Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Roderick Firth, Hans Reichenbach and Bill Brewer

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6 ideas

2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 5. Objectivity

22361	Contextual values are acceptable in research, but not in its final evaluation [Reichenbach, by Reiss/Sprenger]
	Full Idea: Reichenbach's claim is interpreted as saying that contextual values, which may have contributed to the discovery of a theory, are irrelevant for justifying the acceptance of a theory, and for assessing how evidence bears on theory.
	From: report of Hans Reichenbach (On Probability and Induction [1938], pp.36-7) by Reiss,J/Spreger,J - Scientific Objectivity 3.2
	A reaction: This influential idea is very helpful. It allows Galileo and co to pursus all sorts of highly personal and quirky lines of enquiry, because we only demand full objectivity when it is all over. Very good!

12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 4. Sense Data / d. Sense-data problems

6493	We are not conscious of pure liquidity, but of the liquidity of water [Firth]
	Full Idea: We are not conscious of liquidity, coldness, and solidity, but of the liquidity of water, the coldness of ice, and the solidity of rocks.
	From: Roderick Firth (Sense Data and the Percept Theory [1949]), quoted by Howard Robinson - Perception 1.7
	A reaction: A nice point, but it might not be entirely true in a blindfold test, where one might only report properties like 'sticky' or 'warm', without having any clear concept of the substance being experienced. Firth is proposing the 'percept theory'.

12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 5. Interpretation

18278	Kant showed that our perceptions are partly constructed from our concepts [Reichenbach]
	Full Idea: It was Kant's great discovery that the object of knowledge is not simply given but constructed, and that it contains conceptual elements not contained in pure perception.
	From: Hans Reichenbach (The Theory of Relativity and A Priori Knowledge [1965], p.49), quoted by J. Alberto Coffa - The Semantic Tradition from Kant to Carnap

13. Knowledge Criteria / B. Internal Justification / 4. Foundationalism / c. Empirical foundations

8875	Sense experiences must have conceptual content, since they are possible reasons for judgements [Brewer,B]
	Full Idea: Given that sense experiential states do provide reasons for empirical beliefs, they must have conceptual content, ...where a mental state with conceptual content is one where the content is of a possible judgement by the subject.
	From: Bill Brewer (Perceptual experience has conceptual content [2005], I)
	A reaction: This is, I believe, wrong. Even complex observations, like a pool of blood, only become reasons when they have been interpreted. Otherwise they are just the raw ingredients of evidence. How could an uninterpreted red patch be a 'reason'?

26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 5. Direction of causation

8410	A theory of causal relations yields an asymmetry which defines the direction of time [Reichenbach, by Salmon]
	Full Idea: Reichenbach wanted to implement a causal theory of time. He did not stipulate that causes are temporally prior to their effects. Instead, he constructs a theory of causal relations to yield a causal asymmetry which is used to define temporal priority.
	From: report of Hans Reichenbach (The Direction of Time [1956]) by Wesley Salmon - Probabilistic Causality
	A reaction: I find his approach implausible. I suspect strong empiricism is behind it - that he wants to build from observable causes to unobservable time, not vice versa. But normal intuition sees time as one of the bedrocks of reality, making events possible.

27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 2. Passage of Time / g. Time's arrow

14935	The direction of time is grounded in the direction of causation [Reichenbach, by Ladyman/Ross]
	Full Idea: Reichenbach argued that temporal asymmetry is grounded in causal asymmetry.
	From: report of Hans Reichenbach (The Direction of Time [1956]) by J Ladyman / D Ross - Every Thing Must Go
	A reaction: I'm not sure that I can make sense of giving priority either to time or to causation when it comes to this asymmetry. How do you decide which one is boss?