bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Reexamination of Causal Irregularity
Authors: Lauwers Steven
Published: November 2002

Aaron Snyder and Fred Dretske present an argument for the proposition that singular causal sequences, such as S caused b, need not be related to a general regularity, that an event of type S is always followed by an event of type b. Therefore, they assert that a claim of causal relation does not require a regular observation of effect following cause or cause preceeding effect. To reinforce their assertion, they present the following case:

Box R contains a randomizing device; once activated it proceeds, in a perfectly random manner, to one of its one hundred different terminal states. Each of the terminal states may be supposed to be equally probable so that the probability of the box ending in state number 17 is .01. One can think of the device as embodying certain quantum mechanical processes—e.g. the emission of an electron … toward a screen which has one hundred different areas suitably marked off as terminal sights. Attached to Box R is a loaded revolver which fires when (and only when) the terminal state happens to be number 17. We take this device and place it next to a cat, point the revolver at the cat and activate the box. Things go badly for the cat; the improbable occurs and the cat is killed. The cat's master, if informed of our doings, would almost certainly insist that we had killed his cat… Though we designate our actions as the cause, and the cat's death as the result, there is no regular or uniform connection between actions of the first sort and results of the latter sort … We seem to have a situation which we are inclined to describe in a way which implies the presence of a causal connection between C and E and, yet, a situation in which it is clear that in identical circumstances something of type C will not even generally be followed by something of type E. ([1], pp. 69–70)
A Query on Entrenchment
Authors: Creath Richard
Published: November 2002

In Fact, Fiction, and Forecast ([1]) and numerous publications in its wake Nelson Goodman has tried to define projectibility on the basis of a notion of entrenchment. While he and his associates have been able to defend the theory ingeniously against repeated and varied attacks, there seems to be one obstacle to the applicability of that theory which has not been widely discussed and to which we can only hope that Goodman will turn his attention.
Micro-Particles and Picturability: A Reply
Authors: Noren Stephen J.
Published: November 2002

In a recent paper, T. R. Girill ([2]) claims to have found some difficulties with an earlier paper of mine ([5]) in which I argued, against A. M. Paul ([6]), that in principle, micro-entities are unpicturable. Paul had argued that N. R. Hanson's view, frequently repeated in Patterns of Discovery, to the effect that

… atomic particles must lack certain properties; electrons could not be other than unpicturable. The impossibility of visualizing ultimate matter is an essential feature of atomic explanation. ([3], pp. 121–126)
Beliefs and Subdoxastic States
Authors: Stich Stephen P.
Published: November 2002

It is argued that the intuitively sanctioned distinction between beliefs and non-belief states that play a role in the proximate causal history of beliefs is a distinction worth preserving in cognitive psychology. The intuitive distinction is argued to rest on a pair of features exhibited by beliefs but not by subdoxastic states. These are access to consciousness and inferential integration. Harman's view, which denies the distinction between beliefs and subdoxastic states, is discussed and criticized.
Gibson's Theory of Perception: A Case of Hasty Epistemologizing?
Authors: Reed Edward S. , Jones Rebecca K.
Published: November 2002

Hintikka has criticized psychologists for “hasty epistemologizing,” which he takes to be an unwarranted transfer of ideas from psychology (a discipline dealing with questions of fact) into epistemology (a discipline dealing with questions of method and theory). Hamlyn argues, following Hintikka, that Gibson's theory of perception is an example of such an inappropriate transfer, especially insofar as Hamlyn feels Gibson does not answer several important questions. However, Gibson's theory does answer the relevant questions, albeit in a new and radical way, which suggests that the alleged distinction between psychology and epistemology is suspect. In fact, contrary to Hintikka and Hamlyn's claims, Gibson's theory of perception appears to be a valuable source of epistemological as well as psychological ideas.
On Transmitted Information as a Measure of Explanatory Power
Authors: Hanna Joseph F.
Published: November 2002

This paper contrasts two information-theoretic approaches to statistical explanation: namely, (1) an analysis, which originated in my earlier research on problems of testing stochastic models of learning, based on an entropy-like measure of expected transmitted-information (and here referred to as the Expected-Information Model), and (2) the analysis, which was proposed by James Greeno (and which is closely related to Wesley Salmon's Statistical Relevance Model), based on the information-transmitted-by-a-system. The substantial differences between these analyses can be traced to the following basic difference. On Greeno's view, the essence of explanation lies in the relevance relations expressed by the conditional probabilities that relate the explanans variables to the explanandum variables; on my view, in contrast, the essence of explanation lies in theories viewed as hypothetical structures which deductively entail conditional probability distributions linking the explanans variables and the explanandum variables. The explanatory power of a stochastic theory is identified with information (regarding the values of explanandum variables) which is “absorbed from” the explanans variables. While other information which is “absorbed from” the explanandum variables (through the process of parameter estimation, for example) reflects descriptive power of the theory. I prove that Greeno's measure of transmitted information is a limiting special case of the E-I model, but that the former, unlike the latter, makes no distinction between explanatory power and descriptive power.
A Theory of Conclusions
Authors: Dacey Raymond
Published: November 2002

