This document discusses different theories of truth that philosophers have proposed over time. It begins by introducing Aristotle's correspondence theory that truth corresponds to facts in the world. It then discusses Tarski's definition of truth using truth conditions and sentences. Later theories discussed include coherence theories that focus on internal consistency within systems of belief, and pragmatist theories that truth is what is useful or aids survival. The document concludes by discussing deflationary theories that truth is a redundant concept used to make generalizations rather than a substantial property.
The document discusses various philosophical theories of truth that have been proposed, including the correspondence theory, coherence theory, deflationary theory, and idealist theories. The correspondence theory holds that true statements correspond to actual facts in the world, but critics argue it is difficult to define what constitutes a "fact." Coherence theories view truth as internal consistency within a system of beliefs, but this view is unable to account for the relationship between beliefs and reality. Deflationary and minimalist theories hold that calling a statement "true" does not add any meaning beyond the statement itself.
Challenges to Science Philosophy and TheoryRuss Reinsch
This document provides an overview of challenges to science philosophy and theory in the 20th century. It discusses how science moved from an overly strict empiricist view in the early 1900s to incorporate more moderate philosophies. Key challenges included the problem of induction, demarcating science from non-science, and theoretical issues raised by Kuhn and the Duhem-Quine thesis. The document examines proposed solutions from philosophers like Popper, Kuhn, Quine, and Laudan. It argues that science can understand reality using evidentiary theories, without needing perfect truths, and that Laudan provided clarity on evaluating and choosing between theories.
Correspondence and Representation are important 'meta' concepts - yet their incommensurability aspects are revealing 'great and mighty' things which man 'knew not' of.
Incommensurability - correspondence and seeking of truthKeith Scharding
Ethics and the search for truth; bridging the conceptual gap between evolutionary thought and creation theories - presentation of the 'new metaphysics'; quantum computing and nanotechnology plus 'cosmic insights. The correspondence principle and the question of incommensurability with traditional viewpoints are referenced.
The paradox of believable lie and unbelievable truthAlexander Decker
This academic article discusses the concepts of believable lies and unbelievable truths. It begins by explaining that while humans seek truth, explaining complex truths is difficult and often leads to more questions. This has led to believing lies that provide convincing explanations over truths with unconvincing explanations. The article then reviews theories of truth such as the correspondence, coherence, pragmatic, and deflationary theories. It also discusses problems with determining truth, such as the limitations of language, influence of preconceptions and beliefs, and arguments for relative truth. The article concludes that determining absolute truth is challenging but remains the highest standard, and the debate over reconciling theories of truth with the absolute conception of truth continues.
Incommensurability and Semiotic Representationguest5e9847
This document discusses various philosophical concepts related to truth, correspondence, representation, and meaning. It examines coherence theories of truth and justification, and explores ideas around value incommensurability, representation theory, and semiotics. Key topics covered include the relationship between truth and empirical proof or justification, the nature of representation and reality, and whether truth is determined solely by correspondence with the world.
1. TEN MYTHS OF SCIENCE REEXAMINING WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW...W. .docxambersalomon88660
1. TEN MYTHS OF SCIENCE: REEXAMINING WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW...
W. McComas 1996
This article addresses and attempts to refute several of the most widespread and enduring misconceptions held by students regarding the enterprise of science. The ten myths discussed include the common notions that theories become laws, that hypotheses are best characterized as educated guesses, and that there is a commonly-applied scientific method. In addition, the article includes discussion of other incorrect ideas such as the view that evidence leads to sure knowledge, that science and its methods provide absolute proof, and that science is not a creative endeavor. Finally, the myths that scientists are objective, that experiments are the sole route to scientific knowledge and that scientific conclusions are continually reviewed conclude this presentation. The paper ends with a plea that instruction in and opportunities to experience the nature of science are vital in preservice and inservice teacher education programs to help unseat the myths of science.
Myths are typically defined as traditional views, fables, legends or stories. As such, myths can be entertaining and even educational since they help people make sense of the world. In fact, the explanatory role of myths most likely accounts for their development, spread and persistence. However, when fact and fiction blur, myths lose their entertainment value and serve only to block full understanding. Such is the case with the myths of science.
Scholar Joseph Campbell (1968) has proposed that the similarity among many folk myths worldwide is due to a subconscious link between all peoples, but no such link can explain the myths of science. Misconceptions about science are most likely due to the lack of philosophy of science content in teacher education programs, the failure of such programs to provide and require authentic science experiences for preservice teachers and the generally shallow treatment of the nature of science in the precollege textbooks to which teachers might turn for guidance.
As Steven Jay Gould points out in The Case of the Creeping Fox Terrier Clone (1988), science textbook writers are among the most egregious purveyors of myth and inaccuracy. The fox terrier mentioned in the title refers to the classic comparison used to express the size of the dawn horse, the tiny precursor to the modem horse. This comparison is unfortunate for two reasons. Not only was this horse ancestor much bigger than a fox terrier, but the fox terrier breed of dog is virtually unknown to American students. The major criticism leveled by Gould is that once this comparison took hold, no one bothered to check its validity or utility. Through time, one author after another simply repeated the inept comparison and continued a tradition that has made many science texts virtual clones of each other on this and countless other points.
In an attempt to provide a more realistic view of science and point out issues o.
This document discusses various theories of truth and their application to media practice. It outlines four main theories of truth: coherence theory, pragmatist theory, correspondence theory, and discusses how each views what constitutes truth. It then examines how these different theories of truth can influence media practice. Specifically, it notes that media aims to communicate truth to its audiences but different views of truth - such as subjective vs. objective - lead to different approaches in newsgathering and reporting.
The document discusses various philosophical theories of truth that have been proposed, including the correspondence theory, coherence theory, deflationary theory, and idealist theories. The correspondence theory holds that true statements correspond to actual facts in the world, but critics argue it is difficult to define what constitutes a "fact." Coherence theories view truth as internal consistency within a system of beliefs, but this view is unable to account for the relationship between beliefs and reality. Deflationary and minimalist theories hold that calling a statement "true" does not add any meaning beyond the statement itself.
Challenges to Science Philosophy and TheoryRuss Reinsch
This document provides an overview of challenges to science philosophy and theory in the 20th century. It discusses how science moved from an overly strict empiricist view in the early 1900s to incorporate more moderate philosophies. Key challenges included the problem of induction, demarcating science from non-science, and theoretical issues raised by Kuhn and the Duhem-Quine thesis. The document examines proposed solutions from philosophers like Popper, Kuhn, Quine, and Laudan. It argues that science can understand reality using evidentiary theories, without needing perfect truths, and that Laudan provided clarity on evaluating and choosing between theories.
Correspondence and Representation are important 'meta' concepts - yet their incommensurability aspects are revealing 'great and mighty' things which man 'knew not' of.
Incommensurability - correspondence and seeking of truthKeith Scharding
Ethics and the search for truth; bridging the conceptual gap between evolutionary thought and creation theories - presentation of the 'new metaphysics'; quantum computing and nanotechnology plus 'cosmic insights. The correspondence principle and the question of incommensurability with traditional viewpoints are referenced.
