Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'The Rationality of Science', 'The Fourth Revolution' and 'Events'

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29 ideas

1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 1. Aims of Science
3853 For science to be rational, we must explain scientific change rationally [Newton-Smith]
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]
1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 2. Positivism
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]
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]
5. Theory of Logic / A. Overview of Logic / 5. First-Order Logic
20100 Classical liberalism seeks freedom of opinion, of private life, of expression, and of property [Micklethwait/Wooldridge]
7. Existence / B. Change in Existence / 4. Events / a. Nature of events
15567 Some events involve no change; they must, because causal histories involve unchanges [Lewis]
15561 The events that suit semantics may not be the events that suit causation [Lewis]
15565 Events have inbuilt essences, as necessary conditions for their occurrence [Lewis]
15566 Events are classes, and so there is a mereology of their parts [Lewis]
7. Existence / B. Change in Existence / 4. Events / c. Reduction of events
15564 An event is a property of a unique space-time region [Lewis]
8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 10. Properties as Predicates
15563 Properties are very abundant (unlike universals), and are used for semantics and higher-order variables [Lewis]
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 / 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]
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]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 8. Socialism
20097 The welfare state aims at freedom from want, and equality of opportunity [Micklethwait/Wooldridge]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 9. Communism
20099 For communists history is driven by the proletariat [Micklethwait/Wooldridge]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 11. Capitalism
20098 Fans of economic freedom claim that capitalism is self-correcting [Micklethwait/Wooldridge]
25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 4. Property rights
20096 Roman law entrenched property rights [Micklethwait/Wooldridge]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 1. Causation
15562 Causation is a general relation derived from instances of causal dependence [Lewis]