This paper presents a theory of conclusions based upon the suggestions of Tukey [21]. The logic offered here is based upon two rules of detachment that occur naturally in probabilistic inference, a traditional rule of acceptance, and a rule of rejection. The rules of detachment provide flexibility: the theory of conclusions can account for both statistical and deductive arguments. The rule of acceptance governs the acceptance of new conclusions, is a variant of the rule of high probability, and is a limiting case of a decision-theoretic rule of acceptance. The rule of rejection governs the removal of previously accepted conclusions on the basis of new evidence. The resulting theory of conclusions is not a decision-theoretic logic but does, through the aforementioned limiting property, provide a line of demarcation between decision and conclusion (i.e., nondecision) logics of acceptance. The theory of conclusions therefore complements decision-theoretic inference.

The theory of conclusions presented here satisfies Tukey's desiderata, specifically:

(1)

conclusions are statements which are accepted on the basis of unusually strong evidence;

(2)

conclusions are to remain accepted unless and until unusually strong evidence to the contrary arises;

(3)

conclusions are subject to future rejection, when and if the evidence against them becomes strong enough.

Finally, the preferred theory of conclusions has a strong conservative bias, reflecting Tukey's aims.
Philosophical Aspects of the Group Selection Controversy
Authors: Cassidy John
Published: November 2002

This article is primarily a study of the group selection controversy, with special emphasis on the period from 1962 to the present, and the rise of inclusive fitness theory. Interest is focused on the relations between individual fitness theory and other fitness theories and on the methodological imperatives used in the controversy over the status of these theories. An appendix formalizes the notion of “assertive part” which is used in the informal discussion of the methodological imperatives elicited from the controversy.
Idealizations and Approximations in Physics
Authors: Schwartz Robert John
Published: November 2002

While the use of so-called idealizations in science has been widely recognized for many years, the philosophical problems that arise from this use have received relatively little attention. Even a cursory reading of the philosophical literature devoted to these problems ([1]; [2]; [4], pp. 160–171; [5]; [7], pp. 54–63) reveals that the following questions remain unanswered: In general, what, if any, are the distinguishing characteristics of idealizations? More specifically, do idealizations have any distinguishing syntactic or semantic characteristics? In addition to these questions there exist the following pragmatic questions, questions relating to the ways in which idealizations are used in science: How are idealizations used in explanations? (see [2]). Do these explanations have any peculiar characteristics—characteristics not shared by deductive-nomological (D-N) explanations? If we assume that (at least some types of) idealizations are false (or contain false components) or “do not obtain,” how is it that they can have any explanatory power? (see [7], p. 58). Further, there are questions of more general philosophic concern. How do the problems of idealizations relate to those of simplicity, for an idealization seems to be, in some sense, a type of simplification? How do the problems of ideal laws and theories relate to the general problems of scientific laws and theories?
In Defense of a Probabilistic Theory of Causality
Authors: Rosen Deborah A.
Published: November 2002

Germund Hesslow has argued recently [2] that a probabilistic theory of causality as advocated by Patrick Suppes [4] has two problems that a deterministic theory avoids. In this paper, I argue that Suppes' probabilistic causal calculus is free of each of these problems and, moreover, that several broader issues raised by Hesslow's discussion tend to support a probabilistic conception of causes.
On the Alleged Extensionality of “Causal Explanatory Contexts”
Authors: Stern Cindy
Published: November 2002

In a recent paper, Michael Levin argues that both statements reporting causal relations and causal explanatory statements are extensional. We show that his argument for the extensionality of causal explanatory statements fails to establish that conclusion. His claim that certain ‘because’ statements are elliptical for statements of what he terms the ‘causal explanatory’ form is unsubstantiated. The argument for the referential transparency of the allegedly explanatory form, regardless of whether it is a distinct explanatory form, fails because of scope problems. Finally, we argue that the apparent referential opacity of explanations, the attribution of certain kinds of properties to explanations, and our satisfaction with explanations in what appear to be disparate forms are best accounted for, not by the assumption of ellipticality of statements in various forms for statements in some inherently explanatory form, but rather by an account of explanation as a speech act, the success or failure of which may be affected by which of several co-referring expressions is employed.
Lavoisier's Slow Burn
Authors: Levin Michael E. , Levin Margarita R.
Published: November 2002

Limitations of space dictate that we confine ourselves to Miss Stern's most salient comments. First, a preliminary point. Miss Stern says “Levin offers no argument” for why “e happened because of c” implicitly contains an explanatory description, while “c caused e” does not. But surely the remark ([1], 273) that we often know that c caused e without knowing why c caused e is just such an argument. Our linguistic intuition suggests that we use the first locution in this case; Miss Stern's evidently does not. Cases of non-diagnostic causal ascriptions do exist, and even ordinary language must provide for them; how it does so is a verbal dispute about English.
Sayre's Statistical Model of Causal Relations
Authors: Shrader Douglas
Published: November 2002