The paradox of believable lie and unbelievable truthAlexander Decker
This academic article discusses the concepts of believable lies and unbelievable truths. It begins by explaining that while humans seek truth, explaining complex truths is difficult and often leads to more questions. This has led to believing lies that provide convincing explanations over truths with unconvincing explanations. The article then reviews theories of truth such as the correspondence, coherence, pragmatic, and deflationary theories. It also discusses problems with determining truth, such as the limitations of language, influence of preconceptions and beliefs, and arguments for relative truth. The article concludes that determining absolute truth is challenging but remains the highest standard, and the debate over reconciling theories of truth with the absolute conception of truth continues.
Incommensurability and Semiotic Representationguest5e9847
This document discusses various philosophical concepts related to truth, correspondence, representation, and meaning. It examines coherence theories of truth and justification, and explores ideas around value incommensurability, representation theory, and semiotics. Key topics covered include the relationship between truth and empirical proof or justification, the nature of representation and reality, and whether truth is determined solely by correspondence with the world.
1. TEN MYTHS OF SCIENCE REEXAMINING WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW...W. .docxambersalomon88660
1. TEN MYTHS OF SCIENCE: REEXAMINING WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW...
W. McComas 1996
This article addresses and attempts to refute several of the most widespread and enduring misconceptions held by students regarding the enterprise of science. The ten myths discussed include the common notions that theories become laws, that hypotheses are best characterized as educated guesses, and that there is a commonly-applied scientific method. In addition, the article includes discussion of other incorrect ideas such as the view that evidence leads to sure knowledge, that science and its methods provide absolute proof, and that science is not a creative endeavor. Finally, the myths that scientists are objective, that experiments are the sole route to scientific knowledge and that scientific conclusions are continually reviewed conclude this presentation. The paper ends with a plea that instruction in and opportunities to experience the nature of science are vital in preservice and inservice teacher education programs to help unseat the myths of science.
Myths are typically defined as traditional views, fables, legends or stories. As such, myths can be entertaining and even educational since they help people make sense of the world. In fact, the explanatory role of myths most likely accounts for their development, spread and persistence. However, when fact and fiction blur, myths lose their entertainment value and serve only to block full understanding. Such is the case with the myths of science.
Scholar Joseph Campbell (1968) has proposed that the similarity among many folk myths worldwide is due to a subconscious link between all peoples, but no such link can explain the myths of science. Misconceptions about science are most likely due to the lack of philosophy of science content in teacher education programs, the failure of such programs to provide and require authentic science experiences for preservice teachers and the generally shallow treatment of the nature of science in the precollege textbooks to which teachers might turn for guidance.
As Steven Jay Gould points out in The Case of the Creeping Fox Terrier Clone (1988), science textbook writers are among the most egregious purveyors of myth and inaccuracy. The fox terrier mentioned in the title refers to the classic comparison used to express the size of the dawn horse, the tiny precursor to the modem horse. This comparison is unfortunate for two reasons. Not only was this horse ancestor much bigger than a fox terrier, but the fox terrier breed of dog is virtually unknown to American students. The major criticism leveled by Gould is that once this comparison took hold, no one bothered to check its validity or utility. Through time, one author after another simply repeated the inept comparison and continued a tradition that has made many science texts virtual clones of each other on this and countless other points.
In an attempt to provide a more realistic view of science and point out issues o.
This document discusses various theories of truth and their application to media practice. It outlines four main theories of truth: coherence theory, pragmatist theory, correspondence theory, and discusses how each views what constitutes truth. It then examines how these different theories of truth can influence media practice. Specifically, it notes that media aims to communicate truth to its audiences but different views of truth - such as subjective vs. objective - lead to different approaches in newsgathering and reporting.
.There are different paths to reality, they are determined by the knower, being instrumental methodological study object, epistemological axis, among others. Reality presents several faces, what is observable and what is perceived sensory empirical data obtained correspond to the visible, the main thing is to discover the hidden side, which is behind the perceptible or data. Epistemology is the whole process of obtaining scientific knowledge, ranging from the pre knowledge to get to know the hidden side, one thing is what is seen and what is not, and one that is not seen, is really it is.
This document provides an overview of the contents of a CD produced by Dialogue Education for use by teachers in the classroom. It contains 17 pages covering various topics in the philosophy of science like definitions of key terms, theories of demarcation, induction, and the theory-dependence of observation. The CD also includes videos, games, and a bibliography for further reading. It is intended solely for use by schools that have purchased the CD from Dialogue Education.
The document discusses where hypotheses come from in scientific research. It begins by defining a hypothesis as a suggested explanation for an observable phenomenon, event, or scientific problem that can be tested. Hypotheses are generated through a variety of methods, including making logical guesses based on prior knowledge, observing patterns in natural phenomena, and testing ideas to find connections between variables. The document emphasizes that hypotheses allow scientists to make predictions that can be empirically tested, with hypotheses that are supported being elevated to theories and those not supported being rejected or refined.
Alcoff, linda martín (org). epistemology the big questionsCarlos Elson Cunha
This document provides a preface for an anthology on epistemology titled "Epistemology: The Big Questions". It provides a brief overview of the history and development of epistemology as a field of philosophy. It discusses how epistemology began with Plato and Descartes' work but has since shifted focus to questions about justification of beliefs, the structure of knowledge, meanings of epistemic terms, and psychology of belief formation. It also summarizes how linguistic analysis and naturalized epistemology influenced the field in the 20th century. The preface aims to provide a comprehensive exploration of epistemological problems by including essays from diverse philosophical perspectives. It acknowledges contributions from various publishers and authors.
Can you describe defition of fuction according to rationalism,empiri.pdfAmansupan
Can you describe defition of fuction according to rationalism,empiricism and pragmatism ? and
what are their differences ??
Solution
SOME YEARS AGO, being with a camping party in the mountains, I returned from
a solitary ramble to find every one engaged in a ferocious metaphysical dispute. The corpus of
the dispute was a squirrel – a live squirrel supposed to be clinging to one side of a tree-trunk;
while over against the tree’s opposite side a human being was imagined to stand. This human
witness tries to get sight of the squirrel by moving rapidly round the tree, but no matter how fast
he goes, the squirrel moves as fast in the opposite direction, and always keeps the tree between
himself and the man, so that never a glimpse of him is caught. The resultant metaphysical
problem now is this: Does the man go round the squirrel or not? He goes round the tree, sure
enough, and the squirrel is on the tree; but does he go round the squirrel? In the unlimited leisure
of the wilderness, discussion had been worn threadbare. Every one had taken sides, and was
obstinate; and the numbers on both sides were even. Each side, when I appeared therefore
appealed to me to make it a majority. Mindful of the scholastic adage that whenever you meet a
contradiction you must make a distinction, I immediately sought and found one, as follows:
“Which party is right,” I said, “depends on what you practically mean by ‘going round’ the
squirrel. If you mean passing from the north of him to the east, then to the south, then to the
west, and then to the north of him again, obviously the man does go round him, for he occupies
these successive positions. But if on the contrary you mean being first in front of him, then on
the right of him, then behind him, then on his left, and finally in front again, it is quite as obvious
that the man fails to go round him, for by the compensating movements the squirrel makes, he
keeps his belly turned towards the man all the time, and his back turned away. Make the
distinction, and there is no occasion for any farther dispute. You are both right and both wrong
according as you conceive the verb ‘to go round’ in one practical fashion or the other.”
