Philosophy Of Science Research Articles

Ernst Cassirer: Forms and transformations of the philosophical concept of truth (1929)

AbstractThis special issue focuses on two related topics in Ernst Cassirer’s thought: objectivity and truth. Through this lens, the guest editors attempt to illuminate (a) the historical and systematic value of Cassirer’s philosophical project, (b) the continuing relevance of his account of the plurality and universality of human understanding in view of the crisis of truth that currently permeates Western culture, and (c) the way Cassirer’s style can inspire contemporary scholars who wish to evade the analytic-continental divide. Tobias Endres and Simon Truwant gathered twelve contributions from more analytic oriented authors from the philosophy of science and more continental oriented authors from the philosophy of culture. By bringing these scholars together on a shared topic, they hope to help bridging this divide that is also reflected within Cassirer scholarship by preoccupation with either his philosophy of science or philosophy of culture. The articles in this special issue are preceded by a ceremonial speech that Cassirer gave on the occasion of his assumption of the rectorate of the University of Hamburg on November 7, 1929 and that was translated into English for the first time by the guest editors.

Conference Report: The Fifth Conference of the East European Network for Philosophy of Science, 9-10 September, Kraków

Conference Report: The Fifth Conference of the East European Network for Philosophy of Science, 9-10 September, Kraków

Metatheoretical Distinctions in Theories of Functional Differentiation: Delineating Alternative Traditions

While the concept of functional differentiation is one of sociology’s oldest analytic tools, there is significant confusion about its meaning and purpose in the contemporary discipline. This article addresses one source of uncertainty: the conflicting array of ontological and methodological positions which are currently attached to the differentiation term. Drawing on Laudan’s philosophy of science, I argue that sociology does not house a unified program of differentiation theory, but is instead marked by at least two discrete traditions of differentiation thinking. Disentangling these traditions will, I contend, clarify our thinking, and help reduce the prevalence of internally contradictory conceptual models.

Matteo Vagelli, Reconsidering historical epistemology: French and anglophone styles in history and philosophy of science, 2024. Springer.

Matteo Vagelli, Reconsidering historical epistemology: French and anglophone styles in history and philosophy of science, 2024. Springer.

Adaptive AI Alignment: Established Resources for Aligning Machine Learning with Human Intentions and Values in Changing Environments

AI Alignment is a term used to summarize the aim of making artificial intelligence (AI) systems behave in line with human intentions and values. There has been little consideration in previous AI Alignment studies of the need for AI Alignment to be adaptive in order to contribute to the survival of human organizations in changing environments. This research gap is addressed here by defining human intentions and values in terms of survival biophysics: entropy, complexity, and adaptive behavior. Furthermore, although technology alignment has been a focus of studies for more than thirty years, there has been little consideration in AI Alignment studies of established resources for aligning technologies. Unlike the current focus of AI Alignment on addressing potential AI risks, technology alignment is generally focused on aligning with opportunities. Established resources include the critical realist philosophy of science, scientific theories, total quality management practices, technology alignment methods, engineering techniques, and technology standards. Here, these established resources are related to the alignment of different types of machine learning with different levels of human organizations. In addition, established resources are related to a well-known hypothetical extreme example of AI Misalignment, and to major constructs in the AI Alignment literature. Overall, it is argued that AI Alignment needs to be adaptive in order for human organizations to be able to survive in changing environments, and that established resources can facilitate Adaptive AI Alignment which addresses risks while focusing on opportunities.

Menyelami Esensi: Integrasi Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi dalam Kurikulum Pendidikan Agama Islam

Each period experiences an important transformation in Islamic religious education, which requires the development of an accurate curriculum with a strong foundation to achieve clear targets. This paper aims to investigate the contribution of curriculum development principles in the context of Islamic religious education. The writing method used is library research using scientific journals, books and online sources. The findings show how crucial a comprehensive understanding of the Islamic education curriculum, knowledge and science is, as well as the influence of scientific thinking on the progress of science and technology. This article emphasizes that the Islamic education curriculum goes beyond academic boundaries by integrating spiritual and moral aspects to form a generation that God-fearing. In addition, knowledge and science play an important role in education, while the philosophy of science guides the direction of the development of science and technology.