In a recent article [1], Kenneth Sayre presents what he takes to be an alternative to Salmon and Reichenbach's screening-off model of causal relations. His statistical model, based on communication theory, supposedly “has the added advantage of distinguishing cause and effect without reference to temporal distinction” (p. 203 abstract, cf. 212–213). Unfortunately his model falls far short of this grand claim, faltering before the same sort of examples I had previously used to assail the screening-off model [2].
Masking and Causal Relatedness: An Elucidation
Authors: Sayre Kenneth
Published: November 2002

Having noted my intention to improve upon other statistical analyses of causal relatedness by providing theoretical means to distinguish cause and effect without reference to temporality [1], Professor Shrader argues [3] that the alternative model I offer falters “before the same sort of examples he had previously used to assail” these other analyses. Although the assailant seems both to have misunderstood the model in question and to have overestimated the effect of his counterexamples, his objections provide a welcome opportunity for clarification.
Realism and Instrumentalism in 19th-Century Atomism
Authors: Gardner Michael R.
Published: November 2002

And we must at all costs avoid over-simplification, which one might be tempted to call the occupational disease of philosophers if it were not their occupation.

(Austin 1965, p. 38).

Sometimes a theory is interpreted realistically—i.e., as literally true—whereas sometimes a theory is interpreted instrumentalistically—i.e., as merely a convenient device for summarizing, systematizing, deducing, etc., a given body of observable facts. This paper is part of a program aimed at determining the basis on which scientists decide on which of these interpretations to accept a theory. I proceed by examining one case: the nineteenth-century debates about the existence of atoms. I argue that there was a gradual transition from an instrumentalist to a realistic acceptance of the atomic theory, because of gradual increases in its predictive power, the “testedness” of its hypotheses, the “determinateness” of its quantities, and because of resolutions of doubts about the acceptability of its basic explanatory concepts.
Evidence and Hypothesis: An Analysis of Evidential Relations
Authors: Longino Helen E.
Published: November 2002

The subject of this essay is the dependence of evidential relations on background beliefs and assumptions. In Part I, two ways in which the relation between evidence and hypothesis is dependent on such assumptions are discussed and it is shown how in the context of appropriately differing background beliefs what is identifiable as the same state of affairs can be taken as evidence for conflicting hypotheses. The dependence of evidential relations on background beliefs is illustrated by discussions of the Michelson-Morley experiment and the discovery of oxygen. In Part II, Hempel's analysis of confirmation and the contrasting model of theory acceptance provided by philosophers such as Kuhn and Feyerabend are discussed. It is argued that both are inadequate (on different grounds) and the problems addressed by each are shown to be more satisfactorily approached by means of the analysis developed in Part I. In Part III, it is argued that if there are objective criteria for deciding between competing theories, these cannot be simply that one theory has greater evidential support than another. Finally, some further methodological questions arising from the analysis are mentioned.
Substantial Causes and Nomic Determination
Authors: Byerly Henry
Published: November 2002

I characterize a notion of causal agency that is the causitive component of many transitive verbs. The agency of what I call substantial causes relates objects physically to systems with which they interact. Such agent causation does not reduce to conditionship relations, nor does it cease to play a role in scientific discourse. I argue, contrary to regularity theories, that causal claims do not in general depend for their sense on generalities nor do they entail the existence of laws. Clarification of the relationships among substantial causes, causal processes, and explanatory conditions separates the analysis of causal connection from that of nomological connection. This clarification is then applied to a variety of issues in the analysis of causality.
Time's Arrow and the Structure of Spacetime
Authors: Matthews Geoffrey
Published: November 2002

The theory of general relativity has produced some great insights into the nature of space and time. Unfortunately, its relevance to the problem of the direction of time has been overestimated. This paper points out that the problem of the direction of time can be formulated in purely local ways, and that in this kind of formulation considerations of general relativity are of little or no importance. On the basis of this, positions which assume that relativistic considerations are always relevant are criticised.
Confirmation and Prediction
Authors: Merrill G. H.
Published: November 2002

It is argued that Hempel's original rejection of the prediction criterion of confirmation in [8] (on the grounds that it leads to a circular definition of confirmation) was ill-conceived, and that his own approach exhibits undesirable consequences to the degree that it deviates from this criterion. A version of the prediction criterion is formulated which, in addition to being-non circular, escapes the criticisms advanced against Hempel's satisfaction criterion, offers certain clear advantages over alternative approaches, and may serve as the basis for a theory of qualitative confirmation. The definition of confirmation developed here violates two of Hempel's three criteria of adequacy, and in showing why it should do so some light is shed on various issues in the debate concerning the acceptability of these criteria.
On Grünbaum and Retrocausation in Classical Electrodynamics
Authors: Nissim-Sabat Charles
Published: November 2002