Although one or two of the hotter disputants called my speech a shuffling evasion, saying they
wanted no quibbling or scholastic hair-splitting, but meant just plain honest English ‘round’, the
majority seemed to think that the distinction had assuaged the dispute. I tell this trivial anecdote
because it is a peculiarly simple example of what I wish now to speak of as the pragmatic
method. The pragmatic method is primarily a method of settling metaphysical disputes that
otherwise might be interminable. Is the world one or many? – fated or free? – material or
spiritual? – here are notions either of which may or may not hold good of the world; and disputes
over such notions are unending. The pragmatic method in such cases is to try to interpret each
notion by tracing its respective practical con.
Theory of paradoxes and contradictory rule sets FINAL FINAL FINAL FINAL FINAL...Sujay Rao Mandavilli
This paper seeks to meaningfully complement many of our earlier and previously published papers on
scientific method and the philosophy of science among which were our papers on the social
responsibility of researchers, science activism, the sociological ninety ten rule, the certainty uncertainty
principle, cross-cultural research design, output criteria driven scientific hypothesis formulation,
horizontal collaboration etc., and is intended to help produce better scientific theories and hypotheses
in general and led to scientific endeavour that is of a fundamentally higher order as well. It will, we
expect and anticipate, catapult scientific activity to an altogether higher domain and sphere given that a
proactive quest for paradoxes is at the heart of our approach, and is also resultantly expected to be an
intrinsic part of formal, structured and pre-defined scientific method in future. It therefore forms an
essential and an integral part of our globalization of science movement as well, given the fact that multicultural and inter-disciplinary approaches to science are likely to throw up more paradoxes as well, and
literally up the ante too by leading to scientific activity that is of a fundamentally higher order. We begin
this paper by getting down to brass stacks and attempting a basic definition of the widely used term
“paradox” and reviewing older literature in this regard in different contexts. We also lay bare the
essentials of our approach, and enunciate the postulates and canons that form a part of our paper, so
that the entire philosophy driving this paper, i.e., its philosophical foundation, in clearly grasped and
understood by those to whom it is intended.
Disagreement can aid the pursuit of knowledge in several ways:
1) Disagreement prompts researchers to conduct new experiments and develop new theories to explain inconsistencies or contradictions, as seen with Galileo disproving Aristotle's theory of motion.
2) Examining criticisms of existing theories leads to improvements or modifications that increase knowledge, such as Copernicus building on Aristarchus' heliocentric model.
3) While disagreement does not always lead to new knowledge, as in economics where theories cannot be proven, it often plays a role in advancing science by challenging current understandings.
This document discusses different conceptions of human flourishing from ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle to modern times. It explores how human flourishing has changed as science and technology have advanced, allowing people to live more comfortably. The document also examines the scientific method and different theories about what distinguishes science, including verification theory and falsification theory. It notes that some philosophers see science as a social endeavor influenced by its cultural context.
RelativismEpistemic RelativismWe have now presented a philos.docxcarlt4
Relativism
Epistemic Relativism
We have now presented a philosophical argument behind the whole basis of accepted scientific truth.
Let's introduce another philosophical term important in that dabate:
Epistemic Relativism: the position that knowledge is valid only relatively to a specific context, society, culture or individual.
In the following video, Duncan Pritchard, from the University of Edinburgh introduces the concept of Epistemic Relativism. You will learn about the well-known Bellarmine–Galileo controversy about the validity of Ptolemy’s geocentric system vs Copernicus’s heliocentric system, This historical episode is well documented, and it has been the battleground of important discussions about what epistemologists call epistemic relativism, namely the view that norms of reasoning and justification for our knowledge claims seem to be relative.
From "The Little Thinker‘s Blog“
This historical example illustrates the epistemic relativist’s ‘no neutral ground’ argument, and the difficulty of identifying a common ground or a common measure to assess and evaluate knowledge claims in their historical and social context.
** Content from Online Course: Philosophy and the Sciences: Introduction to the Philosophy of Physical Sciences by The University of Edinburgh
https://youtu.be/MYnZgJeOqqg
Popper's Falsification
From inductivism to Popper’s falsification
From: Philosophy and the Science for Everyone by Michela Massimi. ISBN: 9781138785434
Karl Popper
Philosophers of science are interested in understanding the nature of scientific knowledge and its distinctive features. For a very long time, they strove to find what they thought might be the distinctive method of science, the method that would allow scientists to make informed decisions about what counts as a scientific theory.
The importance of demarcating good science from pseudo-science is neither otiose nor a mere philosophical exercise. It is at the very heart of social policy, when decisions are taken at the governmental level about how to spend taxpayers’ money.
Karl Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was, undoubtedly, one of the most influential philosophers of the early twentieth century to have contributed to the debate about demarcating good science from pseudo-science. In this section we very briefly review some of his seminal ideas.
Popper’s battleground was the social sciences. At the beginning of the twentieth century, in the German-speaking world, a lively debate took place between the so-called Naturwissenschaften (the natural sciences, including mathematics, physics, and chemistry) and the Geisteswissenschaften (the human sciences, including psychology and the emergent psychoanalysis), and whether the latter could rise to the status of proper sciences on a par with the natural sciences.
This is the historical context in which Popper began his philosophical reflections in the 1920s. Popper’s reflections were influenced by the Vienna Circle, a group of young int.
The document discusses three theories of truth:
1. Correspondence theory proposes that a proposition is true if it corresponds to the facts in reality. It has strengths in simplicity and appealing to common sense but weaknesses in linguistic issues and circular reasoning.
2. Coherence theory states that a proposition is true if it coheres with other propositions taken to be true. It has strengths in explaining mathematical truths but weaknesses in also falling victim to circular reasoning.
3. Pragmatism holds that a proposition is true if believing it has practical consequences and "works". William James defined truth as ideas that help us get into satisfactory relations with our experiences.
This document provides an introduction to a book that presents a new scientific model of the universe based on concepts like zero-point energy and synchronicity. It argues that mainstream science has become dogmatic in clinging to outdated theories and rejects new evidence. The book aims to show scientifically that a predicted spiritual transformation of humanity is imminent. It also addresses the reality of extraterrestrial life and the disclosure of secret government knowledge about crashed UFOs and exotic technology.