Defense of Integrative Pluralism in the Cognitive Sciences

This article considers the opposition between the pluralist and unificationist stances in the philosophy of cognitive sciences. The choice between pluralism and unificationism is important both in terms of discussing the current methodological practices and with respect to the debates about the future of the cognitive studies. As a starting point, the author takes his own idea of theoretical complexes. One of its most significant normative consequences is theoretical pluralism. There have been a number of skeptical arguments against pluralism, including the fear of generating many useless theories and dissipating of efforts, as well as the doubts about the differences between pluralism and relativism. One of the most recent objections states that integrative pluralism implies a tension, an instability, if one prioritizes the epistemic quality of explanatory depth. The author addresses each of these objections in turn. The constructive variety of pluralism is distinguished from unbridled pluralism and relativism by its commitment to the idea of improving explanatory, predictive, and other characteristics of a theory through the presence of alternatives and their collisions, mutual criticisms. Integrative pluralism does not entail instability, since the values of unification and explanatory depth cannot be prescribed to the cognitive sciences ex cathedra, without taking into account the character of the cognitive process revealed in empirical studies. The pluralist stance appears to be incompatible with radical projects of unification of the cognitive studies, though there are many opportunities for more moderate integrative initiatives. One such initiative is the recent idea of integrative experiment design, which involves constructing a space of experiments for a particular problem. Testing theories by selectively sampling points in this space and then updating them accordingly may be a key to the integration of experimental observations.

Makna, Arti dan Hakikat Filsafat Ilmu (Studi Literatur)

This research aims to find out the meaning, meaning and essence of philosophy of science. This study uses literature study methods to collect and analyze various relevant theoretical and empirical sources. The sources studied include scientific journals, books, and articles related to the topic of meaning, meaning, and essence of the philosophy of science. Critical analysis of the existing literature is carried out to evaluate gaps in previous research and propose new perspectives that are more relevant to current scientific developments. The results of the analysis show that Philosophy of Science plays an important role in providing a theoretical framework that underlies scientific research and theoretical evaluation. The philosophy of science not only serves as a theoretical reflection on science, but also as a concrete guide in the development and application of knowledge. By providing criticism, methodological framework, and ethical insights, philosophy of science contributes greatly to pushing science to be more accurate, responsible, and relevant to human life

Ancient Indian epistemology and modern cognitive science: Exploring vedic insights in contemporary thought processes

Background: This article explores the connections between the concept of anviksiki in Hindu philosophy and theories in cognitive science, and how these principles can be applied in modern education. Anviksiki, which focuses on critical thinking and deep reflection, is considered to have strong relevance to cognitive science concepts such as information processing, perception, and decision-making. Methods: The method used in this research is literature study and comparative analysis, by reviewing various literatures that discuss Hindu philosophy and cognitive science in depth. The analysis shows that anviksiki can provide an additional perspective in understanding how humans think and process information, especially in the context of moral and ethical reflection. Finding: In education, the principle of anviksiki that emphasises self-reflection and critical thinking can enrich students' learning process. This concept supports active learning methods that allow students to construct their own understanding, in a way that is in line with Piaget's theory of constructivism. In addition, cognitive science provides practical insights into information processing and memory, which can be used to design more effective teaching strategies. Conclusion: The conclusion of this study confirms that anviksiki can be integrated with cognitive science to create a holistic approach to education, which enriches intellectual, ethical and reflective aspects. By combining Hindu wisdom and cognitive science insights, education can support the development of balanced individuals, who are able to think critically and understand the moral consequences of their decisions. This research reveals that Anviksiki, as a philosophy of critical thinking in the Hindu tradition, has strong relevance to concepts in modern cognitive science, particularly in analytic approaches, logic, and deductive methods. Thus, the heritage of Hindu thought not only demonstrates traditional wisdom but also presents a philosophical foundation that supports contemporary cognitive exploration. Novelty/Originality of this article: This research offers a new perspective by bridging the ancient philosophy of Anviksiki with modern cognitive science, demonstrating the continuity of concepts in the critical thinking process involving logical analysis and deductive methods. It provides new insights in understanding the contribution of the Hindu tradition of thought to the development of cognitive theory today.

On the Possibility of Scientific Philosophy for Satisfactory Solution of the Problem of Interrelation of Classical and Quantum Physics

As we know the main results of quantum physics in 1900 Planck began to obtain mainly because of the need to describe the experimental data. Therefore, it further became necessary to obtain theoretical justifications for these results. This means to obtain proofs of these results on the basis of the basic equations of theoretical physics, i.e. equations that are obtained on the way where the right choice of results is made performing the role of the basis of the theory of thought. As is known, these problems began to be solved, taking as a basis the possibilities of the following new ideas of Bohr. That quantum physics should be considered as a generalization of classical physics. But as we know, this path led to the results of matrix mechanics. Results for which such contradiction as non-commutativity of multiplication is inherent. In this paper for obtaining proofs for the results of Planck's quantum physics the fundamental ideas in the field of scientific philosophy were taken as a basis. That is philosophy where from the very beginning for the basis of the theory of thinking the possibilities of equations of algebra and arithmetic are accepted

Is Unsupervised Clustering Somehow Truer?

