “Worldview and Marxism” (1931)

We are publishing two short pieces by Otto Neurath, a key figures in the Vienna Circle of logical empiricists, but also a social scientist close to the milieu of Austro-Marxism: Bourgeois Marxism. A review essay on Karl Mannheim, Ideologie und Utopie ( Der Kampf , 1930) and Worldview and Marxism ( Der Kampf , 1931). The translations are preceded by the editor's/translator's introduction. Neither piece seems to have been previously translated. The critique of Mannheim will be of particular interest to sociologists as it represents a trenchant response to Ideology and Utopia . For Neurath, Mannheim appropriates Marxist ideas for bourgeois sociology and metaphysics. The second piece presents a brief non-technical account of the logical empiricist interpretation of Marxism from which Neurath's critique is launched.

Kant e a Filosofia Analítica Contemporânea

O autor estuda o impacto de Kant na filosofia analítica contemporânea e na respetiva historiografia, desde Frege, Russell e o positivismo lógico vienense, até a algumas reformulações mais recentes do problema kantiano sobre a distinção entre o analítico e o sintético, e a possibilidade do sintético a priori, como é o caso, entre outras, da de Quine e da de Kripke. Discute as razões que estão na origem do retorno a Kant na filosofia analítica desde os anos cinquenta do século passado até aos nossos dias (particularmente do que chama “rejeição versus aceitação de Kant”), e mostra que esse retorno se centrou (e em parte continua a centrar-‑se) na atualidade do problema referido e das respetivas implicações.

LEGAL POSITIVISM IN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECISION 46/PUU-XIV/2016

This paper examines the Constitutional Court Decision 46 / PUU-XIV / 2016 through the approach of the flow of legal philosophy, specifically legal positivism which resides behind decisions that reject the petition of the applicant. Tensions between the philosophical schools of law always occur, until the judges give their decisions. This decision was classified as a hard case, which was very full of paradigm disputes. The focus of the study in this study is to look at the judges' consideration with the logical positivism approach to law. This is done because the foothold that is the basis of legal arguments places several statutory regulations at the constitutional level and the law becomes the main analysis stone looking at the problems/premise of the major, where the authority adds norms not the authority of the Constitutional Court. Therefore, the formulation of the problem in this study is the identification and analysis of arguments with nuances of legal positivism in the Constitutional Court Decision 46 / PUU-XIV / 2016. The research method used is the Doctrinal / Normative Research, which is the main legal material to be examined in this study, which is the Constitutional Court Decision 46 / PUU-XIV / 2016. The type of approach, using the analytical approach (analytical approach) and philosophical approach (philosophical approach). Conclusions from this study: The flow of legal positivism with its arguments based on axiology, ontology, and epistemology dominates the judges so that the presence of the decision rejects the petition of the applicant. The flow of legal positivism comes with reasoning/logic that is very tight and closed, which makes the legislation as the main basis, thus limiting judges to conduct self-restraint, and submit it to the legislators to execute what is expected of the applicant. In addition, the issue of the principle of legality that upholds legal certainty is also the main reason for the judges who reject the decision. The tension between the flow of legal philosophy in this decision occurs, where legal positivism which originally had a theoretical tension with the flow of natural law and historical schools, also occurred where judges who had dissenting opinions based their arguments on the flow of natural law and historical schools.

Language as an object of rational structuring: from classical philosophy to modern science

This article presents a philosophical analysis of the idea and attempts of rational structuring of the language of science and philosophy. This idea was especially popular in philosophy of the Modern Age. The correlation of this idea with the existing features of New European Philosophy is revealed. It is demonstrated that instrumental approach towards language was not accidental: it stemmed from the idea on the sovereignty of mind, which in the XX century was revived in the logical positivism. It was also implemented in practice of modern science since the beginning of scientific revolution of the XVII century. The authors compare the reasoning of the representatives of classical New European Philosophy and representatives of logical positivism with the practice of modern science. Paradoxes of the concept of ideal language are determined. On the one hand, its formation should become a preliminary means for smoothing the path to cognition; while on the other – it is necessary to cognize the world before building it. Moreover, the introduction of ideal language is possible only on the grounds of the natural. Thus, the flaws of the natural should be eliminated with help of the natural. The dependence of rationally structured language from the natural is retained in the language of modern science. Any of its formalizations and terminologizations is partial. The system of meanings of the traditional language remains the basis and background for interpretation of any scientific theories. Natural languages ensure our affiliation to a certain socio-cultural community with the inherent to it ways of interpreting meanings, within the framework of which the value of scientific cognition becomes evident.  

The American Reception of Logical Positivism: First Encounters, 1929–1932

This article reconstructs the American reception of logical positivism in the early 1930s. I argue that Moritz Schlick (who had visiting positions at Stanford and Berkeley in 1929 and 1931–32) and ...