The document discusses research methods and the scientific method. It provides an overview of key figures in the development of science like Galileo, Popper, Kuhn, and Lakatos. It describes Galileo's experiment dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to test hypotheses. It also summarizes Popper's concept of falsifiability, Kuhn's idea of paradigms, and Lakatos' attempt to find common ground between Popper and Kuhn.
This document discusses paradoxes in scientific endeavors. It begins with defining a paradox as a self-contradictory statement or one that contradicts observations or truths. Paradoxes often involve contradictory yet interconnected elements that coexist within a system. The document then discusses types of paradoxes such as veridical (appearing absurd but true), falsidical (appearing and being false), and antimonies (self-contradictory through valid reasoning). It argues that identifying and resolving paradoxes can help produce better scientific theories by pushing scientific activity to a higher level.
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Ernst von Glasersfeld (1996) Farewell to Objectivity 1
Systems Research, 13(3), 279–286, 1996. 187
Farewell to Objectivity1
Abstract. The paper is focused on one of the major contributions Heinz
von Foerster has made to epistemology and the philosophy of science. It
traces earlier disagreements with the traditional theory of knowledge and
sketches the history to which von Foerster’s interpretation of the principle
of undifferentiated coding supplied a decisive final chapter.
To the generation that lives through them, changes in the environment, social
revolutions, and the breakdown of concepts that formed the basis of a world view,
always seem to be deeper and vastly more portentous than all the earlier upheavals
history has recorded. Nevertheless I would say that during the eight decades that
Heinz von Foerster has so far witnessed, more traditional beliefs were superseded and
new perspectives opened than ever before. And among the pioneers who initiated new
ways of thinking he deserves a prominent place. This becomes clear above all if one
considers the intimate domain where each thinker chooses how he or she should view
that treasury of facts, notions, and fixed points that we call knowledge.
The very act of knowing has become questionable in our time. There have, of
course, been individual questioners in other centuries who tried to move in the
direction that now seems inevitable, but their attempts were brushed aside by the
momentum of philosophical tradition and their writings remain curiosa at the
margins of the history of ideas. Heinz von Foerster did not start as a philosopher but
as a physicist with an uncommon interest in the processes of thinking. His
epistemological ideas did not spring from quietly reading ancient authors but from his
scientist’s intuition and his experiences with people in a rather turbulent world. It
would take a meticulous biographer to map von Foerster’s intellectual itinerary.
Instead, I shall try to show that his constructivist theory of knowledge can be
substantiated also by snippets from the history of philosophy.
The conceptual revolution that has shaken the 20th century is more profound
than the one initiated by Copernicus, who dislocated the human being from the
cherished position at the hub of the universe. But even if mankind was relegated to an
insignificant minor planet, it could still maintain the belief that it represented the
crowning achievement of God’s creation and that the human mind towered over
everything else because it was able to perceive and understand God’s work, at least in
1 Revised and expanded version of Abschied von der Objektivität, in P. Watzlawick & P. Krieg
(Eds.), Das Auge des Betrachters. Munich: Piper, 1991.
Ernst von Glasersfeld (1996) Farewell to Objectivity 2
its great lines. The 20th ...
The document discusses Thomas Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions as presented in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Specifically, it discusses how Kuhn used the chemical revolution as an example, with the phlogiston theory serving as a paradigm that was later replaced by Lavoisier's discovery of oxygen. The document also examines criticisms of Kuhn's view that paradigms are incommensurable and his stance that no paradigm is better than any other.
A review of the growth of the Israel Genealogy Research Association Database Collection for the last 12 months. Our collection is now passed the 3 million mark and still growing. See which archives have contributed the most. See the different types of records we have, and which years have had records added. You can also see what we have for the future.
How to Make a Field Mandatory in Odoo 17Celine George
In Odoo, making a field required can be done through both Python code and XML views. When you set the required attribute to True in Python code, it makes the field required across all views where it's used. Conversely, when you set the required attribute in XML views, it makes the field required only in the context of that particular view.
How to Fix the Import Error in the Odoo 17Celine George
An import error occurs when a program fails to import a module or library, disrupting its execution. In languages like Python, this issue arises when the specified module cannot be found or accessed, hindering the program's functionality. Resolving import errors is crucial for maintaining smooth software operation and uninterrupted development processes.
LAND USE LAND COVER AND NDVI OF MIRZAPUR DISTRICT, UPRAHUL
This Dissertation explores the particular circumstances of Mirzapur, a region located in the
core of India. Mirzapur, with its varied terrains and abundant biodiversity, offers an optimal
environment for investigating the changes in vegetation cover dynamics. Our study utilizes
advanced technologies such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and Remote sensing to
analyze the transformations that have taken place over the course of a decade.
The complex relationship between human activities and the environment has been the focus
of extensive research and worry. As the global community grapples with swift urbanization,
population expansion, and economic progress, the effects on natural ecosystems are becoming
more evident. A crucial element of this impact is the alteration of vegetation cover, which plays a
significant role in maintaining the ecological equilibrium of our planet.Land serves as the foundation for all human activities and provides the necessary materials for
these activities. As the most crucial natural resource, its utilization by humans results in different
'Land uses,' which are determined by both human activities and the physical characteristics of the
land.
The utilization of land is impacted by human needs and environmental factors. In countries
like India, rapid population growth and the emphasis on extensive resource exploitation can lead
to significant land degradation, adversely affecting the region's land cover.
Therefore, human intervention has significantly influenced land use patterns over many
centuries, evolving its structure over time and space. In the present era, these changes have
accelerated due to factors such as agriculture and urbanization. Information regarding land use and
cover is essential for various planning and management tasks related to the Earth's surface,
providing crucial environmental data for scientific, resource management, policy purposes, and
diverse human activities.
Accurate understanding of land use and cover is imperative for the development planning
of any area. Consequently, a wide range of professionals, including earth system scientists, land
and water managers, and urban planners, are interested in obtaining data on land use and cover
changes, conversion trends, and other related patterns. The spatial dimensions of land use and
cover support policymakers and scientists in making well-informed decisions, as alterations in
these patterns indicate shifts in economic and social conditions. Monitoring such changes with the
help of Advanced technologies like Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems is
crucial for coordinated efforts across different administrative levels. Advanced technologies like
Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems
9
Changes in vegetation cover refer to variations in the distribution, composition, and overall
structure of plant communities across different temporal and spatial scales. These changes can
occur natural.
.There are different paths to reality, they are determined by the knower, being instrumental methodological study object, epistemological axis, among others. Reality presents several faces, what is observable and what is perceived sensory empirical data obtained correspond to the visible, the main thing is to discover the hidden side, which is behind the perceptible or data. Epistemology is the whole process of obtaining scientific knowledge, ranging from the pre knowledge to get to know the hidden side, one thing is what is seen and what is not, and one that is not seen, is really it is.
This document provides an overview of the contents of a CD produced by Dialogue Education for use by teachers in the classroom. It contains 17 pages covering various topics in the philosophy of science like definitions of key terms, theories of demarcation, induction, and the theory-dependence of observation. The CD also includes videos, games, and a bibliography for further reading. It is intended solely for use by schools that have purchased the CD from Dialogue Education.
