Philosophy
Another perspective on the function of scientific models.
This paper attacks the perennial philosophical and scientific quest for a simple and unified vision of the world. Without denying the attraction of this vision, I argue that such a goal often seriously distorts our understanding of complex phenomena. The argument is illustrated with reference to simplistic attempts to provide extremely general views of biology, and especially of human nature, through the theory of evolution. Although that theory is a fundamental ingredient of our scientific world view, it provides only one of a number of perspectives that are required for an understanding of biology in general, and human behaviour in paticular. The argument is connected to the replacement of views of science in terms of universal laws with views that emphasise ranges of models more locally suited to specific phenomena.
"The lure of the simplistic" by John Dupré in 2002
- Is Theater Like Science?
A few weeks back, Gwydion wrote a post on his blog asking if theater is like science? I replied arguing that theatrical writing is not only exactly like science, but could be seen as a form of applied sociology. What scientists produce are models,...
- Exploring The Scientific Method
It's out! It's real. My textbook on the history and philosophy of science has been published by the University of Chicago Press. It has a completely different pedagogical approach from the usual in that it uses a ?track-based? approach that allows...
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I gave a talk to a group of parents last Friday and asked whether we should believe atoms are real. The group overwhelmingly thought it was a silly question until one parent, clearly a scientist, piped up and informed everyone that atoms are not directly...
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Cosmology is the attempt to understand in scientific terms the structure and evolution of the universe as a whole. This ambition has been with us since the ancient Greeks, even if the developments in modern cosmology have provided a picture of the universe...
- "in Praise Of Science"--book Review
Sander Bais This is for colleague Tim. "Review - In Praise of Science" by Ioannis Trisokkas April 2010 metapsychology In writing the In Praise of Science, Sander Bais, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam, set himself three...
Philosophy
Adaptability of "scientific models"
Another perspective on the function of scientific models.
This paper attacks the perennial philosophical and scientific quest for a simple and unified vision of the world. Without denying the attraction of this vision, I argue that such a goal often seriously distorts our understanding of complex phenomena. The argument is illustrated with reference to simplistic attempts to provide extremely general views of biology, and especially of human nature, through the theory of evolution. Although that theory is a fundamental ingredient of our scientific world view, it provides only one of a number of perspectives that are required for an understanding of biology in general, and human behaviour in paticular. The argument is connected to the replacement of views of science in terms of universal laws with views that emphasise ranges of models more locally suited to specific phenomena.
"The lure of the simplistic" by John Dupré in 2002
- Is Theater Like Science?
A few weeks back, Gwydion wrote a post on his blog asking if theater is like science? I replied arguing that theatrical writing is not only exactly like science, but could be seen as a form of applied sociology. What scientists produce are models,...
- Exploring The Scientific Method
It's out! It's real. My textbook on the history and philosophy of science has been published by the University of Chicago Press. It has a completely different pedagogical approach from the usual in that it uses a ?track-based? approach that allows...
- Are Atoms Real?
I gave a talk to a group of parents last Friday and asked whether we should believe atoms are real. The group overwhelmingly thought it was a silly question until one parent, clearly a scientist, piped up and informed everyone that atoms are not directly...
- Science, Philosophy, Cosmology
Cosmology is the attempt to understand in scientific terms the structure and evolution of the universe as a whole. This ambition has been with us since the ancient Greeks, even if the developments in modern cosmology have provided a picture of the universe...
- "in Praise Of Science"--book Review
Sander Bais This is for colleague Tim. "Review - In Praise of Science" by Ioannis Trisokkas April 2010 metapsychology In writing the In Praise of Science, Sander Bais, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam, set himself three...