Ontology
Philosopher W.V. Quine explains the concept of ontology, which is something he wrote about extensively. He states that in general terms it is the science of being, the science of existence. Professor Quine observes that when tracking "things" (objec...
Natural Selection and Differential Reproduction
Philosopher Daniel Dennett talks about differential reproduction, which he says is the key idea of natural selection. With differential reproduction, some copies of the original are a little less perfect than others. Those that are less perfect tend...
Observation Sentences
Philosopher W.V. Quine explains observation sentences, noting that they are also occasion sentences. By this he means they are sentences which may be true now, but false a little later. As an example, he offers the sentence, "It's raining." Professo...
Physician-Assisted Suicide
Philosopher Michael Sandel criticizes the argument that the Supreme Court should adopt a neutral position that does not prevent individuals from opting for physician-assisted suicide. Professor Sandel talks about the opposing view, which does not ag...
Plato, Artistotle and Scientific Theory
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about Plato's preference for theories that take a mathematical form. Professor Toulmin adds that this preference was carried over to modern times, so that a discipline like psychology might be deemed inferior to the...
Moral Issues and the Self
Philosopher Michael Sandel continues his discussion of morality and the self, exploring the ideas of both the encumbered and the unencumbered self. As an example of someone who acted with the sense of solidarity and moral obligation consistent with ...
Interpreting the Bill of Rights
Philosopher Michael Sandel contrasts liberal and republican political philosophies, using historical interpretation of the Bill of Rights as a means by which to discuss the differing conceptions of freedom and citizenship that each of these philosop...
Scientific Theories and Realism
Philosopher Hilary Putnam argues that it is futile for philosophers of science to try to come up with a single, one-size-fits-all model that can be used to validate all scientific theories.
Scientific Realism
Philosopher Hilary Putnam calls himself a scientific realist for a number of reasons, including his contention that there's no serious difference in the reality status of scientific objects and common sense objects. Even with respect to observabilit...
Scientific Theory
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about the difficulty of attempting to force different scientific theories into a single, logically coherent system.