ABSTRACT Contemporaries who only knew Newton's natural philosophy from his published works would have seen him as a thinker who was thoroughly opposed to the concept of an all-pervasive universal aether. There was no need, mathematically or physically, for an aether in the natural philosophy presented in his Principia (1687). Newton insisted that an aether was not only not required, but would actually prevent the smooth running of the world system. This state of affairs changed dramatically, however, when Newton published the second English edition of the Opticks (1717). In a series of eight new ‘Queries' interpolated into the sequence of speculative proposals which brought the Opticks to a conclusion, Newton suggested that an aether might be responsible for some optical phenomena and even for gravitational attraction. The aim of this article is to show that this was not a concession on Newton's part to the age-old concept of a mechanical aether, working by material contact action, but was rather a further attempt to promote the speculative physics, presented in earlier queries, which was based on the assumption that many phenomena may be explained by attractive and repulsive forces operating between the invisibly small particles of matter which were held to constitute all bodies.

This contribution examines the manuscript Magliabechiano XVII, 7 preserved at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence, which contains a lecture delivered at the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno. The study focuses on the manuscript’s dual transmission in fair and draft copies, highlighting revisions and additions often overlooked in previous editions, particularly Adolfo Mabellini’s 1907 transcription. Notably, it offers informed hypotheses on the manuscript’s date and authorship, which remain unspecified in the original document. The lecture’s hybrid nature is analyzed, situated at the intersection of natural philosophy and medical-scientific discourse, with the author (a self-described “non-professional” artist) reinterpreting Hippocratic and Galenic humoral theory for an audience of both academy members and educated amateurs. Sporadic references to painting serve to contextualize scientific ideas within artistic practice The lecture is examined within the intellectual context of late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Florence and alongside texts like Giovanni Paolo Gallucci’s commentary on Albrecht Dürer, highlighting the role of natural philosophy in the development of artistic theory. Finally, by examining this overlooked lezzione, the contribution explores the discourses and intellectual exchanges of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, demonstrating its significance for both art historical and interdisciplinary scholarship.

ABSTRACT This special issue examines philosophical naturalism not merely as a technical doctrine about ontology and method, but as a dominant worldview shaping our understanding of human life. While Anglo-American philosophy has largely focused on disputes between reductive, liberal, and other forms of naturalism, these debates often neglect broader questions about how such frameworks affect human self-understanding, normativity, and socio-cultural existence. The contributions collected here address this gap by critically exploring the implications of the ‘scientific image’ for domains such as agency, morality, history, and personhood. Bringing together perspectives from transcendental philosophy, post-analytic philosophy, and critical theory, the volume highlights diverse strategies for resisting reductionist accounts of human life. The essays in this collection share a commitment to rethinking naturalism in a way that preserves the richness of human life. The volume ultimately argues for a more pluralistic and critically reflective approach to situating humanity within nature.

Abstract In the lectures on the Doctrine of the State, delivered in Berlin during the retreat of the defeated Napoleonic army, Fichte combats romantic political irrationalism, attacking the core of the Philosophy of Nature, where access to the absolute is achieved directly without the mediation of the Logos or the image. Thus, he proposes to take advantage of the situation, not to rearm against the invading troops, but to reorganize society from the standpoint of science. To this end, he delineates the evolution of the State from faith to reason, dividing it into two stages, according to the scheme of the polemic between ancients and moderns, which Schelling had used in his Philosophy of Art , but in a different sense, because now it obeys a moral conception of history, which has to do with freedom and the exercise of power. Here, the postulation of a third stage yet to come is not a return to antiquity and the monarchical system, but a deepening of the principles of Christianity, which are those that must guide the new education to achieve the universality of citizenship and civil equality. Fichte proposes as its goal anarchy, communism and cosmopolitanism, resulting in a union of Christian peoples, following the ideas of Gioacchino da Fiore, whose historicization of the Trinity had been reintroduced by Lessing in The Education of the Human Gender . From this perspective, the Staatslehre constitutes a defense of the ideals of the Enlightenment.