Scientists increasingly approach the world through machine learning techniques, but philosophers of science often question their epistemic status. Some philosophers have argued that the use of unsupervised clustering algorithms is more justified than the use of supervised classification, because supervised classification is more biased, and because (parametric) simplicity plays a different and more interesting role in unsupervised clustering. I call these arguments the No-Bias Argument and the Simplicity-Truth Argument. I show how both arguments are fallacious and how, on the contrary, the use of supervised classification is at least as justified as the use of unsupervised clustering.

R E V I E W of the textbook «Danilyan O. G., Dzoban O. P. Scientific research activities in the field of law. Kharkiv: Pravo, 2024. 269 p.» (Yurii Yu. Kalynovskyi, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Professor, Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Yar

Modern society can develop dynamically only on the basis of scientific research, which is the basis of various types of activity. In the information age, when science has become the main productive force, and the scientific and technical revolution is gaining an incredibly wide scope, the development of problems of methodology and logic of scientific research is considered one of the most urgent tasks. The continuous and constantly growing flow of scientific research, a significant increase in the number of subjects engaged in science - all this not only stimulates general interest in the problems of scientific knowledge, but also requires the analysis and development of new research methods used in modern science. Modern professional activity in any social sphere requires the skills and abilities of specialists to solve fundamentally new tasks, conduct research and qualitatively process information, creatively use the achievements of science and improve their qualifications. The professional activity of a lawyer is no exception. A modern jurist must use current scientific methods to carry out scientific research and to solve complex professional tasks.

The Urgency of Philosophy of Science for Doctoral Students of Law

Philosophy of science plays a very important role for doctoral students in law, because it provides a critical, reflective, and in-depth foundation for thinking in conducting advanced legal research. This article discusses the urgency of philosophy of science for doctoral students in law from several main aspects, including epistemological and ontological foundations, development of theoretical frameworks, critical evaluation of scientific methods, and improvement of legal reasoning skills. Philosophy of science also provides ethical guidance in research and helps students understand the relationship between law and other disciplines, such as sociology and politics. Through a deeper understanding of philosophy of science, doctoral students in law can compile more comprehensive, relevant, and impactful research, and make significant contributions to the development of legal science in the future.

Application and Use of Rhetoric in the Scientific Field of Civic Education

Studying rhetoric means discussing the concept and application of a philosophy of science in a particular scientific field. The philosophy of science is all human thoughts spontaneously respond to every problem in the context of the basic concept of the formation of a science or the relationship between one science and another for the good of mankind In this method to be able to study rhetoric as a use and application in the scientific field of civic education we can use literature study or literature study. A systematic scientific method of literature. In the explanation above, the application of rhetoric in the scientific field of civic education is a form of branch of science that aims to form good and smart citizenship in civic life. So in the delivery of civic education science in delivering learning material can be done by providing logical arguments by showing evidence directly or indirectly to be able to prove scientific Civic education application of rhetoric in scientific midwives Civic education is a branch of the discipline of law and politics packaged in education which aims to form Smart and Good Citizenship. With good, ethical, and emotional delivery supported by the delivery of strong and accurate evidence, and can argue logically in presenting the evidence.

The Problem of Differential Importability and Scientific Modeling

The practice of science appears to involve “model-talk”. Scientists, one thinks, are in the business of giving accounts of reality. Scientists, in the process of furnishing such accounts, talk about what they call “models”. Philosophers of science have inspected what this talk of models suggests about how scientific theories manage to represent reality. There are, it seems, at least three distinct philosophical views on the role of scientific models in science’s portrayal of reality: the abstractionist view, the indirect fictionalist view, and the direct fictionalist view. In this essay, I try to articulate a question about what makes a scientific model more or less appropriate for a specific domain of reality. More precisely, I ask, “What accounts for the fact that given a determinate target domain, some scientific models, but not others, are thought to be “appropriate” for that domain?” I then consider whether and the degree to which each of the mentioned views on scientific models institutes a satisfactory response to this question. I conclude that, amongst those views, the direct fictionalist view seems to have the most promising response. I then utilize this argument to develop a more precise account of the problem of differential importability, and ultimately offer a more general and less presumptive argument that the problem seems to be optimally solved by justifying comparative evaluation of model-importabilities solely in terms of comparative evaluations of what I characterize as models’ “holistic” predictive success.

