Van Fraassen believes our current best theories enable us to make accurate predictions because they have been subjected to a selection process similar to natural selection. His explanation for the predictive success of our best theories has been subjected to extensive criticism from realists. I aim to clarify the nature of van Fraassen’s selectionist explanation for the success of science. Contrary to what the critics claim, the selectionist can explain why it is that we have successful theories, as well as (...) why it is reasonable to expect past successful theories to be successful in the future. I also argue that the plausibility of the realists’ explanation rests on an inaccurate understanding of the nature of predictive success . The predictive success of our best theories is a relative success. (shrink)

This volume is a state-of-the-art survey of the psychology of reasoning, based around, and in tribute to, one of the field "s most eminent figures: Jonathan St B.T. Evans.

Analyses of biological concepts of disease and social conceptions of health indicate that they are structurally interdependent. This in turn suggests the need for a bridge theory of illness. The main features of such a theory are an emphasis on the logical properties of value terms, close attention to the features of the experience of illness, and an analysis of this experience as action failure, drawing directly on the internal structure of action. The practical applications of this theory are outlined (...) for a number of problems in each of the three main practical areas, clinical work, teaching and research. In each case the resources of the theory suggest new models and generate new results. The full practical significance of the theory, however, is shown to consist in the way in which it ties together biological and social theories into an integrated picture of the conceptual structure of medicine as a whole. It is argued, finally, that practical efficiency of this kind is a test of theory not only in the philosophy of medicine but also in general philosophy. (shrink)

Context: Metaphysics of perception explores fundamental questions regarding the structure and status of the perceived world or appearance(s. By virtue of perception, the apparent world comes to existence. This, however, does not mean that the apparent world is a projection of mind, that it exists “in the head.” Implications: PL-metaphysics reconciles realism with constructivism. As such, it might be considered either an alternative to constructivism or an improvement and completion of this position. Constructivist content: The article refers to non-Cartesian movements (...) in contemporary philosophy, including radical constructivism, enactive and embodied cognition. Keywords: Perception, metaphysics, radical constructivism, realism, appearance, Jerzy Perzanowski, Plato, Gottfried Willhelm Leibniz, Ernst von Glasersfeld. (shrink)

This collection examines prevalent assumptions in moral reasoning which are often accepted uncritically in medical ethics. It introduces a range of perspectives from philosophy and medicine on the nature of moral reasoning and relates these to illustrative problems, such as New Reproductive Technologies, the treatment of sick children, the assessment of quality of life, genetics, involuntary psychiatric treatment and abortion. In each case, the contributors address the nature and worth of the moral theories involved in discussions of the relevant issues, (...) and focus on the types of reasoning which are employed. 'Medical ethics is in danger of becoming a subject kept afloat by a series of platitudes about respect for persons or the importance of autonomy. This book is a bold and imaginative attempt to break away from such rhetoric into genuine informative dialogue between philosophers and doctors, with no search after consensus.' Mary Warnock. (shrink)

The birth rates per 1000 married females of specified ages and durations of marriage generally attained their post-war maxima in 19463000 and (b) the cumulative fertility up to 5 or 10 years of marriage duration of later cohorts was considerably higher (13–40% higher) than that of earlier cohorts. These facts, and similar ones for Australia covering a wider period (Basavarajappa, 1964), are thought to suggest that the total fertility of cohorts who have not yet completed their childbearing might not be (...) far outside the limits of 2500 and 3000. (shrink)

Mehmet Akif İnan, Türkiye sendikacılığının önde gelen bir siması olarak bilinmesinin yanı sıra şâir ve yazarlığıyla da toplumun ekseriyeti tarafından tanınan bir şahsiyettir. Fakat sûfî kişiliği pek bilinmemektedir. Yapılan araş-tırmada İnan’a daha mücadeleci ve aktif karakter sağlayan hakikat, bilinmeyen tasavvuf ve tarîkat yönüdür. O, tasavvuf terbiyesinin kazandırdığı ahlâkla, insanlara önceden gösterdiği fedakârlığın daha fazlasını gösterir. İnan, tasavvuf ilmiyle benlik dönüşümünü gerçekleştirdikten sonra hem sendika çalışmalarında hem yazılarında ve şiirlerinde neslin kendi öz kültürü ve medeniyetiyle yetişmesi için gayret göstermiştir. İnan’ın tarîkata (...) intisabı yakın çevresi tarafından hayretle karşılanırken, tasavvufun kendisine kazandırdığı hal ile insanları kucaklaması, onların dertlerini paylaşması, arkadaşları tarafından "entelektüel derviş" olarak vasıflandırılır. Bu konuda yakın arkadaşları ve kendisini tanıyanlardan birçok eleştiri almıştır. Bu çalışmada, İnan’ın hayatı, eserleri, hayat mücadelesi ve pek bilinmeyen sûfî kişiliği ele alınmaktadır. (shrink)

Upshot: The commentaries raise a plethora of issues, extending the article’s problematic in insightful ways. In this response, we chose to focus on two interesting views on the “powerful idea” in the constructionist sense, on systems versus causal-rule thinking and on the affective aspect of collaborative learning.