A detailed analysis is made of Grünbaum's claim that the Abraham-Lorentz (AL) and Dirac-Lorentz (DL) equations have no bearing on causality. It is pointed out that (a) both equations are derived from F = ma, and thus should obey the same causality conditions as Newton's law, (b) independently of what boundary conditions are imposed, non-causal behavior is always along the same straight line as the force, (c) the distinction in status between laws and boundary conditions which Grünbaum imposes is one which is not always useful, especially since what is a law in one formulation of the theory can become a boundary condition in another, and thus it is argued that a complete theory must be such that laws and boundary conditions form a coherent whole, (d) the asymptotic boundary conditions that are applied are in agreement with experiment, (e) the AL equation is such that if the “effect,” the acceleration as function of time, is known, then the “cause,” the force, can be determined. In addition, it is noted that in the DL equation the acceleration at times later than t influences the acceleration at t. Finally, it is pointed out that electrodynamics is indeed a causal field theory, and that retrocausality is due to the transition from a field description to a particle description.
Retrocausation and the Formal Assimilation of Classical Electrodynamics to Newtonian Mechanics: A Reply to Nissim-Sabat's “On Grünbaum and Retrocausation”
Authors: Grünbaum Adolf , Janis Allen I.
Published: November 2002

Dirac's classical electrodynamics countenances “preaccelerations” of charged particles at a time t as mathematical functions of external forces applied after the time t. These preaccelerations have been interpreted as evidence for physical retrocausation upon assuming that, in electrodynamics no less than in Newton's second law, external forces sustain an asymmetric causal relation to accelerations. And this retrocausal interpretation has just been defended against the critiques in (Grünbaum 1976), (Grünbaum and Janis, 1977 and 1978) by appeal to the formal assimilation of the electrodynamic laws of motion to Newton's second law. It is argued below that this latest defense of the retrocausal interpretation is even more ill-founded than the prior ones in the literature.
Generality and Nomological Form
Authors: Wilson Mark
Published: November 2002

It is usually supposed that the ‘fundamental’ laws of nature must be general, i.e. must essentially begin with a universal quantifier (Hempel and Oppenheim 1965, p. 272). Other ‘derivative’ laws may not satisfy this requirement but only because they are the logical or mathematical consequences of a set of fundamental laws. As it stands, this requirement is either too strong or trivial. Consider the Newtonian gravitational law:

where FG(x, y, t) is the impressed gravitational force on x due to y at t, ms(x) is the mass of x, d(x, y, t) is the displacement of the center of mass of x from the center of mass of y at t, and G is the universal gravitational constant. (For simplicity, we ignore the vector nature of FG). What is the role of the constant “G”? Reflection shows that it is actually a disguised existential quantifier, or, more precisely, a Skolem function replacement for one. Rendering Newtonian mechanics in a parsimonious language, we could drop the “G” and rewrite (1) as

The constant “G” could then be defined, if desired, as the unique r satisfying (2) (the propriety of this definition is guaranteed by (2)). Such a theory would have exactly the same deductive consequences as (1). But (2) has an initial existential quantifier essentially.
On Behavioral Theories of Reference
Authors: Rozeboom William W.
Published: November 2002

Efforts to bare the psychonomic nature of the semantic reference (representation) relation have been remarkably scanty; in fact, the only contemporary account developed with any care is the one proposed by Osgood. However, not even Osgood has looked deeply at the difficulties that beset any attempt to analyze reference in terms of common effects appropriately shared by a symbol and its significate.
Towards a Better Microeconomic Theory
Authors: Cyert Richard M. , Pottinger Garrel
Published: November 2002

We summarize the evidence and arguments usually employed against the use of the profit maximization assumption in microeconomic theory, and then pass directly to the methodological arguments. Two arguments are considered. The first summarizes positions which have been taken by various defenders of the “people who think a theory should be given up just because it is false are naive and confused” view. To rebut this view, we develop a scheme for classifying theoretical assumptions and show that the specious plausibility of the argument in question derives from ignoring the distinctions we have drawn. The second argument attempts to show that a better theory is more likely to be attained by continuing the development of the orthodox theory. We show that this view is mistaken and then discuss steps which have been taken to develop a better theory.
Quantum Probability in Logical Space
Authors: Bigelow John C.
Published: November 2002

Probability measures can be constructed using the measure-theoretic techniques of Caratheodory and Hausdorff. Under these constructions one obtains first anouter measureover “events” or “propositions.” Then, if one restricts this outer measure to themeasurablepropositions, one finally obtains a classical probability theory. What I argue is that outer measures can also be used to yield the structures of probability theories in quantum mechanics, provided we permit them to range over at least someunmeasurablepropositions. I thereby show that nonclassical probability theories can be seen to arise naturally within the framework of possible worlds semantics.
Are There Rival, Incommensurable Theories?
Authors: Moberg Dale W.
Published: November 2002