The Roles of Neural Networks in Language Acquisition

ABSTRACTHow can modern neural networks like language models be useful to the field of language acquisition, and more broadly cognitive science, if they are not a priori designed to be cognitive models? As developments towards natural language understanding and generation have improved leaps and bounds, with models like GPT‐4, the question of how they can inform our understanding of human language acquisition has re‐emerged. As such, it is critical to examine how in practice linking hypotheses between models and human learners can be safely established. To address these questions, we propose a model taxonomy, including four modelling approaches, each having differing goals, from exploratory hypothesis generation to hypothesis differentiation and testing. We show how the goals of these approaches align with the overarching goals of science and linguistics by connecting our taxonomy to the realist versus instrumentalist approaches in philosophy of science. We survey recent work having adopted each of our modelling approaches and address the importance of computational modelling in language acquisition studies.

Is psychoanalysis a science? An answer in light of scientific pluralism

This paper explores the longstanding debate on whether psychoanalysis qualifies as a science. Grounded in the Brazilian context, where recent publications have revived the debate, I examine the demarcation problem in the philosophy of science, highlighting how traditional criteria for defining scientific knowledge may exclude epistemically fruitful practices, such as psychoanalysis. Drawing on the perspectives of scientific pluralism, I argue for a more inclusive understanding of science, where diverse methods and epistemological approaches are recognized as legitimate contributions to addressing complex phenomena such as mental health. Ultimately, the rigid application of demarcation criteria can obscure the value of psychoanalysis, whereas scientific pluralism offers a pathway for integrating it into broader scientific discourse.

Материалистическая классификация наук Бонифатия Кедрова: возможности и границы для современных общественных наук

The article presents a general reconstruction and analysis of the fundamental project of Bonifaty Mikhailovich Kedrov, a Soviet chemist, logician, and philosopher of science. The basic principles of the systematization of scientific disciplines within the reconstructed hierarchy are outlined. The interpretation of scientific knowledge by B.M. Kedrov is characterized, particularly in terms of the relationship between natural and humanitarian sciences in a scientific-informational context. A philosophical analysis of the materialistic approach underpinning the discussed project is proposed. The applicability of the materialistic system of sciences to modern scientific bibliographic activities is assessed, including improvements to existing classification systems in social and humanities. Two approaches to developing the hierarchy are identified: from the perspective of the natural essence of scientific knowledge itself and from a socio-epistemological viewpoint regarding the development and applied organization of science. Special attention is given to the philosophy of humanities and social sciences as presented by B.M. Kedrov, particularly in relation to questions about the structure of socio-historical sciences and their place within the overall classification system, as seen through the lens of Marxist theory. The prospects and limitations of applying Kedrov’s classification to the post-classical framework of modern social sciences are evaluated.

Death and Spirit in Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature

The text discusses the problem of the relationship between nature and thinking in Hegel’s Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences (1830). By considering the dialectics of natural life and the significance of death of the individual for the emergence of spirit in nature, it is argued that spirit, in the Hegelian perspective of speculative thinking, does not emerge from nature as its otherness, as „a more beautiful nature“ that has overcome death. Rather, it appears as a negativity and impotence in nature itself, as the infinite potential of Nature‘s mutability. This highlights the ambivalent unity of nature and thought and the threat of the naturalisation of each.

A Theoretical Model for Measuring Upper Primary School Learners’ Scientific Reasoning Abilities in Science

One agenda of science instruction in primary schools is to develop learners’ scientific reasoning abilities and to equip them with the necessary twenty-first-century skills. Few studies have been conducted to develop measurement tools that aspire to assess primary school learners’ scientific reasoning. Most of these studies lack a theoretical model backing the development of these assessment tools. This paper introduces the model for measuring scientific reasoning (MMSR) as a theoretical model for guiding the development of assessment tools in the context of measuring upper primary school learners’ scientific reasoning. We first conceptualise scientific reasoning using a review of the literature and then present evidence to justify and validate this model for use in measuring primary school learners’ scientific reasoning abilities. Furthermore, using research in history and philosophy of science and science education, the MMSR model supports the development of assessment tools measuring learners’ patterns of scientific reasoning and also considering the nature of science across different contextual settings.