Some decades ago, Fred Suppe (1974, p. 3) remarked that “it is only a slight exaggeration to claim that a philosophy of science is little more than an analysis of theories and their roles in the scientific enterprise.” The truth of this remark is attested by the fact that so many topics in contemporary philosophy of science continue to be framed in terms of theories. The issue of realism and instrumentalism, for example, is typically understood as the question of whether (...) various terms in statements making up scientific theories refer to real objects or merely serve the role of facilitating inferences among claims about observations (see realism and instrumentalism). Again, reduction has often been seen as depending on whether statements in one theory can be logically deduced from those in another theory (see reductionism). Similarly, scientific change has been understood as the replacement of one theory by another (see scientific change). Finally, relativism is typically portrayed as the view that the choice of one theory over another has no “objective” or “rational” basis, but depends merely on the interests of those with the power to enforce their decision (see relativism). In fact, the framing of these and many other issues not only centers on relationships involving theories, it often presumes a particular account of the general nature of theories. (shrink)

An exploration of the problems and methods of modern biology and their impact on man's changing view of science and himself.

It would be worth knowing whom the historian married. His wife's name might disclose some local tie in the Sabine country; or it might permit a guess about alliances with families at the metropolis, whether ancient in repute or newly risen to influence. Marriage is a normal device for advancement – ‘decus ac robur’. Cicero did well for himself when, about the year 79 B.C., he married Terentia. She was the half-sister of a Fabia, who was a Vestal Virgin. The (...) Fabii are not only noble but patrician, albeit in temporary eclipse. (shrink)

Religious beliefs and attitudes have long been recognized as playing an important role in sexual functioning, but the relationship between religion and sexual behavior has rarely been studied in a comprehensive way. The essays in this volume bring the views of sex counsellors, therapists. theologians, and bioethicists to bear on the relationship between religion and sexuality. A major theme emerging from these essays is that religion and counselling need to learn from one another. Religious traditions, at the popular or theological (...) levels, are often marked by ignorance and misinformation about sexuality and can benefit by the insights of those who work closely with patients in medical and counselling settings. Counsellors, in turn, need to develop a sensitivity to past and present religious attitudes toward sexuality in order to assist their patients achieve sexual health. (shrink)

I argue here that Kierkegaardian faith is essentially, albeit paradoxically, worldly---that Kierkegaardian faith is a form of world-affirmation. A correlate of this claim is that faithlessness of any kind is ultimately a form of aesthetic resignation grounded in a deep seated world-alienation. The paradox of faith’s worldliness is found in the fact that, for Kierkegaard, faith both excludes and includes resignation in itself. I make sense of this paradox by appealing to Kierkegaard’s idea of “an annulled possibility,” and conclude that (...) faith’s love of the world is an affirmation via a double negation. (shrink)

Given recent discussions of personal privacy, or more particularly, its invasion via the internet, it is not surprising to find the issue of personal privacy emerging regarding God’s relation to our private lives. Two different and opposing views of this God-person relation have surfaced in the literature: ‘God and Privacy’ by Falls-Corbitt and Michael McLain, and ‘Privacy and Control’ by Scott Davison. I discuss key elements in both sides of this debate. Even though I will register my sympathy with both (...) sides, I claim that both fail to grasp what I call the existential depth of the God-person relationship. (shrink)

Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.--Harvard University, 1985).

Physical models have long been used to represent a great many things. By and large, however, the representational powers of physical models have been taken for granted in recent philosophy of science. Interest has focused on more ubiquitous and seemingly more important theoretical models, particularly those found in mathematical physics. In this paper, I focus on physical models, comparing them with theoretical models and finally with recently popular computational models. My aim is to show that the representational aspects of models (...) used in science are fundamentally the same across all three categories of models. (shrink)

The impact of war accelerates many processes in the development of a language that otherwise might have been slow, gradual and imperfect. First and most palpable, the enrichment of the vocabulary—novelties and the new words to describe them. But change may go deeper and further.The struggle for Sicily in the first Punic War engaged a large proportion of the Roman manpower for more than twenty years. Returning, the soldiers brought with them the words they had used in Sicily day by (...) day. Hence the wide knowledge of Greek revealed by Roman comedy a generation later, before the end of the second war. Then, in a few years Rome became protector of Hellas and arbiter of the civilized world; the language and the literature of the Greeks at once permeated the upper classes. (shrink)