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Single Idea 14912

[filed under theme 1. Philosophy / E. Nature of Metaphysics / 2. Possibility of Metaphysics ]

Full Idea

The metaphysician has no test for the truth of her beliefs except that other metaphysicians can't think of obviously superior alternative beliefs. (They can always think of possibly superior ones, in profusion).

Gist of Idea

There is no test for metaphysics, except devising alternative theories

Source

J Ladyman / D Ross (Every Thing Must Go [2007], 1.7)

Book Ref

Ladyman,J/Ross,D: 'Every Thing Must Go' [OUP 2007], p.58

A Reaction

[they cite Van Fraassen for this view] At least this seems to concede that some metaphysical views can be rejected by the observation of beliefs that are superior. Almost everyone has rejected Lewis on possible worlds for this reason.

The 18 ideas with the same theme [possibility of abstract wisdom through pure thought]:

7918 Kant turned metaphysics into epistemology, ignoring Aristotle's 'being qua being' [Kant, by Macdonald,C]
21438 Metaphysics might do better to match objects to our cognition (and not start with the objects) [Kant]
16611 You just can't stop metaphysical speculation, in any mature mind [Kant]
5586 The voyage of reason may go only as far as the coastline of experience reaches [Kant]
8107 The love of certainty holds us back in metaphysics [Joubert]
15612 Older metaphysics naively assumed that thought grasped things in themselves [Hegel]
7080 Metaphysics divided the old unified Greek world into two [Nietzsche, by Critchley]
20728 Metaphysics is hopeless with its present epistemology; common-sense realism is needed [Colvin]
5432 Metaphysics cannot give knowledge of the universe as a whole [Russell]
13939 No possible evidence could decide the reality of numbers, so it is a pseudo-question [Carnap]
16395 Kripke separated semantics from metaphysics, rather than linking them, making the latter independent [Kripke, by Stalnaker]
12771 Is it likely that a successful, coherent, explanatory ontological hypothesis is true? [Fraassen]
12027 There must be a plausible epistemological theory alongside any metaphysical theory [Forbes,G]
15053 If metaphysics can't be settled, it hardly matters whether it makes sense [Fine,K]
18506 Questions of explanation should not be confused with metaphyics [Heil]
14721 Metaphysical enquiry can survive if its conclusions are tentative [Sider]
15010 Your metaphysics is 'cheating' if your ontology won't support the beliefs you accept [Sider]
14912 There is no test for metaphysics, except devising alternative theories [Ladyman/Ross]