ABSTRACT This article identifies a striking affinity between Machiavelli and the natural philosophy of Nicole Oresme (c. 1320–1382). I situate both thinkers within a common ‘dirt-affirming’ philosophical tradition that challenges a robust doxa privileging harmony, coherence and stability. The central claim is that Oresme’s reflections on incommensurability, variability, and novelty provide a conceptual setting for Machiavelli’s political cosmos – one structured not by perfect order but by disruption and irregularity. I trace further convergences: both imagine a body politic inhabited by fluctuant humors; both take seriously the influence of celestial motion on human behavior while rejecting astral determinism; and – perhaps most radically – both sustain unpredictability and dissonance not as monstruous marks of irrationality but as necessary conditions of free will. Although direct influence cannot be demonstrated, Machiavelli likely encountered Oresme’s name and ideas, for example through Pico della Mirandola or other Italian scholars familiar with Oresme’s mathematical and astronomic studies. By tracing these resonances, the article complicates the prevailing view of Machiavelli as a distinctly modern thinker and argues that medieval natural philosophy provided conceptual resources for his vindication of antagonism and political liberty.

This is the "seventh" (seminal breakthrough) "G-D's Physics New Twenty-First Century's" 2025 "Annus-Marabilis" article (e.g., which may be "equivalent" to Einstein's 1905 "Annus-Mirabilis" five articles that forever altered Twentieth Century's Theoretical Physics)! It empirically validated two (unique) "Critical Predictions" of "G-D's Physics" New Physics Paradigm as more valid than the Old "MaterialCausal Random" (MCR) Paradigm of GRT & QM, thereby "crowning" "G-D's Physics" as the New (valid) Twenty-First Century's Physics Paradigm! "G-D's Physics" New Physics Paradigm is also shown to possess "Robust Theoretical Validity" & "Broader Empirical & Theoretical Horizons" than the Old MCR Paradigm, including: A. Resolution of the "Gravitational Enigma" & satisfactory explanation of the "Hubble's Tension". B. Discovery of the "UNCIARE-JRH's MAI's Increased Four Physical Values' UCF" – shown to negate GRT's "Energy-Mass Equivalence"! Most significantly, "G-D's Physics" New Physics "A-Causal Computation" (ACC) Paradigm is shown to negates the Old MCR's basic GRT "Big-Bang" Model & QM's "Standard Model"! Instead, "G-D's Physics" New ACC Paradigm portrays a "new universe" that is being continuously "computed"- "dissolved"- "re-computed" and "developed" (at an "astonishing rate" of "c2 /h" = 1.36-50 sec'!) by a singular higher-ordered "Universal Computational/Consciousness Principle" (UCP) towards an "Ultimate Perfected Geulah Goal" State in which Humanity will recognize the singular reality of this UCP, & will be characterized by "All-Goodness", "Morality", "Peace" & "Harmony"!

Science was given a "special mandate" (by Humanity) to discover the "true nature of the physical universe", in order to lead Humanity towards a "truthful and "meaningful existence"! This "special-mandate" is contingent upon Science's fulfillment of Kuhn's "Stringent Scientific Criteria" for the validation of any candidate "New Scientific Paradigm" (NSP), following the appearance of a basic "Paradigmatic Crisis" in a given scientific discipline; Indeed, currently, the Old Twentieth-Century's "Material-Causal Random" ("MCR") Paradigm underlying both GRT & QM is exhibiting such a (deep) "Paradigmatic-Crisis", signified by its "GRT-QM theoretical inconsistency", and principle inability to explain the accelerated expansion of the universe (and associated 95% of assumed hypothetical "Dark-Matter" mass in the universe)?! Subsequently, two (unique) "Critical Predictions" of "G-D's Physics" NSP are currently being validated as more valid than the corresponding predictions of the Old MCR's GRT & QM Paradigm – thereby "crowning" G-D's Physics" as the NSP for TwentyFirst Century's Physics! Significantly, "G-D's Physics'" "Universe's Non-Continuous Increase in its Accelerated Rate of Expansion's" (at the "Jewish Rosh Hashanah", "UNCIARE-JRH") predicted "Minimal Annual Increase" (MAI) of 0.000968 km s −1 Mpc can be empirically validated (during the JRH's two days of "Collective Human Consciousness Focus") – in stark contrast to the principle inability to empirically validate GRT's "Big-Bang" nuclear event (due to GRT's own strict "Speed of Light Barrier")?! which therefore compel Science to validate "G-D's Physics" New 21st Century's Physics' Paradigm's UNCIARE-JRH's MAI (precise) value – which will then point at the universe's true age of a mere 5786 years! A call is made to all Astronomers, Cosmologists and Experimental Physicists to directly communicate with Dr. Bentovish (drbentwich@gmail.com) to further validate "G-D's Physics" (unique) "Critical Predictions".

