Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'The Rationality of Science', 'On the Nature of Moral Values' and 'Commentary on 'Posterior Analytics'

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24 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]
3. Truth / C. Correspondence Truth / 1. Correspondence Truth
21750 Science is sympathetic to truth as correspondence, since it depends on observation [Quine]
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]
14. Science / C. Induction / 2. Aims of Induction
21748 More careful inductions gradually lead to the hypothetico-deductive method [Quine]
18. Thought / E. Abstraction / 8. Abstractionism Critique
9073 Abstraction from an ambiguous concept like 'mole' will define them as the same [Barnes,J]
9074 Abstraction cannot produce the concept of a 'game', as there is no one common feature [Barnes,J]
9072 Defining concepts by abstractions will collect together far too many attributes from entities [Barnes,J]
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]
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 1. Nature of Value / a. Nature of value
21749 Altruistic values concern other persons, and ceremonial values concern practices [Quine]
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 2. Values / g. Love
21751 Love seems to diminish with distance from oneself [Quine]