Following an account of the incommensurability argument, an objection, based on assumptions concerning rival theories, is examined and rejected. This rejection leads to an alternative direction of criticism of incommensurability, a direction that involves the articulation of comparative standards of theory evaluation that are independent of meaning invariance.
The Propensity Interpretation of Fitness
Authors: Mills Susan K. , Beatty John H.
Published: November 2002

The concept of “fitness” is a notion of central importance to evolutionary theory. Yet the interpretation of this concept and its role in explanations of evolutionary phenomena have remained obscure. We provide a propensity interpretation of fitness, which we argue captures the intended reference of this term as it is used by evolutionary theorists. Using the propensity interpretation of fitness, we provide a Hempelian reconstruction of explanations of evolutionary phenomena, and we show why charges of circularity which have been levelled against explanations in evolutionary theory are mistaken. Finally, we provide a definition of natural selection which follows from the propensity interpretation of fitness, and which handles all the types of selection discussed by biologists, thus improving on extant definitions.
Fit, Finite, and Universal Axiomatization of Theories
Authors: Simon Herbert A.
Published: November 2002

In a previous paper (Simon and Groen 1973) it was proposed that theories of empirical phenomena should satisfy conditions of finite and irrevocable testability (FITness conditions). Roughly speaking, a theory is finitely testable if, for every set of observations that falsifies the theory, there exists a finite subset of observations that falsifies it. A theory is irrevocably testable if, for any finite set of observations that falsifies the theory, any superset of observations that includes that set also falsifies it—a theory falsified by observations cannot be resuscitated by adding new observations to the original set.
Jackson and Pargetter's Criterion of Distant Simultaneity
Authors: Torretti Roberto
Published: November 2002

Frank Jackson and Robert Pargetter (1977) propose a method for synchronizing clocks at rest at distant points of an inertial system in Euclidean space, which, they claim, (i) does not depend on Einstein's signalling method (Einstein 1923, pp. 27–29) and (ii) provides a basis for denying the conventionality of distant simultaneity. I am afraid, however, that the new method presupposes that the simultaneity of distant events relatively to the chosen inertial system has been already determined by Einstein's or some other method. Jackson and Pargetter describe their method as follows:

Let UA, UB be clocks at A, B, respectively. Let XY be an axis perpendicular to AB, passing through C, the midpoint of AB. Take a rigid straight rod A′B′ with midpoint C′ and length equal to the length AB. Move A′B′ with uniform velocity such that C′ travels along XY towards C, and A′B′ is perpendicular to XY (i.e. parallel to AB); then if the reading … on UA just when A′ coincides with A is the same as the reading … on UB just when B′ coincides with B, clocks UA and UB will be synchronous. (Jackson and Pargetter 1977, p. 468).
Comment on “Relative Simultaneity in the Special Theory of Relativity”
Authors: Giannoni Carlo
Published: November 2002

In their recent paper, Jackson and Pargetter (1977) have attempted to prove that simultaneity is not a matter of convention. They attempt to show that it is an empirical fact whether or not a moving rod A′B′ is perpendicular to a plane XY. If it is an empirical fact, then such a perpendicular rod can be used to synchronize clocks. We shall show that it is not an empirical fact, but it is in fact synchronization dependent.
A Reply to Torretti and Giannoni
Authors: Jackson Frank , Pargetter Robert
Published: November 2002

Robert Torretti's objection is verificationism writ large. We reply that verificationism is to be rejected. Carlo Giannoni's objection is that our test for tilting fails because the rod might tilt and yet no current flow through its mid-point. We reply that nevertheless we can test for tilting because there would still be differences detectable with a glavanometer.
Reduction in Genetics
Authors: Hull David L.
Published: November 2002

In a recent paper, William K. Goosens (1978) objects to the arguments I set out some time ago attacking the logical empiricist analysis of reduction as applied to genetics (Hull 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976a). In these works I did not argue against the claim that Mendelian genetics was being reduced to molecular biology. Nor did I conclude, as Goosens asserts, that in the case of genetics, “reduction is insignificant” (p. 93). To the contrary, I repeatedly stated that, “given our pre-analytic intuitions about reduction,” the reduction of Mendelian to molecular genetics “isa case of reduction, a paradigm case” (Hull 1974 p. 44). And in agreement with Kenneth Schaffner (1967) I argued that reduction “in some very important, pre-analytic sense has taken place and is taking place in genetics” (Hull 1973, p. 634). The target of my objections to reduction in genetics was not “reduction” in some pre-analytic sense. Nor was it the various explications which have appeared since. Rather it was the notion of theory reduction set out a generation ago by such logical empiricists as Ernest Nagel (1961), The particular version of this analysis which I chose to attack was that presented by Schaffner (1967, 1969); for Schaffner's later views, see his (1974, 1976, 1977). I chose Schaffner's explication to attack because I thought it was the best of its kind and because it was the only defense of the logical empiricist analysis at the time which used genetics as one of its chief examples. Contrary to Goosens' assumption, in criticizing Schaffner's explication, I did not thereby “endorse” it (p. 82).
Teleology and Mechanism: M. Grene's Absurdity Argument
Authors: Clark Desmond M.
Published: November 2002