Twenty-First Century Theoretical Physics is "crowned" as the New Twenty-First Century's Physics Paradigm based on empirical validation of two of its (unique) "Critical Predictions" – as more valid than the corresponding predictions of both GRT & QM (of Twentieth Century's "Material-Causal Random" [MCR] Old Paradigm)! Consequently, an entirely new conception of the universe's continuous "origination" by a singular higher-ordered "Universal Computational/Consciousness Principle" (UCP), "dissolution" and "re-computation" at incredible rate of "c2 /h = 1.36-50 sec'(!) completely alters the old MCR Paradigm's basic assumptions including: negation of the "Big-Bang" Model, discarding of the (purely hypothetical) "Dark-Matter" concept, and even the universe's "time-scaling" is challenged by "G-D's Physics New Twenty-First Century's Paradigm! Based on "G-D's Physics" (groundbreaking) discovery regarding the "Universe's Non-Continuous Increase in its Accelerated Rate of Expansion" at the "Jewish Rosh-Hashanah" (UNCIARE-JRH) in the magnitude of a "Minute Annual Increase" (MAI) of 0.000968 km s −1 Mpc in the rate of the universe's expansion – as well as in the Four basic Physical Features (of "space", "time", "energy" and "mass"); the "New UNCIARE-JRH MAI's Increased Four Physical Features Universal Computational Formula" is discovered which completely unifies between GRT & QM' the Four Physical Features and Four Forces – and points at the UCP's "pre-planned" development (and "steering") of the whole universe from "inanimate" matter through "animate": plants, animals, and human-beings towards the fulfillment of that "Ultimate Perfected Geulah Goal" State of Humanity (and Science), in which Science and Humanity will recognize the singularity of this UCP, also characterized by such "sublime" characteristics of: "All-Goodness", "Morality", "Peace" and "Harmony" (e.g., also characterizing Humanity's existence and behavior! A call is made to all Astronomers, Cosmologists and Experimental Physicists to directly communicate with Dr. Bentovish (drbentwich@gmail.com) to further validate "G-D's Physics" (unique) "Critical Predictions".

Statement of the problem. The article is devoted to a cross-cutting theme of European culture – the “nature – man” dichotomy within the ontological horizon, which acquires a distinct character in the context of Chinese choral music. This implies that a purely programmatic description of nature is insufficient as a philosophical platform for composer reflection, necessitating a shift in discussion from psychology to philosophical references. The relevance of the topic stems from: 1) the absence of thorough scientific research on the national-stylistic presentation of nature imagery at the level of Chinese philosophical experience; 2) the need to update the methodology for analyzing natural phenomena by comparing European and non-European experiences of “thinking nature” through choral singing. Recent research and publications. The study builds upon the works of Chinese researchers Zhang Hongwei and Wang Guoliang who explored the philosophical aspects of the nature theme, as well as Ukrainian choral scholars O. Batovska and N. Bielik-Zolotariova, who identified the role of musical tone-painting inherent in the works of Ukrainian composers. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the article is to reveal, through the example of choral works by Chinese artists, the national-stylistic features of composer reflection on nature imagery, considering the unity of genre semantics, performance stylistics, and the psychology of perception. The primary task is to define the stable linguistic-stylistic complex associated with the semantics of nature. An onto-semantic approach was employed to reveal the national-mental, mythopoetic, and linguistic-stylistic signs and symbols of the works through the prism of philosophical-poetic pantheism. The novelty of the article is associated with the identification of the national-stylistic specificity of the embodiment of images of nature in the choral miniatures by Chinese composers Qu Xixian, Huang Zi, and Cai Yuwen. Research results. The article provides a brief overview of the historical development of Chinese choral music in the first half of the 20th century. Huang Zi is noted in the history of Chinese music as the author of the first oratorio, “Eternal Regret” (1932), which serves as an example of successful linguistic and stylistic interaction between Chinese and Western cultures. An onto-semantic analysis of the national-stylistic specificity in the embodiment of nature imagery in the works of Qu Xixian, Huang Zi, and Cai Yuwen is provided. These examples of musical pantheism combine worldview and structural features of the “music of natural phenomena”. Qu Xixian’s “Pastoral” acts as a symbol of the “macroworld”, depicting an earthly paradise, while Cai Yuwen’s “Moon Rise” represents the “microworld” through individual meditation and the dramaturgy of contemplation. Conclusion. In Chinese choral art, the philosophy of nature serves as a vital reference point for composer reflection. The embodiment of nature imagery forms the foundation of philosophical and poetic concepts that have enriched the musical semantics of the choral miniature. The choral writing of Qu Xixian, Huang Zi, and Cai Yuwen is characterized by a synthesis of Chinese intonation vocabulary and European compositional techniques. The typology of nature imagery is based on index signs (onomatopoeia) and semantic models ranging from the pastoral to landscape lyrics and the philosophy of contemplation. The specificity of Chinese pantheism lies in the assimilation of the onto-sonological nature of European polyphony, the rejection of literal illustration in favor of contemplative poetic anthropocentrism, and the symbolization of musical language while preserving the modal basis of national melos.