The document discusses where hypotheses come from in scientific research. It begins by defining a hypothesis as a suggested explanation for an observable phenomenon, event, or scientific problem that can be tested. Hypotheses are generated through a variety of methods, including making logical guesses based on prior knowledge, observing patterns in natural phenomena, and testing ideas to find connections between variables. The document emphasizes that hypotheses allow scientists to make predictions that can be empirically tested, with hypotheses that are supported being elevated to theories and those not supported being rejected or refined.
Alcoff, linda martín (org). epistemology the big questionsCarlos Elson Cunha
This document provides a preface for an anthology on epistemology titled "Epistemology: The Big Questions". It provides a brief overview of the history and development of epistemology as a field of philosophy. It discusses how epistemology began with Plato and Descartes' work but has since shifted focus to questions about justification of beliefs, the structure of knowledge, meanings of epistemic terms, and psychology of belief formation. It also summarizes how linguistic analysis and naturalized epistemology influenced the field in the 20th century. The preface aims to provide a comprehensive exploration of epistemological problems by including essays from diverse philosophical perspectives. It acknowledges contributions from various publishers and authors.
Can you describe defition of fuction according to rationalism,empiri.pdfAmansupan
Can you describe defition of fuction according to rationalism,empiricism and pragmatism ? and
what are their differences ??
Solution
SOME YEARS AGO, being with a camping party in the mountains, I returned from
a solitary ramble to find every one engaged in a ferocious metaphysical dispute. The corpus of
the dispute was a squirrel – a live squirrel supposed to be clinging to one side of a tree-trunk;
while over against the tree’s opposite side a human being was imagined to stand. This human
witness tries to get sight of the squirrel by moving rapidly round the tree, but no matter how fast
he goes, the squirrel moves as fast in the opposite direction, and always keeps the tree between
himself and the man, so that never a glimpse of him is caught. The resultant metaphysical
problem now is this: Does the man go round the squirrel or not? He goes round the tree, sure
enough, and the squirrel is on the tree; but does he go round the squirrel? In the unlimited leisure
of the wilderness, discussion had been worn threadbare. Every one had taken sides, and was
obstinate; and the numbers on both sides were even. Each side, when I appeared therefore
appealed to me to make it a majority. Mindful of the scholastic adage that whenever you meet a
contradiction you must make a distinction, I immediately sought and found one, as follows:
“Which party is right,” I said, “depends on what you practically mean by ‘going round’ the
squirrel. If you mean passing from the north of him to the east, then to the south, then to the
west, and then to the north of him again, obviously the man does go round him, for he occupies
these successive positions. But if on the contrary you mean being first in front of him, then on
the right of him, then behind him, then on his left, and finally in front again, it is quite as obvious
that the man fails to go round him, for by the compensating movements the squirrel makes, he
keeps his belly turned towards the man all the time, and his back turned away. Make the
distinction, and there is no occasion for any farther dispute. You are both right and both wrong
according as you conceive the verb ‘to go round’ in one practical fashion or the other.”
Although one or two of the hotter disputants called my speech a shuffling evasion, saying they
wanted no quibbling or scholastic hair-splitting, but meant just plain honest English ‘round’, the
majority seemed to think that the distinction had assuaged the dispute. I tell this trivial anecdote
because it is a peculiarly simple example of what I wish now to speak of as the pragmatic
method. The pragmatic method is primarily a method of settling metaphysical disputes that
otherwise might be interminable. Is the world one or many? – fated or free? – material or
spiritual? – here are notions either of which may or may not hold good of the world; and disputes
over such notions are unending. The pragmatic method in such cases is to try to interpret each
notion by tracing its respective practical con.
Theory of paradoxes and contradictory rule sets FINAL FINAL FINAL FINAL FINAL...Sujay Rao Mandavilli
This paper seeks to meaningfully complement many of our earlier and previously published papers on
scientific method and the philosophy of science among which were our papers on the social
responsibility of researchers, science activism, the sociological ninety ten rule, the certainty uncertainty
principle, cross-cultural research design, output criteria driven scientific hypothesis formulation,
horizontal collaboration etc., and is intended to help produce better scientific theories and hypotheses
in general and led to scientific endeavour that is of a fundamentally higher order as well. It will, we
expect and anticipate, catapult scientific activity to an altogether higher domain and sphere given that a
proactive quest for paradoxes is at the heart of our approach, and is also resultantly expected to be an
intrinsic part of formal, structured and pre-defined scientific method in future. It therefore forms an
essential and an integral part of our globalization of science movement as well, given the fact that multicultural and inter-disciplinary approaches to science are likely to throw up more paradoxes as well, and
literally up the ante too by leading to scientific activity that is of a fundamentally higher order. We begin
this paper by getting down to brass stacks and attempting a basic definition of the widely used term
“paradox” and reviewing older literature in this regard in different contexts. We also lay bare the
essentials of our approach, and enunciate the postulates and canons that form a part of our paper, so
that the entire philosophy driving this paper, i.e., its philosophical foundation, in clearly grasped and
understood by those to whom it is intended.
Disagreement can aid the pursuit of knowledge in several ways:
1) Disagreement prompts researchers to conduct new experiments and develop new theories to explain inconsistencies or contradictions, as seen with Galileo disproving Aristotle's theory of motion.
2) Examining criticisms of existing theories leads to improvements or modifications that increase knowledge, such as Copernicus building on Aristarchus' heliocentric model.
3) While disagreement does not always lead to new knowledge, as in economics where theories cannot be proven, it often plays a role in advancing science by challenging current understandings.
This document discusses different conceptions of human flourishing from ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle to modern times. It explores how human flourishing has changed as science and technology have advanced, allowing people to live more comfortably. The document also examines the scientific method and different theories about what distinguishes science, including verification theory and falsification theory. It notes that some philosophers see science as a social endeavor influenced by its cultural context.
RelativismEpistemic RelativismWe have now presented a philos.docxcarlt4
Relativism
Epistemic Relativism
We have now presented a philosophical argument behind the whole basis of accepted scientific truth.
Let's introduce another philosophical term important in that dabate:
Epistemic Relativism: the position that knowledge is valid only relatively to a specific context, society, culture or individual.
In the following video, Duncan Pritchard, from the University of Edinburgh introduces the concept of Epistemic Relativism. You will learn about the well-known Bellarmine–Galileo controversy about the validity of Ptolemy’s geocentric system vs Copernicus’s heliocentric system, This historical episode is well documented, and it has been the battleground of important discussions about what epistemologists call epistemic relativism, namely the view that norms of reasoning and justification for our knowledge claims seem to be relative.
From "The Little Thinker‘s Blog“
This historical example illustrates the epistemic relativist’s ‘no neutral ground’ argument, and the difficulty of identifying a common ground or a common measure to assess and evaluate knowledge claims in their historical and social context.