Marjorie Grene has argued in a number of contexts (1971, 1974, 1976) that any attempt to reduce the explanation of human actions to “mechanistic” explanations is doomed to failure in advance because it is absurd. “This argument examines the status of the reductivist thesis in its own terms and reduces it to absurdity …” (1971, p. 55); “the attempt to reduce human purposive, or ‘intentional,‘ action to physiology and ultimately to physics and chemistry is an absurdity rather than simply a confusion” (1976, p. 183). I wish to show that this argument is fallacious because it involves a petitio principii; and if Plato can be credited with introducing the same argument in the Theaetetus, as she suggests, so much the worse for Plato.
Comment on Desmond Clarke, “Teleology and Mechanism: M. Grene's Absurdity Argument.”
Authors: Grene Marjorie
Published: November 2002

Desmond Clarke's remarks on “my” absurdity argument are puzzling. i) Although I do indeed still believe it to be a valid argument, I certainly would not claim credit for it. I believe that “Reducibility: Another Side Issue?” put the general problem of the reducibility of mind into a somewhat unorthodox context, but the particular claim Clarke is attacking forms only one very unoriginal step in the general argument of that essay. ii) Some points that Clarke makes I would certainly agree to, and believe I have agreed to in some of the texts he cites, while others are far from anything I meant to convey. Under Clarke's (a), 1) of course the “antinomies” of the paper above referred to trade on ambiguities. That's one of the points of the paper. 2) in both “Reducibility … (Grene 1971)” and “To Have A Mind …” (Grene 1976), I have tried to specify the sense in which “mechanism” was being used. That I do not take such terms as self-explanatory should be clear, for instance, from the remarks in the latter paper that immediately follow the passage Clarke criticizes. 3) I have no idea how physics is to develop in the future, nor did I wish to suggest that I did. With the rest of Clarke's (a) I entirely agree. As to his (b), I fail to see its relevance to my argument, unless it simply leads up to (c) and (d), with which, again, I wholeheartedly concur. Nancy Maull's paper, which Clarke refers to, for example, seems to me to shed great light on what used to be thought the problem of reduction; I don't see how her argument conflicts with “mine.” iii) Clarke's two “interpretations” of “my” argument are even more puzzling. The first paragraph is clear, as far as it goes. But the second is entirely murky. Perhaps I may try to reconstruct it. “The question for the scientist of a reductivist disposition in this context,” Clarke writes, “is: would it be possible to construct an alternative theory (which is not intentional, teleological, etc.) which adequately explains the same phenomena as the human sciences?” Fair enough. But apparently one is not allowed to reflect about an answer to this question. One has to wait and see if such a theory does develop. And meantime to notice that any theory by its very nature is intentional: this is to use some part of the human sciences to establish the explanatory power of all the human sciences. Is that what is meant? If so, I would reply: that the claim that theories are inherently intentional is not a thesis of any “human science” but a philosophical thesis about the nature of intelligible discourse. If a wholly non-intentional theory of human action were stated it would invalidate itself as theory. Thus, to respond to the major accusation of (ii), we would have an answer to Clarke's question such that the question could not have been asked. What we have, then, is not a petitio but a valid reductio ad absurdum.
General Relativity and the Conceivability of Time Travel
Authors: Weingard Robert
Published: November 2002

It has been suggested by several philosophers (Lewis 1976, Putnam 1962) that many of the so-called paradoxes of backward time travel can be resolved if we conceive of the backward time traveller as having a zig-zag or N-shaped world line in spacetime. In this I am in general agreement. But there is still a problem in conceiving of backward time travel this way. In this note I will show how we can solve this problem by conceiving of backward time travel in terms of the closed time-like world lines in certain general relativistic space-times. Indeed, it has often been claimed (cf. Dwyer 1978, Godei 1949, Tipler 1974) that such world models as Godei spacetime show (or contribute to showing) that backward time travel is conceivable. Our discussion will help to make clear just why this claim is correct.
Function Attributions and Functional Explanations
Authors: Enç Berent
Published: November 2002

A series of explanatory hypotheses are examined under the assumption that the logical structure of function attributions is dependent on the methodological constraints which these hypotheses conform to. Two theses are argued for: (1) Given these methodological constraints, if something has the function of doing Y, then normally it is the only kind of thing that can do Y in that kind of system. (2) What distinguishes function attributions from causal attribution is not that function attributions explain the etiology Of the causally efficacious object, as Wright has suggested. The distinction lies rather in that the object's having the effect, which is attributed to it as its function, must figure in the explanation of why it does what it does to achieve that effect.
Homogeneity and Explanatory Depth
Authors: Meixner John
Published: November 2002