This paper proposes a naturalistic theory of moral judgment in psychopathy, grounded in Patricia Churchland’s neurophilosophy and developed through the hypothesis of an emotional grammar—a cognitive-affective structure that organizes the subject’s normative sensitivity. In contrast to explanations that attribute psychopathy to a mere dissociation between judgment and moral action or to a specific emotional deficit, the paper defends the thesis that such dissociation expresses a divergent form of emotional normativity, structured by an affective disposition referred to as indolent sympathy. Characterized by the combination of an intact theory of mind and a form of negative empathy, this disposition enables the psychopath to feign morality, produce normatively acceptable judgments, and act strategically without prosocial affective resonance. By integrating contributions from affective neuroscience, empirical moral psychology, and naturalistic philosophy, the paper advances a pluralistic theory of moral judgment that acknowledges the existence of functional yet morally dissonant normative architectures. By extending Churchland’s framework to include non-empathic moral normativity, the paper challenges prevailing assumptions in moral philosophy and neuroethics. It suggests that agents shaped by indolent sympathy operate within an alternative normative order—functionally adaptive, affectively distinct, and socially intelligible.

This article discusses the role of Xenarthrans, currently represented by armadillos, sloths, and anteaters, in transforming concepts of “nature” that have evolved since Classical Antiquity. The relevance of this fauna in the scientific revolution, which led to the modern systematic and taxonomic based on phylogeny and evolution, is also highlighted. First, books and reports of the first chronists of “New World” fauna were analyzed. In them, is possible to dimension how this sui generis fauna has impacted a zoological science still growing in Europe. After, it is taken as a case study the Athanasius Kircher” book “Noah’s Ark” (1675). The invention in which Kircher explains the existence of animals once absent in the biblical Ark, including the Xenarthras, shows us, in a particular way, how this “new” fauna has influenced the Natural Philosophy of the period. Finally, the article assesses the role of the extinct Xenarthrans, such as giant sloths and armadillos, on comparative biology developments and the great debates of paleontology and geology of the 18th and 19th centuries. From naturalistic-fantastic descriptions of live Xenarthrans, such as in Hans Staden and André Thevet in the 16th century, to their first fossils studied by Georges Cuvier in Germany and Peter Lund in Brazil of the 18th century, are problematized herein. The consequences of Xenarthrans “discovered” by Europeans to the Natural Philosophy were tremendous, including implications for the posterior consolidation of own natural sciences. The article discusses how the discovery by Western science of these 'taxonomic monsters' was crucial for the epistemology of diferent disciplines, as Comparative Biology, Biogeography, and even for the consolidation of the early Evolutionary Theory. The text also aims to provoke discussion on how studies of the Historical Ecology of groups such as Xenarthra can be important for strengthening and valoration of conservation projects, for the remaining diversity of this important group of ‘New World’ mammals, particularly in the Neotropics.

This paper examines the natural philosophy of the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz with regard to his ability to apply theoretical reflections in the contemporary (technological) practice and develop a consistent natural-philosophical system. In addition to textual analysis, the paper is also based on an analysis of the historical context. Although Abraham Gottlob Werner is commonly regarded as the founder of so-called philosophical mining, i.e., a geo-physics based on empirical data, Leibniz anticipated several ideas later associated with Werner. However, Leibniz’s Protogaea, in which he applied his metaphysics and geometry to the issue of fossils, is certainly not among the best-known of Leibniz’s works. A consequence, or perhaps cause, of that is that Leibniz is thought of as a “mere” theorist. And yet, the only objection that could be raised against him in this respect is his distrust in the practical judgement of his more experienced colleagues.