** Content from Online Course: Philosophy and the Sciences: Introduction to the Philosophy of Physical Sciences by The University of Edinburgh
https://youtu.be/MYnZgJeOqqg
Popper's Falsification
From inductivism to Popper’s falsification
From: Philosophy and the Science for Everyone by Michela Massimi. ISBN: 9781138785434
Karl Popper
Philosophers of science are interested in understanding the nature of scientific knowledge and its distinctive features. For a very long time, they strove to find what they thought might be the distinctive method of science, the method that would allow scientists to make informed decisions about what counts as a scientific theory.
The importance of demarcating good science from pseudo-science is neither otiose nor a mere philosophical exercise. It is at the very heart of social policy, when decisions are taken at the governmental level about how to spend taxpayers’ money.
Karl Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was, undoubtedly, one of the most influential philosophers of the early twentieth century to have contributed to the debate about demarcating good science from pseudo-science. In this section we very briefly review some of his seminal ideas.
Popper’s battleground was the social sciences. At the beginning of the twentieth century, in the German-speaking world, a lively debate took place between the so-called Naturwissenschaften (the natural sciences, including mathematics, physics, and chemistry) and the Geisteswissenschaften (the human sciences, including psychology and the emergent psychoanalysis), and whether the latter could rise to the status of proper sciences on a par with the natural sciences.
This is the historical context in which Popper began his philosophical reflections in the 1920s. Popper’s reflections were influenced by the Vienna Circle, a group of young int.
The document discusses three theories of truth:
1. Correspondence theory proposes that a proposition is true if it corresponds to the facts in reality. It has strengths in simplicity and appealing to common sense but weaknesses in linguistic issues and circular reasoning.
2. Coherence theory states that a proposition is true if it coheres with other propositions taken to be true. It has strengths in explaining mathematical truths but weaknesses in also falling victim to circular reasoning.
3. Pragmatism holds that a proposition is true if believing it has practical consequences and "works". William James defined truth as ideas that help us get into satisfactory relations with our experiences.
This document provides an introduction to a book that presents a new scientific model of the universe based on concepts like zero-point energy and synchronicity. It argues that mainstream science has become dogmatic in clinging to outdated theories and rejects new evidence. The book aims to show scientifically that a predicted spiritual transformation of humanity is imminent. It also addresses the reality of extraterrestrial life and the disclosure of secret government knowledge about crashed UFOs and exotic technology.
The document discusses research methods and the scientific method. It provides an overview of key figures in the development of science like Galileo, Popper, Kuhn, and Lakatos. It describes Galileo's experiment dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to test hypotheses. It also summarizes Popper's concept of falsifiability, Kuhn's idea of paradigms, and Lakatos' attempt to find common ground between Popper and Kuhn.
This document discusses paradoxes in scientific endeavors. It begins with defining a paradox as a self-contradictory statement or one that contradicts observations or truths. Paradoxes often involve contradictory yet interconnected elements that coexist within a system. The document then discusses types of paradoxes such as veridical (appearing absurd but true), falsidical (appearing and being false), and antimonies (self-contradictory through valid reasoning). It argues that identifying and resolving paradoxes can help produce better scientific theories by pushing scientific activity to a higher level.
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Ernst von Glasersfeld (1996) Farewell to Objectivity 1
Systems Research, 13(3), 279–286, 1996. 187
Farewell to Objectivity1
Abstract. The paper is focused on one of the major contributions Heinz
von Foerster has made to epistemology and the philosophy of science. It
traces earlier disagreements with the traditional theory of knowledge and
sketches the history to which von Foerster’s interpretation of the principle
of undifferentiated coding supplied a decisive final chapter.
To the generation that lives through them, changes in the environment, social
revolutions, and the breakdown of concepts that formed the basis of a world view,
always seem to be deeper and vastly more portentous than all the earlier upheavals
history has recorded. Nevertheless I would say that during the eight decades that
Heinz von Foerster has so far witnessed, more traditional beliefs were superseded and
new perspectives opened than ever before. And among the pioneers who initiated new
ways of thinking he deserves a prominent place. This becomes clear above all if one
considers the intimate domain where each thinker chooses how he or she should view
that treasury of facts, notions, and fixed points that we call knowledge.
The very act of knowing has become questionable in our time. There have, of
course, been individual questioners in other centuries who tried to move in the
direction that now seems inevitable, but their attempts were brushed aside by the
momentum of philosophical tradition and their writings remain curiosa at the
margins of the history of ideas. Heinz von Foerster did not start as a philosopher but
as a physicist with an uncommon interest in the processes of thinking. His
epistemological ideas did not spring from quietly reading ancient authors but from his
scientist’s intuition and his experiences with people in a rather turbulent world. It
would take a meticulous biographer to map von Foerster’s intellectual itinerary.
Instead, I shall try to show that his constructivist theory of knowledge can be
substantiated also by snippets from the history of philosophy.
The conceptual revolution that has shaken the 20th century is more profound
than the one initiated by Copernicus, who dislocated the human being from the
cherished position at the hub of the universe. But even if mankind was relegated to an
insignificant minor planet, it could still maintain the belief that it represented the
crowning achievement of God’s creation and that the human mind towered over
everything else because it was able to perceive and understand God’s work, at least in
1 Revised and expanded version of Abschied von der Objektivität, in P. Watzlawick & P. Krieg
(Eds.), Das Auge des Betrachters. Munich: Piper, 1991.
Ernst von Glasersfeld (1996) Farewell to Objectivity 2
its great lines. The 20th ...
The document discusses Thomas Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions as presented in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Specifically, it discusses how Kuhn used the chemical revolution as an example, with the phlogiston theory serving as a paradigm that was later replaced by Lavoisier's discovery of oxygen. The document also examines criticisms of Kuhn's view that paradigms are incommensurable and his stance that no paradigm is better than any other.
A review of the growth of the Israel Genealogy Research Association Database Collection for the last 12 months. Our collection is now passed the 3 million mark and still growing. See which archives have contributed the most. See the different types of records we have, and which years have had records added. You can also see what we have for the future.
How to Make a Field Mandatory in Odoo 17Celine George
In Odoo, making a field required can be done through both Python code and XML views. When you set the required attribute to True in Python code, it makes the field required across all views where it's used. Conversely, when you set the required attribute in XML views, it makes the field required only in the context of that particular view.
How to Fix the Import Error in the Odoo 17Celine George
An import error occurs when a program fails to import a module or library, disrupting its execution. In languages like Python, this issue arises when the specified module cannot be found or accessed, hindering the program's functionality. Resolving import errors is crucial for maintaining smooth software operation and uninterrupted development processes.
LAND USE LAND COVER AND NDVI OF MIRZAPUR DISTRICT, UPRAHUL
This Dissertation explores the particular circumstances of Mirzapur, a region located in the
core of India. Mirzapur, with its varied terrains and abundant biodiversity, offers an optimal
environment for investigating the changes in vegetation cover dynamics. Our study utilizes
advanced technologies such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and Remote sensing to
analyze the transformations that have taken place over the course of a decade.