Wesley Salmon has recently proposed a new theory of scientific explanation based on a model which he calls the statistical-relevance model. It is intended primarily as an account of the structure of explanations of particular events—explanations which, according to Salmon, are very often motivated largely by practical concerns. Two important features of this account are the concepts of homogeneity and screening off. In this paper we argue that the employment of these two concepts (which, in fact, are intimately connected) is fundamentally at odds with the desire to capture everyday explanations of the practical sort, and that it leads instead to an account in which the only satisfactory explanations are those expressed in the very deepest physical terms.
On the Metamethodological Dimension of the “Expectancy Paradox”
Authors: Shames Morris L.
Published: November 2002

When an experimenter uses the experimental method to investigate the effects of the experimenter's expectancy it may be that this research, too, is affected by his expectancy and thus there is an expectancy paradox. To the extent that the experimenter expectancy effect accounts for the variation in the dependent variable and is general, that is to say, universal in psychological research, the expectancy paradox is ineluctable. However, an analysis of the research reviews extant in this area yields the conclusion that expectancy effects are neither inexorable nor highly general in psychological research and this provides the basis for its extrication from the expectancy paradox.
On the Reduction of Genetics to Molecular Biology
Authors: Kimbrough Steven Orla
Published: November 2002

The applicability of Nagel's concept of theory reduction, and related concepts of reduction, to the reduction of genetics to molecular biology is examined using the lactose operon in Escherichia coli as an example. Geneticists have produced the complete nucleotide sequence of two of the genes which compose this operon. If any example of reduction in genetics should fit Nagel's analysis, the lactose operon should. Nevertheless, Nagel's formal conditions of theory reduction are inapplicable in this case. Instead, it is argued that genetics has been partially reduced to molecular biology in the sense of token-token reduction.
On Theory-Change and Meaning-Change
Authors: Levin Michael E.
Published: November 2002

I argue against the currently popular view that a radical change in theory affects the meaning of theoretical terms, and hence render pre- and post-shift theories incomparable. I first show how to pose the meaning-change issue without appeal to meanings reified. I contend that arguments against theory-neutral observation languages are faulty, but that even if they were sound, there are semantic devices that allow a theory to refer to the factual basis of a competitor. This suggests a picture of science as the accumulation of truths, with each successive stage being more stable.
Geometry and Special Relativity
Authors: Joseph Geoffrey
Published: November 2002

The issue of the conventionality of geometry is considered in the light of the special theory of relativity. The consequences of Minkowski's insights into the ontology of special relativity are elaborated. Several logically distinct senses of “conventionalism” and “realism” are distinguished, and it is argued that the special theory vindicates some of these possible positions but not others. The significance of the usual distinction between relativity and conventionality is discussed. Finally, it is argued that even though the spatial metric within an inertial reference frame is euclidean, it is impossible to define unique objects which can serve as the relativistic surrogates of the spatial points of classical geometry.
Is Curvature Intrinsic to Physical Space?
Authors: Nerlich Graham
Published: November 2002

Wesley C. Salmon (1977) has written a characteristically elegant and ingenious paper The Curvature of Physical Space'. He argues in it that the curvature of a space cannot be intrinsic to it. Salmon relates his view that space is affinely amorphous to Grünbaum's view (Grünbaum 1973, esp. Ch. 16 & 22) that it is metrically amorphous and acknowledges parallels between the arguments which have been offered for each opinion. I wish to dispute these conclusions on philosophical grounds quite as much as on geometrical ones. Although I concentrate most on arguing for a well defined, intrinsic affinity for physical space the arguments extend easily to support a well defined, intrinsic metric.
Scientific Realism: The New Debates
Authors: MacKinnon Edward
Published: November 2002

In place of earlier instrumentalist and phenomenalist interpretations of science both Quine and Sellars have developed highly influential realist positions centering around the doctrine that accepting a theory as explanatory and irreducible rationally entails accepting the entities posited by the theory. A growing reaction against this realism is partially based on perceived inadequacies in the doctrines of Quine and Sellars, but even more on reconstructions of scientific explanations which do not involve such ontic commitments. Three types of anti-realistic positions are considered and criticized. Hesse's neo-Duhemian position couples a statistical theory of inference to a downgrading of purely theoretical statements. Sneed uses the method of axiomatization through set-theoretic predicates to supply a reconstruction of Kuhn's account of scientific development. Here Ramsey-reduction sentences serve to eliminate purely theoretical terms. The longest section deals with van Fraassen's semantic model based on a state-space representation of scientific theories and the use of this model in interpreting quantum mechanics. It is argued that the model is valuable, but that the anti-realist interpretation accorded it is not justified and entails serious inconsistencies.
Functionalism and Reductionism
Authors: Richardson Robert C.
Published: November 2002