ABSTRACT A group of researchers from the humanities, economics, social sciences, natural and life science developed a definition of the topics complexity and emergence that can be applied across disciplines. Here, concepts of complexity and emergence in chemistry and biochemistry are discussed, to promote a discourse between the natural and life sciences and philosophy. Although chemical research often employs reductionist strategies, the properties of molecules and their linked functions exhibit emergent properties that cannot be inferred solely from their atomic constituents. Assembly theory and the work of Manfred Eigen offer ways to quantify and predict emergence in chemistry, particularly in relation to the origins and evolution of life. This review emphasizes the chemical prerequisites for life, such as the formation of natural products, the emergence of nucleic acids that carry information, and the functional roles of proteins. From a philosophical standpoint, modern ontology provides a means of understanding reality that is both process‐based and subject‐independent. By integrating chemistry, biology and philosophy, the synopsis of this review addresses the predictive, post facto and historically unique aspects of complex systems, offering a conceptual framework for comprehending the emergence of molecular function and the evolution of living systems.

A group of researchers from the humanities, economics, social sciences, natural and life science developed a definition of the topics complexity and emergence that can be applied across disciplines. Here, concepts of complexity and emergence in chemistry and biochemistry are discussed, to promote a discourse between the natural and life sciences and philosophy. Although chemical research often employs reductionist strategies, the properties of molecules and their linked functions exhibit emergent properties that cannot be inferred solely from their atomic constituents. Assembly theory and the work of Manfred Eigen offer ways to quantify and predict emergence in chemistry, particularly in relation to the origins and evolution of life. This review emphasizes the chemical prerequisites for life, such as the formation of natural products, the emergence of nucleic acids that carry information, and the functional roles of proteins. From a philosophical standpoint, modern ontology provides a means of understanding reality that is both process-based and subject-independent. By integrating chemistry, biology and philosophy, the synopsis of this review addresses the predictive, post facto and historically unique aspects of complex systems, offering a conceptual framework for comprehending the emergence of molecular function and the evolution of living systems.

One hundred and thirty years ago, on the 8th November 1895, Wilheim Konrad Röntgen isolated “X Rays” by accident. After a month spent validating his discovery he published the preliminary findings as a communication in the Proceedings of the Würtzburg Physics-Medicine Society in late December 1895. Röntgen deliberately did not patent his discovery and as a consequence X-Ray technology and its potential clinical application was soon recognised and rapidly adopted into worldwide medical practice. By 1899 there was a functioning clinical X-Ray service conducted by and in the Department of Natural Philosophy (Physics) on the ground floor of the Queen’s College, Galway quadrangle. By as early as April 1896, five months after their discovery, skin burns associated with the use of x-rays were being reported and by 1899 an increasing number of legal suits in France and the United States for negligence from the use of x-rays resulting in harm were being reported. In 1904 the parents of a young boy, whose right knee was x-rayed on seven occasions in the Queen’s College in late 1902 and early 1903 for a lost needle segment and who then developed a significant burn injury of his knee, sued the College and the boy’s medical carers for negligence. Based on the daily, anonymous court reporting of the “Great Galway X Rays Case” contained within the Galway Express (and General Advertiser for the Counties of Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Limerick and Clare) newspaper of the 4th to 11th February 1904 and a special summary Supplement in the Saturday 13th February 1904 edition, the conduct, characters and outcome, legal and financial, of Ireland’s first radiological negligence case are discussed. Noteworthy where the trial was concerned was the extensive (and expensive) use of expert medical opinion evidence.