The complex relationship between human activities and the environment has been the focus
of extensive research and worry. As the global community grapples with swift urbanization,
population expansion, and economic progress, the effects on natural ecosystems are becoming
more evident. A crucial element of this impact is the alteration of vegetation cover, which plays a
significant role in maintaining the ecological equilibrium of our planet.Land serves as the foundation for all human activities and provides the necessary materials for
these activities. As the most crucial natural resource, its utilization by humans results in different
'Land uses,' which are determined by both human activities and the physical characteristics of the
land.
The utilization of land is impacted by human needs and environmental factors. In countries
like India, rapid population growth and the emphasis on extensive resource exploitation can lead
to significant land degradation, adversely affecting the region's land cover.
Therefore, human intervention has significantly influenced land use patterns over many
centuries, evolving its structure over time and space. In the present era, these changes have
accelerated due to factors such as agriculture and urbanization. Information regarding land use and
cover is essential for various planning and management tasks related to the Earth's surface,
providing crucial environmental data for scientific, resource management, policy purposes, and
diverse human activities.
Accurate understanding of land use and cover is imperative for the development planning
of any area. Consequently, a wide range of professionals, including earth system scientists, land
and water managers, and urban planners, are interested in obtaining data on land use and cover
changes, conversion trends, and other related patterns. The spatial dimensions of land use and
cover support policymakers and scientists in making well-informed decisions, as alterations in
these patterns indicate shifts in economic and social conditions. Monitoring such changes with the
help of Advanced technologies like Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems is
crucial for coordinated efforts across different administrative levels. Advanced technologies like
Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems
9
Changes in vegetation cover refer to variations in the distribution, composition, and overall
structure of plant communities across different temporal and spatial scales. These changes can
occur natural.
A workshop hosted by the South African Journal of Science aimed at postgraduate students and early career researchers with little or no experience in writing and publishing journal articles.
This slide is special for master students (MIBS & MIFB) in UUM. Also useful for readers who are interested in the topic of contemporary Islamic banking.
How to Setup Warehouse & Location in Odoo 17 InventoryCeline George
In this slide, we'll explore how to set up warehouses and locations in Odoo 17 Inventory. This will help us manage our stock effectively, track inventory levels, and streamline warehouse operations.
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty, In...Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty,
International FDP on Fundamentals of Research in Social Sciences
at Integral University, Lucknow, 06.06.2024
By Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
How to Add Chatter in the odoo 17 ERP ModuleCeline George
In Odoo, the chatter is like a chat tool that helps you work together on records. You can leave notes and track things, making it easier to talk with your team and partners. Inside chatter, all communication history, activity, and changes will be displayed.
How to Build a Module in Odoo 17 Using the Scaffold MethodCeline George
Odoo provides an option for creating a module by using a single line command. By using this command the user can make a whole structure of a module. It is very easy for a beginner to make a module. There is no need to make each file manually. This slide will show how to create a module using the scaffold method.
This presentation includes basic of PCOS their pathology and treatment and also Ayurveda correlation of PCOS and Ayurvedic line of treatment mentioned in classics.
How to Manage Your Lost Opportunities in Odoo 17 CRMCeline George
Odoo 17 CRM allows us to track why we lose sales opportunities with "Lost Reasons." This helps analyze our sales process and identify areas for improvement. Here's how to configure lost reasons in Odoo 17 CRM
2. TRUTH
truth, in metaphysics and the philosophy of language, the property of sentences,
assertions, beliefs, thoughts, or propositions that are said, in ordinary discourse, to
agree with the facts or to state what is the case.
Truth is the aim of belief; falsity is a fault. People need the truth about the world in
order to thrive. Truth is important. Believing what is not true is apt to spoil people’s
plans and may even cost them their lives. Telling what is not true may result in legal
and social penalties. Conversely, a dedicated pursuit of truth characterizes the good
scientist, the good historian, and the good detective. So what is truth, that it should
have such gravity and such a central place in people’s lives?
3. The correspondence theory
The classic suggestion comes from Aristotle (384–322 BCE): “To say of what is that it is, or of what
is not that it is not, is true.” In other words, the world provides “what is” or “what is not,” and the
true saying or thought corresponds to the fact so provided. This idea appeals to common sense and
is the germ of what is called the correspondence theory of truth. As it stands, however, it is little
more than a platitude and far less than a theory. Indeed, it may amount to merely a wordy
paraphrase, whereby, instead of saying “that’s true” of some assertion, one says “that corresponds
with the facts.” Only if the notions of fact and correspondence can be further developed will it be
possible to understand truth in these terms.
Unfortunately, many philosophers doubt whether an acceptable explanation of facts and
correspondence can be given. Facts, as they point out, are strange entities. It is tempting to think of
them as structures or arrangements of things in the world. However, as the Austrian-born
philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein observed, structures have spatial locations, but facts do not.
The Eiffel Tower can be moved from Paris to Rome, but the fact that the Eiffel Tower is in Paris
cannot be moved anywhere. Furthermore, critics urge, the very idea of what the facts are in a given
case is nothing apart from people’s sincere beliefs about the case, which means those beliefs that
people take to be true
4.
5. Tarski and truth conditions
The rise of formal logic (the abstract study of assertions and deductive arguments) and the growth of
interest in formal systems (formal or mathematical languages) among many Anglo-American
philosophers in the early 20th century led to new attempts to define truth in logically or scientifically
acceptable terms. It also led to a renewed respect for the ancient liar paradox (attributed to the ancient
Greek philosopher Epimenides), in which a sentence says of itself that it is false, thereby apparently
being true if it is false and false if it is true. Logicians set themselves the task of developing systems of
mathematical reasoning that would be free of the kinds of self-reference that give rise
to paradoxes such as that of the liar. However, this proved difficult to do without at the same time
making some legitimate proof procedures impossible. There is good self-reference (“All sentences,
including this, are of finite length”) and bad self-reference (“This sentence is false”) but no generally
agreed-upon principle for distinguishing them.
These efforts culminated in the work of the Polish-born logician Alfred Tarski, who in the 1930s
showed how to construct a definition of truth for a formal or mathematical language by means of a
theory that would assign truth conditions (the conditions in which a given sentence is true) to each
sentence in the language without making use of any semantic terms, notably including truth, in that
language. Truth conditions were identified by means of “T-sentences.”
6. For example, the English-language T-sentence for the German sentence Schnee ist weiss is: “Schnee
ist weiss” is true if and only if snow is white. A T-sentence says of some sentence (S) in the object
language (the language for which truth is being defined) that S is true if and only if…, where the
ellipsis is replaced by a translation of S into the language used to construct the theory
(the metalanguage). Since no metalanguage translation of any S (in this case, snow is white) will
contain the term true, Tarski could claim that each T-sentence provides a “partial definition” of truth
for the object language and that their sum total provides the complete definition.
