Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'The Rationality of Science', 'The Nature of Thought' and 'Straw Dogs'

expand these ideas     |    start again     |     specify just one area for these texts

26 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 7. Despair over Philosophy
9271 Human knowledge may not produce well-being; the examined life may not be worth living [Gray]
1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 1. Aims of Science
3870 The real problem of science is how to choose between possible explanations [Newton-Smith]
3859 We do not wish merely to predict, we also want to explain [Newton-Smith]
3853 For science to be rational, we must explain scientific change rationally [Newton-Smith]
1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 2. Positivism
3854 Positivists hold that theoretical terms change, but observation terms don't [Newton-Smith]
3855 Critics attack positivist division between theory and observation [Newton-Smith]
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 6. Coherence
2764 Full coherence might involve consistency and mutual entailment of all propositions [Blanshard, by Dancy,J]
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 6. Verisimilitude
3869 More truthful theories have greater predictive power [Newton-Smith]
3861 Theories generate infinite truths and falsehoods, so they cannot be used to assess probability [Newton-Smith]
3. Truth / D. Coherence Truth / 1. Coherence Truth
19080 Coherence tests for truth without implying correspondence, so truth is not correspondence [Blanshard, by Young,JO]
10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 1. Sources of Necessity
3867 De re necessity arises from the way the world is [Newton-Smith]
11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 4. Belief / a. Beliefs
3872 We must assess the truth of beliefs in identifying them [Newton-Smith]
13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 9. Naturalised Epistemology
9275 Knowledge does not need minds or nervous systems; it is found in all living things [Gray]
13. Knowledge Criteria / E. Relativism / 6. Relativism Critique
3857 Defeat relativism by emphasising truth and reference, not meaning [Newton-Smith]
14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 1. Observation
3858 A full understanding of 'yellow' involves some theory [Newton-Smith]
14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 5. Anomalies
3862 All theories contain anomalies, and so are falsified! [Newton-Smith]
3863 The anomaly of Uranus didn't destroy Newton's mechanics - it led to Neptune's discovery [Newton-Smith]
3864 Anomalies are judged against rival theories, and support for the current theory [Newton-Smith]
14. Science / B. Scientific Theories / 1. Scientific Theory
3865 Why should it matter whether or not a theory is scientific? [Newton-Smith]
14. Science / B. Scientific Theories / 5. Commensurability
3866 If theories are really incommensurable, we could believe them all [Newton-Smith]
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 5. Against Free Will
9276 The will hardly ever does anything; most of our life just happens to us [Gray]
20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 3. Acting on Reason / c. Reasons as causes
3871 Explaining an action is showing that it is rational [Newton-Smith]
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 5. Freedom of lifestyle
9278 Nowadays we identify the free life with the good life [Gray]
27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 4. Ecology
9280 Over forty percent of the Earth's living tissue is human [Gray]
29. Religion / B. Monotheistic Religion / 4. Christianity / a. Christianity
9272 Without Christianity we lose the idea that human history has a meaning [Gray]
9279 What was our original sin, and how could Christ's suffering redeem it? [Gray]