Thought Experiments

Sprednja platnica
Oxford University Press, USA, 6. avg. 1992 - 336 strani
Sorensen presents a general theory of thought experiments: what they are, how they work, what are their virtues and vices. On Sorensen's view, philosophy differs from science in degree, but not in kind. For this reason, he claims, it is possible to understand philosophical thought experiments by concentrating on their resemblance to scientific relatives. Lessons learned about scientific experimentation carry over to thought experiment, and vice versa. Sorensen also assesses the hazards and pseudo-hazards of thought experiments. Although he grants that there are interesting ways in which the method leads us astray, he attacks most scepticism about thought experiments as arbitrary. They should be used, he says, as they generally are used--as part of a diversified portfolio of techniques. All of these devices are individually susceptible to abuse, fallacy, and error. Collectively, however, they provide a network of cross-checks that make for impressive reliability.

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Vsebina

Our Most Curious Device
3
Scepticism About Thought Experiments
21
Mach and Inner Cognitive Africa
51
The Wonder of Armchair Inquiry
76
Kuhntradictions
111
The Logical Structure of Thought Experiment
132
Conflict Vagueness and Precisification
167
The Evolution of Thought Experiment
186
Are Thought Experiments Experiments?
216
Fallacies and Antifallacies
252
Notes
291
Select Bibliography
307
Name Index
315
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