: <i>Handling “Occult Qualities” in the Scientific Revolution: Disciplines and New Approaches to Natural Philosophy, from John Dee to Isaac Newton</i>

ABSTRACT During the 46 years Stephen Gaukroger and I were disciplinary colleagues and sometime collaborators, we differed sharply on only one problem: Gaukroger's claim that from the late seventeenth century 'experimental natural philosophy' (E.P.) displaced 'speculative natural philosophy' (S.N.P.). He held that, in E.P., direct phenomenal outputs of experiments produced explanations, while in S.N.P., corpuscular-mechanical matter theory dictated the forms of explananda and the content of explanations. I always objected to Gaukroger's model in epistemic and historical terms. This paper argues (1) on neo-Bachelardian and post-Kuhnian grounds that phenomenalist revelations from experiments are not possible in human dealings with hardwares; (2) that explanation in natural philosophical systems, such as that of Descartes, was more fruitful than Gaukroger's model allows; and (3) that his E.P. cases from optics and aero-statics of phenomenalist breakthroughs are historically inaccurate. My replacement model eschews ruptures in favor of evolution of experimental natural philosophizing out of the pre-existing field of natural philosophy, leading to the crystallization of new experimental domains over the period 1660–1750. These domains appeared not as one-off phenomenalistic breakthroughs, but rather as sets of relatedly theorised experimental hardwares that emerged over time, the process occurring from within – not against – the natural philosophical field.

Abstract This paper explores the Leibnizian doctrine of universal connection and its roots in the philosophy of Hobbes − an area surprisingly overlooked in scholarly literature. It is argued that, contrary to interpretations emphasizing Neoplatonic or Stoic influences, Leibniz’s conception is grounded in a physical dimension: the idea of the universe as a plenum in which every movement propagates infinitely. This view aligns with Hobbes’s causal determinism, particularly his theory of the “full cause,” according to which every effect results from an infinity of efficient concurring causes. The paper examines how Leibniz adopts and critically reworks Hobbesian ideas in his Paris writings, including the notion of “universal sympathy” traced back to imperceptible motions, while distinguishing himself from Hobbes by affirming the necessity of immaterial principles to explain substance and perception. In the concluding remarks, further lines of inquiry are suggested in order to better understand Leibniz’s critical reappropriation of some Hobbesian ideas in his philosophy of nature.

This study explores the application of substantive justice principles in Indonesia’s criminal justice system through the lens of natural law philosophy. Natural law demands a paradigm shift from rigid legal formalism toward an approach that emphasizes moral, humanitarian, and contextual justice values. Within this framework, law is not merely seen as a set of written rules, but as an expression of universal moral principles derived from human reason. The thoughts of philosophers such as John Rawls, Aristotle, and Jeremy Bentham reinforce the urgency of substantive justice, particularly in protecting vulnerable groups, restoring social balance, and achieving public benefit. This research employs a qualitative method with juridical and philosophical approaches, focusing on analyzing the role of law enforcement officials in implementing substantive justice through criminal sentencing. The findings reveal that the prevailing legalistic approach hinders the realization of substantive justice. Major obstacles include unequal access to justice, low integrity among law enforcers, and the dominance of retributive punishment. Although restorative justice practices are beginning to emerge, their implementation remains limited and inconsistent. The study recommends strengthening legal aid for vulnerable groups, internalizing ethical values in legal education and training, and developing policies aligned with substantive justice principles. Collaboration between the state, civil society, and academia is essential to building a criminal justice system that is not only repressive but also transformative and capable of serving as a means of social restoration that upholds human dignity.

The potential readers of Penelope Maddy's latest book ('A Plea' hereafter) form a set that can be divided into two disjunct subsets: those who are familiar with her naturalist agenda (e.g., Maddy 1997, 2007 or 2017), and those who are not.Regardless of which of these readers she had in mind when selecting the essays included in A Plea, one message I hope this review conveys is that members of both subsets will benefit from perusing it.This is a truly good book, with much to learn from it.In a manner characteristic of Maddy, A Plea is philosophically (and meta-philosophically) rich, visionary, and consistently very well-written.It contains a good deal of philosophy of mathematics and logic, as expected (essays 7-11), and also stimulating reflections on naturalism and philosophical method (essay 1 and 2), on philosophy of language (especially on truth and reference; essay 6), on several historical figures (Hume, Reid, Kantessay 3) and on skepticism (Moore, Wittgenstein, Austinessays 4 and 5).Moreover, the second essay is an illuminating intervention in general philosophy of science, specifically on the venerable realism v. antirealism debate.Overall, the work updates, clarifies, and adds to views Maddy has been advocating for almost three decades now; in some cases, the arguments in A Plea are meant to supersede them.More specifically, this book's essays supplant large parts of Maddy's well-known Second Philosophy