27 ideas
3859 | We do not wish merely to predict, we also want to explain [Newton-Smith] |
3870 | The real problem of science is how to choose between possible explanations [Newton-Smith] |
3853 | For science to be rational, we must explain scientific change rationally [Newton-Smith] |
3855 | Critics attack positivist division between theory and observation [Newton-Smith] |
3854 | Positivists hold that theoretical terms change, but observation terms don't [Newton-Smith] |
6859 | Analytic philosophy has much higher standards of thinking than continental philosophy [Williamson] |
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] |
6862 | Fuzzy logic uses a continuum of truth, but it implies contradictions [Williamson] |
6858 | Formal logic struck me as exactly the language I wanted to think in [Williamson] |
6863 | Close to conceptual boundaries judgement is too unreliable to give knowledge [Williamson] |
12699 | A body would be endless disunited parts, if it did not have a unifying form or soul [Leibniz] |
6861 | What sort of logic is needed for vague concepts, and what sort of concept of truth? [Williamson] |
12700 | Form or soul gives unity and duration; matter gives multiplicity and change [Leibniz] |
3867 | De re necessity arises from the way the world is [Newton-Smith] |
12736 | If we understand God and his choices, we have a priori knowledge of contingent truths [Leibniz, by Garber] |
3872 | We must assess the truth of beliefs in identifying them [Newton-Smith] |
6860 | How can one discriminate yellow from red, but not the colours in between? [Williamson] |
3857 | Defeat relativism by emphasising truth and reference, not meaning [Newton-Smith] |
3858 | A full understanding of 'yellow' involves some theory [Newton-Smith] |
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] |
3865 | Why should it matter whether or not a theory is scientific? [Newton-Smith] |
3866 | If theories are really incommensurable, we could believe them all [Newton-Smith] |
12698 | Every body contains a kind of sense and appetite, or a soul [Leibniz] |
3871 | Explaining an action is showing that it is rational [Newton-Smith] |