While the technical aspects of Tarski’s work were much admired and have been much discussed, its
philosophical significance remained unclear, in part because T-sentences struck many theorists as
less than illuminating. But the weight of philosophical opinion gradually shifted, and eventually this
platitudinous appearance was regarded as a virtue and indeed as indicative of the whole truth about
truth. The idea was that, instead of staring at the abstract question “What is truth?,” philosophers
should content themselves with the particular question “What does the truth of S amount to?”; and
for any well-specified sentence, a humble T-sentence will provide the answer.
7. Coherence and pragmatist theories
Starting in the mid-19th century, this line of criticism led some philosophers to think that they should
concentrate on larger theories, rather than sentences or assertions taken one at a time. Truth, on this
view, must be a feature of the overall body of belief considered as a system of logically interrelated
components—what is called the “web of belief.” It might be, for example, an entire physical theory that
earns its keep by making predictions or enabling people to control things or by simplifying and unifying
otherwise disconnected phenomena. An individual belief in such a system is true if it sufficiently coheres
with, or makes rational sense within, enough other beliefs; alternatively, a belief system is true if it is
sufficiently internally coherent. Such were the views of the British idealists, including F.H.
Bradley and H.H. Joachim, who, like all idealists, rejected the existence of mind-independent facts
against which the truth of beliefs could be determined (see also realism: realism and truth).
Yet coherentism too seems inadequate, since it suggests that human beings are trapped in the sealed
compartment of their own beliefs, unable to know anything of the world beyond. Moreover, as the
English philosopher and logician Bertrand Russell pointed out, nothing seems to prevent there being
many equally coherent but incompatible belief systems. Yet at best only one of them can be true.
8. Some theorists have suggested that belief systems can be compared in pragmatic or utilitarian terms.
According to this idea, even if many different systems can be internally coherent, it is likely that some will
be much more useful than others. Thus, one can expect that, in a process akin to Darwinian natural
selection, the more useful systems will survive while the others gradually go extinct. The replacement
of Newtonian mechanics by relativity theory is an example of this process. It was in this spirit that the
19th-century American pragmatist philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce said:
The opinion which is fated to be ultimately agreed to by all who investigate, is what we mean by the
truth, and the object represented in this opinion is the real.
In effect, Peirce’s view places primary importance on scientific curiosity, experimentation, and theorizing
and identifies truth as the imagined ideal limit of their ongoing progress. Although this approach may
seem appealingly hard-headed, it has prompted worries about how a society, or humanity as a whole,
could know at a given moment whether it is following the path toward such an ideal. In practice it has
opened the door to varying degrees of skepticism about the notion of truth. In the late 20th century
philosophers such as Richard Rorty advocated retiring the notion of truth in favour of a more open-
minded and open-ended process of indefinite adjustment of beliefs. Such a process, it was felt, would have
its own utility, even though it lacked any final or absolute endpoint.
9. Deflationism
Philosophers before Tarski, including Gottlob Frege and Frank Ramsey, had suspected that the key to
understanding truth lay in the odd fact that putting “It is true that…” in front of an assertion changes almost
nothing. It is true that snow is white if and only if snow is white. At most there might be an added emphasis,
but no change of topic. The theory that built on this insight is known as “deflationism” or “minimalism” (an
older term is “the redundancy theory”).
Yet, if truth is essentially redundant, why should talk of truth be so common? What purpose does the truth
predicate serve? The answer, according to most deflationists, is that true is a highly useful device for making
generalizations over large numbers of sayings or assertions. For example, suppose that Winston Churchill
said many things (S1, S2, S3,…Sn). One could express total agreement with him by asserting, for each of these
sayings in turn, “Churchill said S, and S,” and then asserting, “And that is all he said.” But even if one could
do this—which would involve knowing and repeating every single saying Churchill made—it would be much
more economical just to say, “Everything Churchill said was true.” Similarly, “Every indicative sentence is
either true or false” is a way of insisting, for each such sentence (S), S or not S.
Despite their contention that the truth predicate is essentially redundant, deflationists can allow that truth
is important and that it should be the aim of rational inquiry. Indeed, the paraphrases into which the
deflationary view renders such claims help to explain why this is so. Thus, “It is important to believe that
some individuals are ill only if it is true that they are” becomes “It is important to believe that some
individuals are ill only if they are.”
10. Other broad claims that appeal to the notion of truth can likewise be paraphrased in illuminating ways,
according to deflationists. “Science is useful because what it says is is true” is a way of simultaneously
asserting an indefinitely large number of sentences such as “Science is useful because it says that cholera is
caused by a bacterium, and it is” and “Science is useful because it says that smoking causes cancer, and it
does” and so on.
While deflationism has been an influential view since the 1970s, it has not escaped criticism. One objection
is that it takes the meanings of sentences too much for granted. According to many theorists, including the
American philosopher Donald Davidson, the meaning of a sentence is equivalent to its truth conditions
(see semantics: truth-conditional semantics). If deflationism is correct, however, then this approach to
sentence meaning might have to be abandoned (because no statement of the truth conditions of a sentence
could be any more informative than the sentence itself). But this in turn is contestable, since deflationists
can reply that the best model of what it is to “give the truth conditions” of a sentence is simply that of
Tarski, and Tarski uses nothing beyond the deflationists’ own notion of truth. If this is right, then saying
what a sentence means by giving its truth conditions comes to nothing more than saying what a sentence
means.
As indicated above, the realm of truth bearers has been populated in different ways in different theories. In
some it consists of sentences, in others sayings, assertions, beliefs, or propositions. Although assertions and
related speech acts are featured in many theories, much work remains to be done on the nature of assertion
in different areas of discourse. The danger, according to Wittgenstein and many others, is that the smooth
notion of an assertion conceals many different functions of language underneath its bland surface.
11. . For example, some theorists hold that some assertions are not truth bearers but are rather put forward as
useful fictions, as instruments, or as expressions of attitudes of approval or disapproval or of dispositions to
act in certain ways. A familiar example of such a view is expressivism in ethics, which holds
that ethical assertions (e.g., “Vanity is bad”) function as expressions of attitude (“Tsk tsk”) or as prescriptions
(“Do not be vain!”) (see ethics: Irrealist views: projectivism and expressivism). Another example is the
constructive empiricism of the Dutch-born philosopher Bas van Fraassen, according to which some scientific
assertions are not expressions of belief so much as expressions of a lesser state of mind, “acceptance.”
Accordingly, assertions such as “Quarks exist” are put forward not as true but merely as “empirically
adequate.” If some such views are correct, however, then an adequate theory of truth will require some
means of distinguishing the kinds of assertion to which it should apply—some account, in other words, of
what “asserting as true” consists of and how it contrasts, if it does, with other kinds of commitment.
Even if there is this much diversity in the human linguistic repertoire, however, it does not necessarily follow
that deflationism—according to which the truth predicate applies redundantly to all assertions—is wrong.
The diversity might be identifiable without holding the truth predicate responsible. “Vanity is bad” or
“Quarks exist” might contrast with “Snow is white” in important respects without the difference entailing
that the first two sentences are without truth value (neither true nor false) or at best true in other senses.