Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for H.Putnam/P.Oppenheim, Dicaearchus and Tim Black

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4 ideas

13. Knowledge Criteria / A. Justification Problems / 1. Justification / a. Justification issues

19729	'Modal epistemology' demands a connection between the belief and facts in possible worlds [Black,T]
	Full Idea: In 'modal epistemologies' a belief counts as knowledge only if there is a modal connection - a connection not only to the actual world, but also to other non-actual possible worlds - between the belief and the facts of the matter.
	From: Tim Black (Modal and Anti-Luck Epistemology [2011], 1)
	A reaction: [Pritchard 2005 seems to be a source for this] This sounds to me a bit like Nozick's tracking or sensitivity theory. Nozick is, I suppose, diachronic (time must pass, for the tracking), where this theory is synchronic.

13. Knowledge Criteria / A. Justification Problems / 2. Justification Challenges / b. Gettier problem

19728	Gettier and lottery cases seem to involve luck, meaning bad connection of beliefs to facts [Black,T]
	Full Idea: The protagonists in Gettier cases and in lottery cases fail to have knowledge because their beliefs are true simply as a matter of luck, where this means that their beliefs themselves are not appropriately connected to the facts.
	From: Tim Black (Modal and Anti-Luck Epistemology [2011], 1)
	A reaction: The lottery problem is you correctly believe 'my ticket won't win the lottery' even though you don't seem to actually know it won't. Is the Gettier problem simply the problem of lucky knowledge? 'Luck' is a rather vague concept.

14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / j. Explanations by reduction

20653	Six reduction levels: groups, lives, cells, molecules, atoms, particles [Putnam/Oppenheim, by Watson]
	Full Idea: There are six 'reductive levels' in science: social groups, (multicellular) living things, cells, molecules, atoms, and elementary particles.
	From: report of H.Putnam/P.Oppenheim (Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis [1958]) by Peter Watson - Convergence 10 'Intro'
	A reaction: I have the impression that fields are seen as more fundamental that elementary particles. What is the status of the 'laws' that are supposed to govern these things? What is the status of space and time within this picture?

17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 3. Eliminativism

5997	Dicaearchus said soul does not exist, but is just a configuration of the body [Dicaearchus, by Fortenbaugh]
	Full Idea: Dicaearchus advanced the view that mind and soul do not exist; there is only body configured in a certain way.
	From: report of Dicaearchus (On the Soul (frags) [c.320 BCE]) by William W. Fortenbaugh - Dicaearchus
	A reaction: Pure eliminativism! It is hard to find even ruthless modern physicalists taking such a bold view. Note that he is a pupil of Aristotle, and this does not sound like a major disagreement with his teacher's views.