It is here argued that functionalist constraints on psychology do not preclude the applicability of classic forms of reduction and, therefore, do not support claims to a principled, or de jure, autonomy of psychology. In Part I, after isolating one minimal restriction any functionalist theory must impose on its categories, it is shown that any functionalism imposing an additional constraint of de facto autonomy must also be committed to a pure functionalist—that is, a computationalist—model for psychology. Using an extended parallel to the reduction of Mendelian to molecular genetics, it is shown in Parts II and III that, contrary to the claims of Hilary Putnam and Jerry Fodor, there is no inconsistency between computational models and classical reductionism: neither plurality of physical realization nor plurality of function are inconsistent with reductionism as defended by Ernest Nagel. Employing the results of Part I, the conclusions of Parts II and III are generalized in Part IV to cover any version of functionalism whatsoever; thus, functionalism and reductionism are shown to be consistent. It is urged in conclusion that although a de facto form of autonomy is defensible, there are sound methodological grounds for unconditionally rejecting any principled version of the autonomy of psychology.
The Grain Objection
Authors: Green Michael B.
Published: November 2002

Many philosophers, both past and present, object to materialism not from any romantic anti-scientific bent, but from sheer inability to understand the thesis. It seems utterly inconceivable to some that qualia should exist in a world which is entirely material. This paper investigates the grain objection, a much neglected argument which purports to prove that sensations could not be brain events. Three versions are examined in great detail. The plausibility of the first version is shown to depend crucially on whether one holds a direct or non-direct theory of perception. Only on the latter is this version plausible. An analysis of the second “semantic” version concludes that a materialist description and explanation of the world should not be expected to transparently convey all that would be of interest or importance to human beings. The final version explicitly makes use of Grover Maxwell's non-direct perceptual theory of structural realism. Although a confusion is charged to Maxwell between phenomenal and objective properties, the critical difficulty for the grain objection is its failure to characterize “structure” from a non-percipient point of view. As the grain objection is ultimately found wanting, the real difficulty for materialism crystallizes as its irreconciliability with the mere existence of sentience, which seems to force some sort of emergence upon us.
Eliminating Mistakes about Eliminative Materialism
Authors: Shope Robert K.
Published: November 2002

Richard Rorty's eliminative materialism is an attack on dualism that has frequently been misrepresented and incorrectly criticized. By taking account of the mistakes that philosophers have made concerning eliminative materialism, a proper definition of the doctrine and a clarification of its relation to traditional materialism will emerge, as well as an understanding of its true strengths and weaknesses. The discussion centers around the original manner in which Rorty defended eliminative materialism by means of analogies to the elimination of talk about demons and talk about macroscopic physical objects.
Independent Testability: The Michelson-Morley and Kennedy-Thorndike Experiments
Authors: Laymon Ronald
Published: November 2002

Grünbaum has argued that the Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction hypothesis is not ad hoc since the Kennedy-Thorndike experiment can be used to provide a test that is significantly different from that provided by the Michelson-Morley experiment. In the first part of the paper, I show that the differences claimed by Grünbaum to hold between these two experiments are not sufficient for establishing independent testability. A dilemma is developed: either the Kennedy-Thorndike experiment, because of experimental realities, cannot test the uncontracted Fresnel aether theory, or if experimental difficulties are ignored, the Kennedy-Thorndike experiment degenerates into a version of the Michelson-Morley experiment. The second part of the paper is a feasibility study of the prospects for defining experimental types according to aims of measurement and determination. This approach is applied to the contraction hypothesis, where it is suggested that the usual analysis of independent testability be modified.
Probability, Vague Statements and Fuzzy Sets
Authors: Dale A. I.
Published: November 2002

The relationship between vague statements and fuzzy sets is examined. It is shown that the probability of vague statements may be defined in a manner analogous to that discussed in Reichenbach's logic of weight.
Lawlikeness and the End of Science
Authors: Elgin C. Z.
Published: November 2002

Although our theories are not precisely true, scientific realists contend that we should admit their objects into our ontology. One justification—offered by Sellars and Putnam—is that current theories belong to series that converge to ideally adequate theories. I consider the way the commitment to convergence reflects on the interpretation of lawlike claims. I argue that the distinction between lawlike and accidental generalizations depends on our cognitive interests and reflects our commitment to the direction of scientific progress. If the sciences disagree about the lawlikeness of some generalization(s), as an argument of Davidson's suggests, it follows from the interest relatively of lawlikeness that the laws of a science do not determine the essences of their objects. I conclude that this form of scientific realism provides no metaphysical support for essentialism.
The Model-Theoretic Argument Against Realism
Authors: Merrill G. H.
Published: November 2002

In “Realism and Reason” Hilary Putnam has offered an apparently strong argument that the position of metaphysical realism provides an incoherent model of the relation of a correct scientific theory to the world. However, although Putnam's attack upon the notion of the “intended” interpretation of a scientific theory is sound, it is shown here that realism may be formulated in such a way that the realist need make no appeal to any “intended” interpretation of such a theory. Consequently, it can be shown that realism is immune to Putnam's criticism and that attempts at reformulating this criticism are not likely to meet with success.